Women and STDs; Lesbians and HIV: Are You at Risk?; Young and Gay: Protect Yourself from HIV; Am I Ready to be a Dad?; Am I Ready to be a Mom? (a set of 5 revised teen pregnancy prevention and sexual health pamphlets). Santa Cruz, CA: Journeyworks Publishing. Prices start at $16 for 50 pamphlets.

Health professionals and educators will be interested in distributing these pamphlets provided by Journeyworks Publishing. The pamphlets are attractive, fact-filled representations that display the dangers of high-risk behaviors associated with teenagers and young adults. Improvements to these pamphlets are noticeable, but still not without flaw. However, I do recommend these pamphlets because their subject matter is important, and any method of reaching the target audience is better than none.

In this revised pamphlet series, Journeyworks addresses the topics of teen pregnancy prevention and sexual health. Journeyworks designs its materials in a professional manner that integrate text and graphics to effectively convey its message to the target audience. The illustrations are cartoon-like representations of real life issues and problems, making the harsh reality of these topics a little less frightful for teenagers to explore.

Journeyworks has a lot of information to convey and a limited space to display it. It should be noted that the target audience's attention span is also limited. This is not meant to be a derogatory statement towards young adults; rather, it is a truth of our society, young and old alike. With this in mind, Journeyworks pamphlets are too text intensive. The pamphlets are ridden with bullets and sub-bullets and there is little white space between any of the bulleted points resulting in large blocks of text that can be difficult for the reader to read. On a more positive note, Journeyworks' use of color is pleasing to the eye and nonthreatening. The colorful cover of these pamphlets is sure to draw attention from the target audience. And once in hand, hopefully, the reader will take some time to read the information, although dense.

In this series, the pamphlets specific to lesbians and gays are of particular interest. These pamphlets are informative and are especially useful because they cover a sensitive topic. A young adult who is coping with gay or lesbian identity can find the process difficult. Although sexual identity comprises only a portion of an individual's identity, it is a portion that can be associated with dire health consequences. Journeyworks pamphlets can answer questions that these teens may not feel comfortable asking. These pamphlets also suggest that the audience seek out additional advice and support from gay and lesbian community groups or health centers. This is solid advice because the teen years can be a challenging time, especially for those who are gay, lesbian, or questioning their gender preference.

This set of 5 revised teen pregnancy prevention and sexual health pamphlets is similar in design to Journeyworks' series of smoking prevention, second-hand smoke, and HIV, STD, oral sex, and abstinence pamphlets. If you found those pamphlets to be useful, you will surely be pleased with this set. Overall, sans a few minor detractions, I highly recommend Journeyworks' pamphlets. The topics covered and the display of these topics is relevant, pertinent, and professional. I hope this important information reaches its target audience. Journeyworks Publishing provides complimentary review copies of any of their pamphlets by calling 1-800-775-1998