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.

Made to Crave For Young Women by Lysa TerKeurst and Shaunti Feldhahn

From the press release:

Made to Crave For Young Women is modeled after TerKeurst's bestselling adult book, Made to Crave. In this new edition, the authors expand beyond the food-related focus of the original, and into all the other areas of craving shared by so many teenage girls. The authors acknowledge that the desire to make wrong choices is common and that most of us share such temptations. But, as TerKeurst writes, "Whether we are talking about guys, friends, food, body image, new clothes, or anything else we abuse to try to fill ourselves, nothing in this world can ever fill us like God's portion."

My Thoughts:

The book discusses three types of cravings--physical, material, and emotional. Each section of the book takes one of these cravings and discusses where we can fall into temptation and sin when we have wrong thinking about each subject. At the end of each chapter is a "takeaway" summary of what was discussed in the chapter. Also there is an action plan that encourages girls to keep a journal and challenges them to act on what they have learned in each chapter. Made To Crave for young women encourages girls to fill their lives with a loving Heavenly Father instead of filling their cravings with physical, material or emotional things. Filled with scriptures, encouragement and practical advice Made To Crave For Young Women can be used as a devotional or study group book. I know I will be passing my copy on to my nieces.

Thanks to Zondervan for my copy for review.

Save The Date by Jenny B. Jones

Lucy Wiltshire runs Saving Grace, a home for girls who have nowhere else to go. Saving Grace is losing it's biggest supporter due to budget cuts. Lucy will do anything to be able to keep a roof over the girls' head.

Alex Sinclair is running for a seat in Congress. Unfortunately he is behind in the polls and in need of something that will boost his ratings. When he and Lucy's paths cross sparks begin to fly.

Lucy cannot stand Alex. They went to school together and Alex never paid attention to Lucy. After all she was a charity case who's mom cleaned homes. Alex was always surrounded by any girl he wanted.

When Alex proposes that they help each other by entering into a sham engagement Lucy is loathe to accept him. But when Alex offers to give the money needed to keep Saving Grace open if Lucy agrees to the plan she cannot turn him down. What she doesn't count on is falling in love with Alex. But will Alex ruin everything by his drive to win the election and push everyone that cares for him away?

I loved the characters of Clare and Julian! Clare had fired Lucy's mother years before and blacklisted her. She has a secret she must reveal to Lucy that will change Lucy's life forever. Julian is Clare's sassy male assistant. These two provide some great comic moments in the story. They are growing in their new faith in the Lord and become wonderful friends to Lucy.

This was a fast read that has humor and yet also deals with serious issues of self-acceptance, forgiveness and love. I enjoyed it very much.