New Girl In Town
Written by: Nancy N. Rue
Published by: Zondervan
Date Published: February 2004
Number of Pages: 176, Paperback
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Christian Chick-lit
Summary: Book one in a new StudentWare fiction series for mid-teens that deals with the challenges, problems, and excitement of becoming young women of faith. -When Laura Duffy’s family moves to Satellite Beach, Florida, she feels out of place as a junior at the high school where her good grades mark her as a nerd. Mrs. Isaacsen, a school counselor, invites Laura to join a weekly group for "conflicted" girls. There she gets to know Michelle (a sophisticated sophomore), Joy Beth (a super athlete), KJ (a freshman with an attitude), and Celeste (a junior who’s friends with every hunk in the school). The girls form a bond, and as various things happen in their busy lives, they learn to use Mrs. Isaacsen’s "secret keys" as a means for coping. (-from the back cover)
Review:
I was really excited to find more Christian Chik-lit that is actually Christian! So many put that title on their books but they still get away with adding so much junk in their novels. While the events that happen in this book aren't like anything that has ever happened to me, I really enjoyed it.
Rating:
4 stars
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False Friends and True Stranger
Written by: Nancy N. Rue
Published by: Zondervan
Date Published: February 2004
Number of Pages: 192, Paperback
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Christian Chick-lit
Summary: In this second book of the ‘Nama Beach High series, Laura Duffy and her friends from the "conflicted" girls club discover a "secret" text hidden within John 16. Laura has a chance to experience the truth of this secret when she gets her driver’s license, starts a new job at the local Gap store, then observes kids from her school in the act of shoplifting, and even suffers the theft of her car. Worst of all, her friend Joy Beth, who seems to possess everything in life, develops diabetes. Together the girls realize that possessing things sometimes leads to being possessed by them.... (-from the back cover)
Review:
I was able to relate to this book a little bit more than the first one. I couldn't wait to figure out what happened next and recommend this series to teen girls out there looking for fun, clean reads. I can't wait to see what books 3 and 4 bring!
Rating:
4 stars
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A Curse As Dark As Gold
Written by: Elizabeth C. Bunce
Published by: Arthur A. Levine Books
Date Published: March 2008
Number of Pages: 400, Hardcover
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy,
Summary: '"If you'll allow me to demonstrate, I do think I could be of some help to you here." I smiled tightly. "You'd have to be able to make gold appear from thin air to be much help to us now, I'm afraid."...'
After her father’s death, Charlotte and her younger sister, Rosie, take over the family business, a mill shadowed by a curse that goes back generations. Charlotte gives little credence to superstition, but when they can’t pay the mortgage on the mill, Rosie conjures up Jack Spinner, an odd little man who promises them that he will spin a roomful of straw into gold—for a price. Despite an uncle who apparently wants to help the girls and a suitor who will do anything he can for Charlotte, her secret agreement with Spinner creates a vortex that threatens to destroy everything she holds dear. Set in England during the early days of the Industrial Revolution, the novel combines elements of fantasy and historical fiction with a love story between two strong-minded individuals. (-from Fantasticfiction.com and Amazon.com)
Review:
For fairytale lovers out there, this is an amazing retelling of Rumpelstilskin! It was a little creepy (the original story is very strange) and had some superstition in it but I really appreciated the whole book.
Rating:
4 stars
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Impossible
