Prom!: The Complete Guide to a Truly Spectacular Night

Rating:
Summary: Practical advice for any young lady preparing for PROM
Review: By its own admission "Prom!: The Complete Guide to a Truly Spectacular Nigh," is the ultimate prom book containing fill-ins, makeup tips, dress-shopping suggestions, and places to paste your most memorable prom pix. My oldest daughter went to her prom and enough time has passed since my own prom experience (I asked the girl of my dreams, she said yes, we went to dinner with two other couples, she was dating one of the other guys a week later and then got married. Me? I got to recite from "The Prophet" at their wedding. Add to this THE WORST PROM PICTURE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD and you want to know if I am OVER MY SENIOR PROM?).

Where was I?

Besides wanting to look at the Prom experience from the other side of the gender universe I was also intrigued because the back cover of "Prom!" has choice quotes about the experience from Buffy and Angel from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Phoebe from "Friends," and Bridget Jones from "Bridget Jones's Diary." Consequently I was hoping for not just a practical approach to the prom experience but also the pop culture perspective.

Author Nancy Krulik, whose text is accompanied by Kim Johnson's illustrations, begins with a very short history of prom as "A Night to Remember," which essentially resulted from turning debutante balls into exercises in democracy. After two pages of such history Krulik launches into "Will You Be Crushin' or Crushed," which makes it clear that whether you go solo, on date, or in a group, you can have fun. Krulik clearly covers all of the bases so whatever headaches you encounter, she offers sage advice for getting to the big night. The practical advice continues in the next chapter, where Krulik explains how to choose a dress based on your physical attributes (how to accentuate the positive, to recall an old turn of phrase). This chapter includes a list of what young ladies need to bring in their purse (everything from facial blotting paper to house keys), and the importance of comfortable shoes.

This gives you a sense of the value of this book. Read this before going to the prom and you will be able to chastise your date for giving you a red carnation (symbolizing admiration) rather than a red rose (symbolizing love, passion), pick your hair for the big night based on the shape of your face, give yourself a proper manicure and/or pedicure, what to eat to keep "your bod bodacious," how to zap your zits, how to know who pays for what, and even Krulik considers the "Prom Flix Top Pix" (from "American Pie" and "Carrie" to "Pretty in Pink" and "Prom Night," "Prom Night II," "Prom Night III: The Last Kiss," "Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil").

The back of the book contains room to record your prom memories and pages in which to press your favorite photographs. However, the strength of "Prom!" is in its practical advice and not its ability to suffice as a keepsake memento. The book is cute, concise, and like the subtitle says, complete. I wish I had known all this sage advice last month when I could have offered in to my daughter, but I have another one and her big night will come. Just not for five or six years. Not to worry: good prom night advice never goes out of style.

Rating:
Summary: Practical advice for any young lady preparing for PROM
Review: By its own admission "Prom!: The Complete Guide to a Truly Spectacular Nigh," is the ultimate prom book containing fill-ins, makeup tips, dress-shopping suggestions, and places to paste your most memorable prom pix. My oldest daughter went to her prom and enough time has passed since my own prom experience (I asked the girl of my dreams, she said yes, we went to dinner with two other couples, she was dating one of the other guys a week later and then got married. Me? I got to recite from "The Prophet" at their wedding. Add to this THE WORST PROM PICTURE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD and you want to know if I am OVER MY SENIOR PROM?).

Where was I?

Besides wanting to look at the Prom experience from the other side of the gender universe I was also intrigued because the back cover of "Prom!" has choice quotes about the experience from Buffy and Angel from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Phoebe from "Friends," and Bridget Jones from "Bridget Jones's Diary." Consequently I was hoping for not just a practical approach to the prom experience but also the pop culture perspective.

Author Nancy Krulik, whose text is accompanied by Kim Johnson's illustrations, begins with a very short history of prom as "A Night to Remember," which essentially resulted from turning debutante balls into exercises in democracy. After two pages of such history Krulik launches into "Will You Be Crushin' or Crushed," which makes it clear that whether you go solo, on date, or in a group, you can have fun. Krulik clearly covers all of the bases so whatever headaches you encounter, she offers sage advice for getting to the big night. The practical advice continues in the next chapter, where Krulik explains how to choose a dress based on your physical attributes (how to accentuate the positive, to recall an old turn of phrase). This chapter includes a list of what young ladies need to bring in their purse (everything from facial blotting paper to house keys), and the importance of comfortable shoes.

This gives you a sense of the value of this book. Read this before going to the prom and you will be able to chastise your date for giving you a red carnation (symbolizing admiration) rather than a red rose (symbolizing love, passion), pick your hair for the big night based on the shape of your face, give yourself a proper manicure and/or pedicure, what to eat to keep "your bod bodacious," how to zap your zits, how to know who pays for what, and even Krulik considers the "Prom Flix Top Pix" (from "American Pie" and "Carrie" to "Pretty in Pink" and "Prom Night," "Prom Night II," "Prom Night III: The Last Kiss," "Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil").

The back of the book contains room to record your prom memories and pages in which to press your favorite photographs. However, the strength of "Prom!" is in its practical advice and not its ability to suffice as a keepsake memento. The book is cute, concise, and like the subtitle says, complete. I wish I had known all this sage advice last month when I could have offered in to my daughter, but I have another one and her big night will come. Just not for five or six years. Not to worry: good prom night advice never goes out of style.