Caroline Paul started life shy and scared. Then she decided she didn't want to be that way. So she did something about it. Actually, she did a lot of things about it.

As a kid, she built a raft from milk cartons and floated on it down a river. As a teenager, she climbed to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. As an adult, she became a firefighter. She also helped save a climber from a crevasse on Denali, dove for a corpse in San Francisco Bay, and qualified for the U.S. national luge team.

In short, she's exceptional. But she wants adventurous females to be the norm. Hence The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure (Bloomsbury USA, 2016), the bulk of which is devoted to Paul's daring exploits. Using vivid descriptions that get your heart pumping, Paul writes with wit and self-deprecating humor about how she survived one daunting situation after another.

Throughout the book are empowering quotes from female explorers, mini-profiles of women who accomplished spectacular feats, and tips on how to change a bike tire, find the North Star, and visualize success.

Paul's exuberant prose is made even better by Wendy MacNaughton's charming illustrations, which help place us in the adrenaline-fueled scenes.

An adventure tome, field manual, journal, and self-help book all in one, Gutsy makes an excellent gift for girls graduating elementary school, though it's a good read for anyone. The book aims to help young women widen their comfort zone, face fear, and manage insecurity. Paul advocates "microbravery"—pushing yourself just beyond your limit—and details how to confront sexism and break big goals into smaller steps.

The girl in your life might start reading this in her bedroom, but don't be surprised if she finishes it atop a mountain.