Valerie E. Besag, Understanding girls' friendships, fights and feuds: A practical approach to girls' bullying. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill Education, 2006. Pp. 237. Hb £60.00. Pb £19.99.

This volume addresses the question of bullying among young girls through a detailed investigation of the strategies and language employed by girls to control peer relations. Section 1 accordingly introduces the issue of bullying, the lack of any rationale for the fractious nature of girls' friendships, and the covert nature of their forms of aggression to entice some into their groups and exclude others. The core of the book consists of a 16-month study examining girls' conversations and social behavior in an informal activity club.