Month: October 2015

Recently, God’s been teaching me this: you can’t read everything. When you’re a kid, your parents are usually happy that you read. Monitoring your reading list is not always high on their list. Or you grow up with a mom like mine who monitors everything. And when everything is monitored, as soon as you get older, you read everything.

It’s easy to think and say, ‘Well I’m grown, I can read anything I want.’ But lately God has been teaching me you can’t.

As you know I’m a huge fantasy reader, which leads me to books with all kinds of magical systems and sometimes into paranormal fiction. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve read a book and my spirit was disturbed. You can’t read everything.

This goes to romance too. It’s hard, sometimes, to figure out which romance novels are clean and which ones aren’t…but not too hard. You can usually tell by the language of the book how the characters think…and you can’t read everything.

Words, especially for book people means something. I learn through the written word more than any other way. And when you read you spend a lot of time in someone else’s thoughts and that stuff can get in your spirit. So, word of advice: be careful what you read, because you can’t read everything.

Anyone else know what I’m talking about? Share!

Like many elite private schools, Madison High has a legacy steeped in traditions, none of which revolve around learning. Survival is simple: keep your head down, don’t say a word, and never question school royalty. Cody James, a former victim of Madison’s vicious brand of hazing, wants nothing more than to graduate without breaking the unspoken rules that could land him back in social exile. Cody has breached the elusive inner circle, and he has no intention of losing his hard-earned security. But a beautiful new student shakes up his plan to coast by and causes him question his role as sidekick to the king of the school. As the only daughter of rock legend Donnie Wyld, Skylar has been homeschooled her entire life. Now she wants normal, and she hopes that Madison High will offer her an escape from her father’s deteriorating health. She never intended on catching the eye of the school’s self-elected king or falling for his confusing best friend. But one look at Cody James, and she is drawn in by his guarded vulnerability. When an average Friday night party turns into a nightmare, Cody is forced to make a decision—fight or follow. But standing up for the bullied and broken means facing a past he’s long buried and risking the future he’s worked so hard to achieve.

Review

I was so excited about this book because I LOVED Mercy’s Fight. Let me tell you, this book did not disappoint. My thoughts:

What I liked:

The atmosphere. I will confess, I read a ton of secular YA novels….and I read a ton of Christian YA novels. There is always a marked difference in the feel of the novels. And I liked that this one felt secular. Why? Because we live in a secular world. When Jesus is introduced in this novel it feels authentic instead of contrived. And so with that said, there is talk of sex, alcohol, and partying from teens (and two cases of minor swearing which I’m not sure the book needed).

Cody. I loved Cody from the first page. I understood his frustrations, his joys, his defeats and his victories. He was easily my favorite person.

The romance. Due to a certain situation it had this forbidden aspect to it that made it kind of exciting. Usually, I don’t care for insta-love and while there isn’t insta-love here, Cody is instantly smitten with Skylar. But it worked for me, because they didn’t come together right away.

Spiritually, there is this beautiful theme of forgiveness and how it sets you free.

What I didn’t like:

Some decisions Skylar made. That girl was going through, and frankly she shouldn’t have been trying to date anyone but because she was, I felt like she was often bogus to Cody. I understood where she was coming from (and like I said she had a lot on her plate), but at times she felt self-centered.

Romantic Scale: 8.5

Overall, I so enjoyed it and well worth the wait!.