Review: Doing It! by Hannah Witton

Sexting. Virginity. Consent. The Big O ... Let's face it, doing it can be tricksy. I don't know anyone (including myself) who has sex all figured out. So I've written a book full of honest, hilarious (and sometimes awkward) anecdotes, confessions and revelations. And because none of us have all the answers, I've invited some friends and fellow YouTubers to talk about their sexuality, too.

We talk about doing it safely. Doing it joyfully. Doing it when you're ready. Not doing it. Basically, doing it the way you want, when you want. So. Let's do this ...

Review: I was so excited about reading this book so when my friend gave me her proof copy, I set about reading it straight away! I read this book from cover to cover on a plane journey over the Atlantic and broadcast the phrase 'Let's Talk About Sex' to anyone who passed me in my aisle seat! I can definitely say that this is fast paced read and as this author says at the beginning of the book, you can dip in and out of various parts of it and pick out things that apply to you at that moment or skip over things your don't want to read about right now for one reason or another. 

As someone who has taught Sex and Relationship education, I think that this is a really great reference for young people. You can tell it is pitched at a younger audience than myself and yet at no pint did I feel it was patronising or sugar-coating anything. There are some frank discussions about consent, rape and other subjects which might be considered taboo for a teenage audience such as kink and porn but i like that fact that it gave the facts, and sometimes diagrams and didn't tell the reader that this was something they should go away and further research for themselves, it laid it all out there. I thought the inclusion of diagrams and the inclusion of personal accounts from Hannah were really important and made the book more than just a reference book. 

This book also has contributions from other people, people who can give examples of real life experiences and how sex and relationships play out in today's world. There are accounts of what it is like to be pan sexual, what sex is like when you're deaf and even a couple of sections written by a law professional about sex and the law, the age of consent and what it means. I really liked the fact that there are some first hand accounts in here and that this author admitted that she didn't know anything when it comes to sex and relationships. 

Overall I found this to be a really enjoyable read. I didn't learn anything from it myself but it was reassuring as an educator that this book is now out there for young people to pick up. The book itself has a great structure with illustrations, accounts from other people, facts and figures and tweets and personal accounts from Hannah herself. I thought it was well-balanced, a good example for books of it kind and it even managed to make me laugh out loud on a full plane!

To order your copy now, click here!