Will you discover yourself with this magazine? Well...

Have a daughter in her preteens? Does she like to hear from other girls' perspectives? Discovery Girls magazine has things on Discoveries of being a girl, and it is perfect for her to discover herself. Well, maybe...

I have flipped through this magazine at the newsstands, and what I notice about this magazine is it is focused mainly on "real" girls, and not people in Hollywood, which is fine with me. However, this magazine may send the message out to girls that celebrities are worthless, which in my opinion, isn't exactly true. There are some celebrities out there that make for healthy role models, and can inspire a girl to her dreams. On the other hand, though, celebrities can set a bad example for girls and other teens. This magazine may focus too much on the negative side, instead of including a celebrity story that may help some girls to realize what they want to do with their life.
The covers are fun, and they include "real" girls from the state that they visited for this month's magazine. Usually everything said on the cover is pretty much all that is in the magazine, but they do make it colorful and fun looking for catching girls' eyes to go through the magazine and check it out. They make the fonts interesting, and this magazine has a glossy cover.
Some of the contents:
In the summer issues, they often show the bathing suits that are in fashion, and that catch girl's eyes. The cost of the bathing suits and other clothes featured are reasonable for what you get with your payment. I have nothing wrong with the fashions, though some of the fashions you have seen in other magazines before you see it in this particular magazine. Their clothes fashions are sometimes something you already heard about for awhile.
Articles:
the articles in the magazine are usually brief articles, written by girls, usually. Some articles say stuff like, "How to Beat the Green-eyed monster. Tips on controlling jealousy." By brief, these articles are 1 page long, which kind of seems they don't have enough information to really form an actual article. Some girls may want to read a longer article that gives more tips and advice on how to deal with the issues stated.
DG (Discovery Girls) also oftenly features articles on dealing with your friendships, and to make the most out of it. Sometimes they can repeat themselves with these articles, so I think they shouldn't make a whole department on friends if they don't have much to say about them. An article I saw recently on the cover said something like, "Should you ditch her? See if you have a healthy friendship." What I discover sometimes, is that they usually word it differently, but it has some of the same stuff as it had a few issues ago; so you might buy it, read it, and see the same advice as 3 issues in the past.
Each bi-month DG features a different state for their magazine, which they use for the models on their covers. Then, inside, they feature all of the girls chosen for the state, and have the girls tell a little about themselves. Their goals, their hobbies, their families, etc. They also state their age. DG also features a "behind the scenes: Utah" (as an example), and shows all of the adventures they had while chosen for the magazine. Some may be: having a picnic, doing each other's hair & makeup, having their sleepovers, etc. DG staff adds little quotes that match their face expression, which can be funny sometimes. :)

They include several different quizzes: about boys (crushes), friends, yourself, your "secret" indentities, etc. These are colorful and have fun illustrations and/or pictures to it, which makes it even more fun to take. Sometimes they even have a quiz on "Which star is most like you?" These are really fun.

Spotlights: Every issue they have a spotlight on a sport. In this brief 1-page article they mention things a girl did to conquer her dream of being a tennis player, why girls love the sport, ways to play the sport, etc. If you're interested in sports, you will like this section of the magazine.

Ask Ali: in every magazine they have a feature called "Ask Ali". In this department of the magazine readers can ask questions to Ali about things like: guys, puberty, bras, periods, friends, etc. And Ali usually will give a response to their questions. Some can be thourough, some are more brief. This is also a page long in length.

The Girls' Perspective: Every issue DG asks a question to readers on what their opinion is about a certain problem that could relate to another girl. Maybe, "Your parents choose what color your room is", and they give their opinion on whether that is right to do or not. This works by: DG prints a question in an issue, asks for your response and picture, and they will print their favorites in the magazine the next month. This can be a way for the girls to interact with DG to make it more fun.

And in every issue they have what they plan on putting in the next month's issue, and what state they plan to visit to make you aware if you live in the state, you can go on their website, and tell them you want to join and fill out a form.

Last minute add-ins: DG has some advertisements, and sometimes this may be more than you want to look at. It's not bad, but could be better. What most girls love about the magazine is the Ask Ali column. This column connects them to their own problems, and may help them as well as the girl who asked it.

I disagree with the name of the magazine, as a last thing to say in my review. Really, in DG, they don't discover anything really about themselves, but help them connect to other girls. I give this magazine 3 (lukily) stars for its fun (sometimes), and to make girls feel related to other girls. DG tries to add in things to make their magazine more exciting, and it succeeds sometimes. This magazine is much related to American Girl, though American Girl was published first. Somethings are different, like the ads, and some puberty topics, but as for what American Girl has, it isn't near as fun for a girl. 10 year-old girls may enjoy this magazine, but it isn't near as exciting as some magazines out there.

Their book, "Chicken Soup for the Girl's Soul" was published by them, and could be useful for a girl going through puberty. In most stores.

Good Luck on your decision!