Can We Talk About Consent?

A book about freedom, choices, and agreement

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Pub Date 26 Jan 2021 | Archive Date 12 Jan 2021

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Description

What exactly is consent? Why does it matter? How can you respect other people’s boundaries, and have them respect yours? 

Can We Talk About Consent? breaks down the basics of how to give and get consent in every aspect of life for readers aged 14 years and older. It's a powerful word, but not everyone understands exactly what it means. This stylish guide explains clearly why consent matters—for all of us.

With honest explanations by experienced sex and relationships educator Justin Hancock, you'll learn how consent is a vital part of how we connect with ourselves and our self-esteem, the people close to us, and the wider world.

The book covers a broad range of topics, including:
  • how we greet each other 
  • how to choose things for ourselves
  • how we say no to things
  • communicating and respecting choices in sexual relationships
  • the factors that can affect a person's ability to choose
  • how to empower other people by giving them consent
And—there's a whole lot of pizza. 

This guide to consent gives you all the tools you need to build consensual relationships.
What exactly is consent? Why does it matter? How can you respect other people’s boundaries, and have them respect yours? 

Can We Talk About Consent? breaks down the basics of how to give and get...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780711256569
PRICE $14.99 (USD)
PAGES 160

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)

Average rating from 23 members


Featured Reviews

Consent is such an ambiguous issue that it is not a surprise to see an entire book dedicated to it, targeting the age group of 14+.

If you look at this book in terms of its content alone, the book has done a great job. Right from the start, it builds up on the idea of consent, how it means different things to different people, how we can recognise consent through body language. I loved the idea of "should story". Even concept in the book is explained through practical examples from daily life that make the application of the concept that much easier.
At the same time, I can't help feeling that the book would have had greater impact as a talk rather than a book. The language is very much as used in informative sessions and doesn't lend itself that well to writing. Further, there is a mismatch between the content and the illustrations. The content target a mature reader with even sex included as a topic (and it does go very much in detail into sex, thereby restricting the minimum target age group of the book.) But the illustrations seem a bit childish in comparison. I'm not taking away anything from the quality of the illustrations; they are truly fabulous and the artist's efforts are commendable. But looking at the sketches gives an idea that this book is meant for younger audiences, while reading it clarifies that it is not for anyone below 15.
Overall, an informative read that could have been better structured and presented.

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I got to read this on the plane coming back from a trip and it took me less than 30 minutes (as an adult). I think the illustrations were maybe too young for a 14 year old. I think this is definitely more middle grade in both content and in looks. The content itself is amazing and important. I was really excited to see that this book is coming out because it't s a great segue for conversations with your kids that can sometimes be difficult.

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Can We Talk About Consent is about an important topic that we as a society need to talk more about. This book is marked as children's nonfiction, but it's pretty detailed. I'd suggest it for middle school students, not elementary.

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I received an electronic ARC from Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books through NetGalley.
An all in one guide to explaining consent and agency and why it's important to know about both. Hancock uses clear analogies to define terms and explain choices. Though this is written for middle school and young adults, adults of all ages would benefit from a review of this information.
The pizza and movie analogies work because they provide humor to the underlying seriousness of the actual topics being covered. The shorter chapter style lets readers move through the material quickly and revisit the topics as needed.
I appreciate that Hancock covers far broader topics than sexual consent. Sex is a critical consent/choice/agency area but it is not the only place young people need to feel empowered to state their choices and feel safe in doing so.
One I recommend every family purchase to inspire dialogue on these critical topics.

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This book was wonderfully inclusive both in the text and illustrations, representing people of different identities, abilities, sexualities, and races, with an emphasis on how some people have more freedom to choose than others. It made me see consent differently, that it doesn’t just apply in relationship with others, but in relationship with ourselves and our own choices, and how social factors mean some people find it easier to ask for what they want or get that freedom. It included tips on how we can exercise our own agency and work to leave room for others to do the same.

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Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What a powerful, educational book! This needs to be read by all people, and taught in schools.

The book covered so many more important topics not just consent.

I loved the illustrations and also the analogies using pizza and movies - I think this kept the book lighthearted despite the topics being of a very serious important nature, which I think will help younger readers to engage.

Definitely recommend!

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I enjoyed reading this book. The version I received has pictures and artwork along with the text so I enjoyed that aspect of reading. This book broke down how to get consent, what to watch for, and how to define consent. I recommend this for college students, the working class, teenagers, and even couples. No one is exempt of this information and it is a topic that is not widely discussed.

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It's short, thought-provoking, and very informative - I feel like I've learned a lot while reading this book. The topics presented can feel hard to tackle in a face-to-face conversation. Instead, here they are presented in a simple way, with fun analogies and a bit of humor to keep you entertained. The author somehow manages to make the book appealing to a broader audience than his target one. I would recommend this book to anyone.

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Important stuff!

Can We Talk About Consent? is a mutli-chapter guide to consent and agency loaded with bright illustrations. The guide talks about consent generally AND consent around sex. the book is full of tips about how to ask someone for consent and also how to say no AND (also very important) what to do if you tell someone no and they don't listen to you.

I think it is very important to teach kids about consent starting at a young age. This book is targeted at people high school aged and older. It is a little dense for the younger set, but you can definitely read it and pull out some important stuff to share with younger kids. That is what I plan to do! My kids are in elementary school and I plan to discuss the asking and saying no tips with them. Also, accepting a no from someone else without continuing to pester them about it.

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This is a great book for young and old on understanding consent. It’s not just about sex, but everything from the day to day houses we are all faced with, to the more serious topics about relationships. Etc.

I love how the book emphasizes that an “ absence of a No, doesn’t mean yes”

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I received a digital copy of this through Netgalley. The book begins with demonstrating consent via the book presenting the reader the option to keep reading or stop reading the book

Then explains the author and his credentials for writing a book about consent. It describes the book as not a sex book <strong>but a book about sex and consent.</strong> It presents consent in more than just sexual situations.

It is a great, colorful book about sex and consent -- consent even outside of sex. There is no religious undertones to this work. It covers racism, classism, transphobia/homophobia, ableism, etc.

Great for Tweens and Teens. Not an appropriate text for anyone younger due to amount of text and how it is presented to readers. It reads as if it's meant for tweens/teens.

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This book is awesome. Hands down. Ideally I would say middle school and up for age range.

It is more than just consent with regards to sex. There is so much more from greeting to pizza to movies to “isms” and beyond. There is so much education within this book that it can feel overwhelming. But the authors make it so easy to take a break from reading. In fact they encourage breaks throughout or skipping parts. They are very flexible and this serves as more of a guide and resource than a beginning to end type of read.

I encourage parents to read this to help educate their children. I love the illustrations for this one and the glossary on the end. I loved how the book provides advice and ideas to try to help navigate the world of consent. I love how they provide ideas for how to avoid or address the awkwardness of consent talks. The scale they provide as well is a neat tool to use.

As an educator, this book should be in every school.

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This is a great book about consent from Justin Hancock, who is behind the sex education website Bish UK. I really like how it doesn't just deal with consent in terms of sex, but puts sexual consent into context as just one of many ways consent is important. It also gives a brief overview of how various "isms" (such as sexism, racism and homophobia) affect people's lives and choices. It's well laid out and the artwork is really great. It has a light hearted tone throughout (with a lot of cheesy pizza jokes), but without making light of serious topics.

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I want to express my gratitude to Netgalley and Frances Lincoln Children's Books for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Something in the title, cover and synopsis said to me that this could be an amazing reading and it was.

At the beggining, I thought that the book was about sex, an aproximation to young people without more expectations. Yet, I started reading and this was totally different.

Justin Hancock is a wonderful writer, in addition it has a magic and close way to talk about consent, besides "serious" topics. This book not only has with sex as reference, but also it talking about all the situations that you can find day a day in with you have to take a decision.

Additionally the text has a perfect companion, the illustrations. Fuchsia Macaree choosed splendidly the drawings to all the pages.

I thought that it is an awesome reading to all the ages, maybe it could have a huge impact on teens (14 and above).

To sum up, a perfect and modern reading to open your mind, as well as know more about something esencial, consent.

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Consent is empowering! And so is this awesome, cute, little book about it. It’s a necessary primer on consent in our everyday lives - so clear that I wish schools would make it a compulsory read! It explains everything from what a ‘Should Story’ is, how more choice equals more consent, how to listen to ourselves, the importance of not hurting others with those choices, and how to hear and say ‘no’. It’s all about maximizing everyone’s agency, not just your own, and will help you empathetically coexist with other people - and what is life, but a series of activities we take part in mostly together? This book is all about how to be brave and confident in our freedom, choices, and agency. It’s chock-full of real-life scenarios to help put consent more easily into practice (because sometimes this stuff is hard to do in real life!), like how to pick out a chocolate bar for yourself, or how to order a pizza with someone that you’ll both enjoy - it’s not just all about sex, it’s actually a lot about pizza. It’s packed with information in a good way, but doesn’t feel too dense, and the fun illustrations are friendly, approachable, and normalize the topic. After reading this, you’re totally going to want to go make the world a better place - one choice at a time!

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