The List by Siobhan Vivian

Nobody knows who writes "The List" each year. The Tradition has been passed on for years. The week before Homecoming "The List" appears with the names of the ugliest and the prettiest girls in each grade. Nobody has ever claimed to have written "The List." Years before the seal of the school was stolen and is used to officially emboss "The List." Each year it is passed on to someone else in secret. That person doesn't know who was the list maker before them, but then it is their turn to make "The List."

For the 8 girls on The List life changes dramatically during the week before Homecoming. This year Bridget Honeycutt is chosen as The Prettiest for the junior class. Immediately the pressure is on Bridget to look her best. This manifests in an eating disorder that she thought had been put behind her over the summer. But she is determined to fit into that smaller dress size by the end of the week. Jennifer Briggis becomes the first four-peat girl as ugliest. Her former best friend Margo was chosen as prettiest which puts her in the top running for Homecoming Queen. When Sarah finds her name on the ugliest list she is determined to fight back. She decides to not bathe for the entire week much to the disgust of the student body that have to be in classes with her. Each girl handles their fame or rejection in her own way, unfortunately letting The List change them whether for positive or negative. With one girl determined that this will be the last List EVER.

My Thoughts:

There were a few things that I disliked about this story. The cursing, the sexual situations, and the drinking/smoking. BUT, I think the story brought out a lot of how fragile young adult self-image can be. And then to have their flaws or assets brought out in public like "The List," how damaging it can be even to the most put-together teen. This was not a "feel-good" story, it didn't end with everyone experiencing their "happily ever after." High school is messy, egos and self-image are fragile and the author was able to show that in this story. And there were moments when friendships and relationships weathered the storm which made the story more palatable for me.

My Beautiful Daughter: What it Means to be Loved by God by Tasha K. Douglas

From the Publisher:  

Sometimes you need a Father's Hug.

Tasha Douglas offers an inspirational message of hope and love for girls in a powerful new FaithGirlz book, MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER: What It Means to Be Loved by God(Zonderkidz; $8.99; April 2012).

Tasha Douglas, author of the acclaimed Sistershout! shares a special message with tween girls who yearn for the gentle embrace of a father. As the number of children growing up without fathers continues to increase, this book teaches girls that whether or not they have a father who lives with them, they can always count on their heavenly Father.

Having grown up without her father, Douglas remembers feelings of rejection and low self-worth as a child. Not until she was married did she realize, through her husband's relationships with their daughters, the beauty and strength of the father-daughter bond.

"I secretly wished that I could bottle up their experiences and give them to every fatherless girl in the world," Douglas reflects.

That's why she's made it her mission to remind young girls that Father God will always be there to give them unconditional adoration, support, guidance, and affection, who will help them pave their way through life. With journal prompts, prayer, praise, and scripture, MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER will show girls a Father who wants to know them and can help them realize how special they are.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tasha Douglas is the author of Sistershout! And she firmly believes in the transformative power of stories. She lives in Texas with her husband and four children.



MY THOUGHTS:

Using different scenario's in the life of a young girl named Briana, Tasha Douglas uses these stories to help young girls see their worth in God's eyes. The book was just "okay" for me in that I had a hard time with the author stating that Jesus Christ was like our older brother. I understand her reasoning in that God is Christ's father and we are all God's children so therefore Christ would be like a brother. It just seemed that it demoted Christ's holiness to that of a brother to me.  I also found that the book got a bit wordy. What I mean is that I don't think that it would keep a young girls attention for very long, it got preachy and rambling in parts. What I liked about the book was that each chapter had a space for reflection with a prompt that would help a young girl apply what was learned in the chapter. Also I liked the prompts for praise and prayer at the end of each section. My recommendation for this book would be that as a parent go through it together with your daughter that way you can discuss it. Marketed as juvenile fiction, I would go more along the lines of non-fiction/devotional