Brio & Beyond

I have been receiving Brio for a little more than four years. I am now about to turn 17 and have upgraded to Brio and Beyond. To be honest it surprised and disappointed me to see some of the reviews that brio got. It's pretty safe to say that if you want a "right" review about brio, then turn to a present reader, and a current teenager.
First off, let me begin by saying that I don't think that I could give brio enough thank you's. It makes me laugh to myself when I see how people take magazines like brio for granted, calling it "brainwashing," "morality in disguise," or "Christian claptrap." If this was the case, I would have chucked my subscription out awhile ago. Yes, I admit that there are things in the magazine that I have my own beliefs about, but the awesome thing about brio is that they never push anything down your throat. There are things that they will clearly say are wrong or right, but there are other subjects that they leave upon what is best for the person. I believe that they deal with a lot of issues in a teenage girl's life that Vogue or Cosmo girl will never have the guts to discuss. Brio isn't afraid to hit the hard core issues in today's society such as dating, homosexuality, depression, suicide, hatred, or clothing. They aren't afraid to be different or disliked, and if it's anything that brio stands for, it's that they are not willing to compromise!
I'm a teenager, and I love my teenage years! And I think that if people believe that this magazine was what caused their teenage years to have a lack-of, then they have missed what brio is about. So what's wrong with morals? What's wrong with not being a confused teenager and having to "find yourself"? What's wrong with wanting to dress morally yet fashionable without having to impress guys? At a teen's standpoint, I will clearly say that there is nothing wrong with it. It's all about not having to conform to everyone else just because it fits into society. I'm a normal person who makes mistakes time and time again. I love guys, fashion, music, and friends. And this magazine is one of the many things that help's me keep things in balance. Maybe some people get offended by it because it's truth; it's a magazine that gets you thinking. If that's the case then I would rather get offended by it then put my attention in magazines such as vogue. I have read all of these mags and would vote brio #1 for hitting topics that every girl faces over and over again. Brio isn't here to make you feel warm, cozy and religious; they are here to help you face life head on.
Religion is so caught up in everything, and religion isn't what this magazine is about. It isn't about following a set of guidelines or rules to make you the perfect Christian, because there is no such thing. It's about loving and getting to know God, and being who he's created us to be. It's about life in general, the pretty and the ugly.
If anyone is thinking about subscribing to this magazine, don't pass it up! I love it and respect what it is doing. It certainly has impacted me...

Brio & Beyond is aimed for teen girls in high school and late teens in college. Unfortunately for a magazine that aims to be hip and cool for christian teens, it comes across very juvenile and the articles aren't very mature at all. Their focus is on conservative christianity, modesty, staying christian in college, aiming to live a "good" christian life, and trying to be a "good, christian girl."

Their website looks like its meant for a five year old. I've seen Breakaway, its the Focus on the Family magazine for teen guys and its very mature and more appropriate for teen guys. Its as if Brio & Beyond want teenage girls to stay little girls and unfortunately they aren't staying girls. They're young women growing up in a complex world, and when they can't find answers here then they go to secular magazines like Seventeen, Cosmo Girl, and Elle Girl. A lot of teens read magazines for women in their 20s and 30s like Allure, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and leaving behind the teen magazines in their teenage years unfortunately. Too many young women are growing up too fast.

Its as if its okay for the guys to grow up, but the girls have to stay girls forever. They push the idea of "no dating" and "courting" as if courting is somehow more holy than dating, when its in fact the same thing. If you date normally but haven't had sex yet, then that still is immoral in their eyes.

I did read this magazine as a young christian, I never dated in high school and I think that it held me back in my peers. I was a very modest teen and I still believe in modesty, however I don't that a woman is a harlot if she shows a little belly or dresses attractively. They try to push morals down young women's throats through articles that aim to be cool and helpful, but are just morality in disguise.

This magazine doesn't help teen girls think differently, to question their beliefs, to ask themselves hard questions about why they believe the things that they believe and if they want to walk the way that they want to walk. In life there are no easy answers, there are tough things to face and this doesn't prepare young women for the world in any way. How do you know if you want to live a different life, if you continue on the same path and never question and never ask. This magazine just brainwashes girls. I cancelled a couple of months before the subscription was up.

Not once did this magazine have an article on what to do in hard situations that will come up in life. Like what to do if a guy tries to push his way in a date, how to handle yourself if you are with the wrong crowd, that you shouldn't drink something at a party if it doesn't come in a can. That guys will try to slip in roofies in a drink and what to do. Nothing like that has ever come up and no offense but christians don't have a perfect life or a perfect existence. At least Seventeen aims to teach them things that they need to know, Seventeen has gone in a new direction with its new editor-in-chief Atoosa Rubenstein. They promote abstinance, and other such things. They are more real and honest.

I'm 19 years old and read Brio for years, and then got Brio & Beyond. I'm incredibly impressed with the values Brio and Brio Beyond teaches and that it doesn't conform to the traditional magazine raunchiness, if you will, but still addresses key issues and is fun to read.

This is a great magazine and I would definately recommend it to any girl out there.

I had a subscription to Brio for ages when I was younger. It is wholesome and encourages girls to make the right choices in life based on the Bible. After a while, though, I realized that I kept hearing the same topics again and again, and they weren't ones I had trouble with - topics like not having sex before marriage and listening to music that sends a good message and obeying your parents and why the Bible says that witchcraft is wrong. These are all wonderful topics, of course, but growing up in a Christian community, I'd heard them all before.

So I subscribed to Brio and Beyond, thinking it would have more meat. Brio and Beyond has a bit more depth, help in places that I had wondered about, but not much. There isn't any more "Are You Selfish? Quiz" nonesense, but only rarely do I get a great, helpful article. Occasionally, yes - articles on how to treat a young pregnant friend, how to steer clear of unclean thoughts - but not often.

Bottom line, Brio and Beyond is a good magazine, an alternative to secular teen-oriented magazines, but I would not recommend it to Christian girls who are looking for in-depth Bible studies and many spiritually helpful articles that go past the "basics".

My daughter has been reading this magazine for two years now and we both just think it is the best teen magazine on the market today. I wish there were other publishers that put this much care into providing sound, up lifting and interesting material for teen girls.