Category Archives: Young Adult/Teen 12-18

Review: Tattooed by Jesus by Bonnie Kae Lentz with Patti Lacy and Angie Reedy

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Tattooed by Jesus by Bonnie Kae LentzTattooed by Jesus by Bonnie Kae Lentz
with Patti Lacy and Angie Reedy
CreateSpace

Amazon | Goodreads

Looking back at her life, Bonnie recognizes a hunger for spiritual things. Throughout the course of her mixed up life, she searches for something deeper in relationships with men, experimentation with drugs, and the darker spirit world of the occult. She and her husband Tom journey across the US looking for stability, peace, and hope. Ultimately it is an encounter with Jesus that changes Bonnie’s life forever.

The dark parts of Bonnie’s journey get pretty dark. She’s witnessed some brutal things and though the narrative is gentle, reading the memories evokes deep feeling. Yet it’s a story that so many who … Continue reading →

Why We Need Christian YA

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Why is Christian YA Important?

Some of the answers to this question seem obvious. Evangelism (introducing Christian beliefs to those unfamiliar or searching.) Reinforced values. “Safe” stories without graphic sex, profanity or violence. Those are all important reasons.

I spent a considerable portion of my early teen years figuring out what I believed, why I believed it and what I wanted to do about it. I think this is the case for a lot of people. As a public school kid, I wasn’t surrounded by Christian faculty and curriculum. (For me, I think this was ultimately a good thing, though that’s another story.) I found friends who shared the same moral ideas that I did, though not always the same faith base. (I think this was also ultimately good, but also another story.)

When I read Christian YA featuring characters facing that struggle – the wrestling with faith to craft … Continue reading →

Upcoming Summer Reviews

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Seems like this time of year more than any other, my To Be Read list just explodes. It’s summer time! The perfect time to kick back and read a book or two. Or seven. Maybe thirteen…

Here are just a few of the books I’m most looking forward to this summer:

sirensStorm Siren and Siren’s Fury by Mary Weber

Originally I’d requested to review Siren’s Fury via NetGalley, but as I started reading, I realized book two wasn’t going to be enough. While I could follow the story, I was too interested in the things that happened in book one: in Nym’s dark past, in her romance with Eogan, and in her part in a terrible war. I ordered the … Continue reading →

Review: The Truth Commission by Susan Juby

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The Truth Commission by Susan JubyThe Truth Commission
by Susan Juby
Viking/Penguin Group

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Normandy Pale and her two best friends Dusk and Neil embark on a mission to strip away the insulation around fellow students and teachers’ lives and expose the truth. Rumors abound in their small school of the arts, and the three self-appointed members of the Truth Commission want to get to the bottom of each one. At first, the mission seems pure and helpful, but consequences grow with each truth exposed. Then one confronted student suggests Normandy examine her own life for hidden truths. Normandy reluctantly begins a quest for truth that could tear her fragile family apart, and will force each Truth Commissioner … Continue reading →

Review: Where You End by Anna Pellicioli

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Where You End by Anna PellicioliWhere You End
Anna Pellicioli
Flux

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

For some, grief is a quiet void carefully tiptoed around. For Miriam, it is a raging storm that wakes her in the night, chews through her ability to reason. The hungry, empty space inside her where Elliot used to be. Seeing him with another girl sends her over the edge. Almost before she realizes what she’s done, a priceless statue lies on the ground at her feet. Panicked, Miriam flees the scene. There’s just one problem: a girl as mixed up as she is. One who saw what Miriam did. One who wants something in exchange for her silence.

Miriam’s emotional journey is … Continue reading →

Review: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

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Graffiti Moon by Cath CrowleyGraffiti Moon
by Cath Crowley
Knopf Books for Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

On the last night of her senior year, Lucy and her best friend set out on an adventure. The girls plan to track down Shadow and Poet, a secretive duo who pepper the city with brilliant graffiti and gut-wrenching poetry. Ed, Lucy’s sort-of-ex-boyfriend, wishes she’d see past her prejudices and assumptions. Her obsession with Shadow is sure to lead to disappointment, but it’s like a train wreck from which he can’t look away. As the night progresses, Lucy draws nearer to uncovering the identity of the elusive Shadow, but the closer she gets, the less he seems like the hero she’s built … Continue reading →