Carter House Girls

This part of the post has been removed.

Mixed Bags by Melody Carlson is the first book in the Carter House Girls series. DJ's grandmother, a former supermodel, has opened up her large Victorian home to five other girls in hopes of turning them all into debutantes. DJ is au naturel: no make-up, hair tucked up in a baseball cap, and completely ignorant of designer labels. So sharing her home and even room with girls who look like they stepped off of the pages of Vogue does a number on her self-esteem. Taylor and Eliza and beautifully dressed and self-assured. Kriti is a lovely Indian girl who wants to go far academically. Rhiannon and Casey are Grandma Carter's charity cases. Rhiannon has come to faith in spite of her mother's drug addiction. Casey's parents believe she's in need of an intervention with the safety pins through her eyebrows and Goth style make-up. Throwing all of these girls into one house ensures plenty of drama and clashing personalities. I am thoroughly impressed with Zondervan's willingness to attack real teenage issues head on. Some of these girls are sexually active, one smokes, some drink; these are not your stereotypical Christian fiction teens. They break the rules and each other without a second thought. But Carlson gives each girl a real personality with quirks and failings. We see events primarily though DJ's eyes, and she struggles with figuring out who she is and want she really wants, just like every other real world teen. This promising introduction to the series definitely leaves the reader wanting more.

Stealing Bradford by Melody Carlson is the second book in the Carter House Girls series. The personalities of the girls have been well established in the first book, now we get to see how they react to high school. Rhiannon and long time boyfriend Bradford seem perfect for each other until Taylor sets her sights on him, setting up the title of the book. When they split up, all of the other girls of Carter House set their sights on bringing Taylor down. Taylor is an over-the-top witch with a b, but as DJ spends more time with her, her vulnerability begins to show through, and it forces DJ to step forward in her faith. DJ's growing faith is refreshing and makes a nice addition to the series. Because she didn't grow up in a Christian home, everything about Christianity is new to her, and some of the toughest lessons for teens (or anyone): judge not, lest ye be judged, and love your neighbors and your enemies are struggles for her. My one disappointment for this book was the ending. Having recently read I Heart Bloomberg, I was surprised to find that Carlson had used an almost identical plot device in that book. While the two books have different audiences, it's not a good practice for an author.

A Good and Happy Child

It's tough being the mother of a 13-year-old girl. Molly who is absolutely lovely and very thin regularly spends time picking herself apart and thinking she's fat. She'll come in and complain about the size of her thighs or the curls in her hair. I try to reassure her, but I feel like my words fall on deaf ears. She compares herself to her size 1 and 3 friends and thinks that at size 5, she's too big. If it's not her weight that she's worried about, it's being labeled as a prep. This is such a tough age for girls. They compare themselves to each other and always come up lacking somehow. Molly's curls are the envy of other girls, while she wants nothing more than stick straight hair. I don't know how to reassure her when she thinks that nothing I say bears any weight because I'm her mother and always think she's beautiful. I mentioned it last week, but I can't help but tout it again. She's writing a blog, and I'm impressed with how smart it is. While she may lack in punctuation and capitalization (I'm a mom, I can't help but notice), I enjoy reading about her take on current songs and how they relate to her life and friends.

I witnessed the power of prayer today. We've all been praying for Mia and her arthritis. I even put in a request for prayers on Lisa Samson's blog. Today was Mia's first check up since her diagnosis. The doctor said he's never seen a recovery like hers, and he believes that she's already gone into remission. We'll keep her on the medicine another three months, and she's still thriving the way she has been, he'll take her off of it and see how she does. She went from being unable to ever straighten her right leg to running with ease and completely straightening it without pain. Praise God!

A Good Happy Child by Justin Evans is a literary thriller about George Davies and his forgotten past. George should be happy, he loves his wife and newborn son, but instead he's visiting a psychologist because he is unable to touch the baby. He watches his son with fear that grows into panic attacks and causes tension in his marriage. George starts journalling his childhood encounter with a psychologist, and as the story unfurls on the pages, his life quickly spirals downward. After Little George's father dies, he starts seeing visions of a doppleganger and hearing voices whispering the secret of his father's death. The past and the present collide in George's son. Evans has a way with words that draws the reader into strong empathy with George. He describes he and his wife after an argument as bumper cars with road rage. The empathy only grows as young George faces nightmare after catastrophe. You can't help but ache for this child trying to cope with grief and loss. Three friends of his father's encourage George to believe that the visions he's seeing are demons. The friends come across as "true believers" with every frightening connotation associated with that term. I ricocheted between believing George's account of the action and not trusting him at all. Evans manages to make this dizzying tale work right up to the final powerful image. Don't read this book alone or late at night; once you start, you can't put it down!

I'm struggling with my nightly devotional time. I'm in the middle of Exodus in the midst of the details for the construction of the Tabernacle, and I know that soon after comes Leviticus with the many, many rules. Between this and sludging through My Utmost for His Highest, I'm finding very little joy in my reading. How do I make it through all of the rules and detailed construction and find meaning in it for my life?