I would have loved to have an honest, informative, REAL book about sex when I was a teenager. This is that book. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the reality of sexuality.

I'd like to preface this by saying I know nothing about Hannah Witton, and I had no idea she has a following on Youtube. I went into this book knowing absolutely nothing about her. My review is based on this book that she wrote.

This was a great book! It was a really simple guide on how sex works, from the easy topics to the nitty gritty. This is a must-have for any parent, or anyone to be honest. It really delves into the topic of sex without being complicated, leading to an educational read for people of all ages. I find this book to be a step in the right direction in terms of sex education, which is greatly needed in today's youth. I say this book is a 5 out of 5 all the way! A must have for anyone wanting to educate on sexual topics without being confusing. This is a perfect balance of education with simplicity.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley for free in exchange for my completely honest review.

I knew going into this book I'd enjoy it, because I already know that I enjoy Hannah's YouTube videos. She's informative, engaging, unabashed, and knowledgeable, and that carried over into her book.

Though the book handles subjects generally considered to be taboo, reading this book is a very comfortable process. Witton peppers the book with anecdotes from her life, ranging from humorous to embarrassing to intimate. Basically, through her recounts of her own experiences to the stories her friends, contemporaries, and loved ones shared, this book serves as a more comprehensive sex-ed for those of us who grew up with only the basics covered in school.

However, this book is more than just a run down of definitions and how-things-work because there is discussion about how we view things like porn and consent and how our current attitude towards sex and how the current porn situation affect our sex lives. Without being preachy, Witton raises important points on all these issues and more.

What I appreciate most about this book is how inclusive this book is, and how she searched out #ownvoices contributors to talk about issues she can't address herself, especially in the LGBT section. Throughout the book, Witton reassures the reader that there isn't a "normal" when it comes to sex, which is part of why I think this book would be so good for teens to learn about sex in safe way.

A good, comprehensive guide on sex. Deals with emotions and the mechanics. Great book for new adults.

This is exactly what teenagers need; a simple, easy to understand guide to sex, gender and their bodies. It's not so much about the mechanics as it is about the feelings involved, which is fantastic. There's plenty of books covering periods, not so many about consent and lack of. With plenty of anecdotes from people in all walks of life, this is a fantastic read and one I'll be buying for my nieces.

Fantastic. A straight talking, informative book that doesn't preach to its readers, or try to convert them to any particular school of thought. Hannah is clear and understanding that people are individuals and react differently to things. If only more books were like this.


Receiving an ARC did not alter my review in any way.

This was really comprehensive! Kudos to Hannah Wittton! I can't recall reading a book this detailed in my life and it is one that is much needed in the teen and young adult community. I always hope it's going to answer every question that comes to their mind, but I know the imagination of teens can be pretty immense, so I am sure something will have been missed (I don't recall reading about Coke or Pepsi douches as birth control , but still hear it on occasion....sad...) But this book does go a very long way at dispel nonsense and dispenses info. Must read for anyone over 13.

I am glad I was given the chance to read this, as I probably would not have picked this up from the store; only because sex is seen as such a hush-hush topic. But I learned a lot, and this book gave me a new mentality of how I should treat myself in terms of self love, safe sex and more. My mom made my sisters and I read the body book when we got our periods, and we had the birds and the bees talk when I was in 4th grade (I'm in 11th now) but that was it. So I've always kind of been in the dark on what was what. I hope that all parents would show this to their maturing kids. It was written so honestly and openly, and I really appreciate that.

I really like Hannah Witton but I found her writing in here a little difficult to push through at times. Heaps of interesting advice though and I'd definitely recommend if people are looking for something like this.

5/5 Stars for usefulness!
I must admit, I had no idea Hannah Witton had a YouTube channel, but I now will definitely check that out.
I think this book and others like it are so useful for kids and adults alike. I personally never had a teacher for Sex Ed. I grew up in a super strict Catholic Jr. High and elementary, and my homeroom teacher was a man, and got very uncomfortable when it involved mentioning words like penis and vagina, (or anything really? he was the typical gym teacher). So naturally we just never learned anything, unless I felt like having that terribly painful conversation with my parents, and I know tons of people that went through that similar thing, and still do. A lot of kids don't have the opportunity to talk to their parents either! So I really think resources like this are an asset. I really think information like this should be more accessible.

This book is informative and explains the world of sex in a great way for teenagers and young people. I liked how there were other people featured in areas that Hannah didn't have experience in. I'd recommend this for teenagers who have questions they feel to awkward asking adults about.

In a modern age when the taboo is supposed to be a thing of the past and all information is open for discussion, it's surprising how little sex is still spoken about across the country. Particularly in schools, the level of education on puberty, sex, sexuality etc misses out a lot of what is relevant and important to our contemporary society (e.g. only focusing on heterosexual matters). After all, this is part of everyone's identity, growing up and once adult, so it's important that each of us know as much as we can; that we get the chance to have answers to the questions that otherwise might leave us feeling left out of the loop or a lost cause for the rest of our lives.

I adore Hannah Witton's openness in style and the manner in which she stresses this point by laying out information clearly with numerous examples from other figures (including interviews with her own family). This is an example of what every young person should have access to because it covers everything unashamedly - as it should be covered! I can highly recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about sex and gender, as well as those in education wondering how they can make a difference in teaching sex education.

This book was really helpful and it's something I wish I had read when I was 16 years old, as opposed to 25 and aware of a lot of things in life. This is something I would highly recommend to any student and anyone who needs to know more about sexual health and relationships.

A book for teens which explains everything you might need to know about sex and relationships with no holds barred. In her book, Hannah attempts to separate the facts from the myths, and offer an informative and humorous guide to navigating the world of sex and relationships, tackling everything from porn to LGBTQ issues, to masturbation and break-ups.

I’m sorry I can’t do a better job of selling this book to you all, especially since it is really funny and honest, but there really isn’t much to say if you’re trying to sum this book up. For those of you not in the know, Hannah Witton is a youtuber whose channel looks at the same issues and offers advice and support to those trying to find their way in this world.

It might be awkward if it weren’t so funny, and I imagine there are probably quite a lot of high school kids who have stumbled across Doing It at a bookstore with their friends, giggled over it, and then come back to buy it later. It’s like having to purchase tampons for the first time after getting your period, that embarrassment which keeps your head down and your cheeks red. But hey, if you’re one of the people who might feel a bit uncertain buying this book, I’d tell you to try and work through it and pick up the book in spite of your misgivings. The humour in it, not too dissimilar from that of Bridgette Jones or Holly Bourne, is funny and honest and it helps with the awkwardness of the subject. Over the course of this non-fic YA, Witton tackles a wide range of issues surrounding sex, and when she can she includes stories and sections from someone who has experienced similar issues. One of the most important sections in the book, and no doubt the most informative, is the section on LGBTQ, which tries to explain complex intricacies society tends to gloss over, including what it means to be asexual, how to receive emotional support if you want to come out to family, and the different genders. I’ve seen some tumblr posts trying to tackle these same things before, but never quite in such a clear and interesting way. For anyone who is trying to educate themselves on LGBTQ issues, or who is maybe exploring a part of themselves, this is definitely a good chapter to look over.

Another chapter that really caught my attention was the very first one, which successfully outlines the differences between a healthy relationship and a toxic one, pointing out that things such as a desire to check your partner’s phone should never be acted upon [since this would be unhealthy] but instead it might help to talk about your concerns. Witton talks about the recipe necessary for a healthy relationship– trust, respect and communication. And when she comes to talking about toxic or abusive relationships, she calls on readers to learn to recognize the signs that it isn’t going in the right direction, offering up a hilarious section from Holly Bourne fondly referred to as the Wormtail test. Here, she’s trying to get people to see how certain behaviours, while they may appear romantic in movies when they’re done by a handsome actor like Robert Pattinson or Ryan Gosling [her examples, not mine] are suddenly much less appealing when carried out by Peter Pettigrew AKA Wormtail, from the Harry Potter movies. It’s funny and amusing, but deep down there’s a really good point being made here. Honestly. I also really like that this is the first chapter, that it comes before any discussions of losing virginity, slut shaming and STIs. It’s really important and a great message to anyone of any age.

Witton doesn’t hold back, offering up her own awkward stories so she can lead by example, and she approaches everything in her book in a non-judgemental way. When she talks about porn, and how the industry often perpetuates the idea of owning a woman’s sexuality so that sex becomes something that is done to a woman rather than something she happily participates in, she doesn’t criticise anyone for having particular tastes in porn, or for choosing to watch it. Similarly, she doesn’t judge when it comes to talking about porn addiction, suggesting only that someone who thinks they might suffer from one should seek advice and help. She has the same approach when talking about sexting. Rather than lecturing teens against sending their partners nudes, or even keeping them on their phone for their own reasons, she merely points out that there are legal laws that must be followed and that, while you have a right to send these pics and it might feel good, there are unfortunately sometimes consequences for it. She doesn’t tell people not to send them, only to be careful.

Which I think is a refreshing change from the school curriculum of talks about contraception, pregnancies and STIs, all of which can potentially leave young people feeling like sex is a huge risk and not worth the danger. Hannah Witton admits that she herself felt like this at school, and so she attempts to tackle it by adding a bunch of pro-sex points to this list too, laying out the benefits of sex such as getting comfortable with your own body, pleasure and relaxation. She also calls on schools to try and add this kind of information into their sex-ed classes, meaning that students are likely to get both sides of the story instead of feeling lost and confused.

I’m not really big on non-fic, so I’m finding it a bit hard to review and rate this one, but I’d give it an 8/10 because it is funny, honest, educational and a useful tool for anyone [of any age or gender] who is curious about sex.

Hannah is a huge YouTube star whom openly discusses important essential life topics such as love, relationships, sex, health and her latest, stoma care too. As a young role model for teens and other generations Hannah's debut book Doing It shares the nitty gritty of all aspects of healthy and unhealthy issues surrounding sex from abusive relationships to health and happiness as no one will have the same experience as someone else.



The book features guests throughout with their tips and stories about sex and health which are hilarious while being informative too as well as being new facts I'd never known about till picking up this book proving this guide is very thoroughly thought out.



The book is suitable for anyone facing any issues surrounding love and relationships of a mature age or way of thinking.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I wish this book was available for me when I was in high school. I was taught that sex was evil and I'd die if I had it (Mean Girls wasn't wrong about teaching sex ed). This book shows the positives to all sides of sex. This is what teens need to know, not what I was taught.

This is a boom about sex, written for teens by a YouTube star. The book is informative without being overly graphic, and the conversational tone will resonate with the intended audience. Recommended

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: N/A
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purposes of review.

I really wish a book like this had been available when i was a teenager! In Doing It, popular sexual health Youtuber Hannah Winton gives the basics on everything teenagers and young adults need to know about sex, consent, sexuality, gender, contraception, STIs, porn, body image, and more. While imparting a significant amount of information, Winton's causal chatty tone keeps the book light and friendly, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere for topics that can cause a lot of stress and insecurity. Her personality really shines through and the personal stories she shares makes it feel as if a friend is giving advice.

I really commend her for starting her book discussing healthy relationships, and especially discussing how some relationships that are glorified in popular media (ie: Twilight, 50 Shades of Grey) are not at all healthy and not something to aspire to. Winton's use of guest writers to help illuminate each topic works well and the diversity of points of view and own-voices advice, especially in the LGBT+ section, really improve the text and don't feel like unnecessary asides.

I do have a couple of qualms, however, with the paragraphs from Kate Parker. As she is writing about the law, I think it would improve the book for the North American release to change her responses to someone talking specifically about US and Canadian law instead of UK law. Although the laws seem similar to me, they aren't exactly the same. I did notice, though, that some US specific information was added, including to the resources in the back, which really improves the usefulness of the book for US readers.

My second qualm was also in a Kate Parker paragraph, specifically one where she was discussing a scenario where a male boss tells a male employee that he will receive a promotion if the employee has sex with him. Parker's response that according to the law if the employee agrees to sex for the raise, even if he doesn't want to have sex, it is not considered rape gave me pause because she did not include any other information showing that while this scenario may not legally be rape, it was still clearly coercion and sexual harassment. I wanted that section to be a bit more forceful stating that a boss asking an employee for sex for a raise is definitely not okay and that coercion is not okay.

Those two minor complaints aside, this is a great book, especially for American teens who may not be hearing this information in sex ed classes (or even having sex ed classes at all) and Winton's popularity and her friendly, non-judgmental tone throughout the book I think will grab and keep teen's attention.