Being a teenage girl is often confusing and overwhelming. Despite their differences, all teen girls have a story to share about their experiences of being an adolescent and how they deal with this confusion. Betsy Franco wanted to give teenage girls a chance to tell their stories about being a teenage girl.

“I decided to collect poems, stories, and essays by young women twelve to eighteen in order to provide a vehicle for them to communicate their experiences and tell each other how they had made it through some challenges in their lives,” Franco said. She wanted to make sure teen girls know that they aren’t alone in their feelings of frustration. Her goal was to give girls some hope and words of wisdom from their peers.

Franco started this project in the spring of 1997 and by the end of her year-and-a-half search for moving pieces; she collected manuscripts by young women across the world. Every entry was important to her.  Each young writer had something to say, something that needed to be heard. Eventually, Franco narrowed down the collection to the pieces she thought most adolescent girls would understand and appreciate. They were published in a book called Thing I Have to Tell You.

Nina Nickles joined Franco in her journey. She photographed the pictures that accompany every selection in Things I Have to Tell You. Nickles used candid shots for the book—she photographed the girls at prom, hanging out at the mall, going on a date, even just attending classes. Her goal was to capture lives as she saw them through her camera lens. Together, Franco and Nickles shared a common vision for the collection. They wanted to let the voices of girls shine through their own writing and Nickles’ black and white photographs.

I discovered this collection buried in the poetry section of my English classroom library, and after reading this book cover to cover numerous times, I can assure you that Franco and Nickles’ followed their vision to the end.

This collection enchanted me from the first poem Secrets by Jessica L. McCloskey to the last selection by Laura Vueve, which talks about how confidence gets you through life. Each writer’s voice pops out of her piece and you can feel her joy, anger, pain, or motivation. The selections are about issues most teenage girls have to face, including depression, drugs, and bullies.

The writing is amazing and the messages are wise. While reading, I found it hard to believe that Things I Have to Tell You was written by teenagers. The black and white photographs are incredible coupled with the writing. Some pages moved me to tears while others made me smile.

Things I Have to Tell You is an astounding and creative collection. Franco says that in it “you will find hope, disillusionment, anger, joy, sadness, and most of all, the strength of young women today.” I recommend this collection to all teenagers, especially girls. The hope and strength these writers have for the future will move you and encourage you to live with a smile.