"Roadside Assistance" by Amy Clipston

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9876077-roadside-assistance

Sunday, August 28

Dear Mom,

Today Dad and I went to church for the first time since your funeral.  It was gut-wrenching to walk into that sanctuary.  I couldn't help but remember the day we said our last good-byes to you.  What made it even more difficult was that we sang your favorite hymn.

I keep thinking of your strong faith.  I still don't understand how you maintained your relationship with God up until your last days.  How did you do it, Mom?  How did you continue to talk to God and invite him into your heart even though you knew you weren't going to make it?

(Clipston, page 83-84)

Sometimes, life gets tough.  Things happen, and we don't understand why.

This happens to Emily, when her mother dies much too soon and Emily's world is shaken upside down.  Hospital bills force Emily and her father to sell their home and move in with Emily's wealthy aunt.

One other thing.

Emily loves cars.  Working under the hoods of old cars is how Emily usually processes her problems, but her aunt disapproves of Emily's un-lady-like passion.

In Roadside Assistance, you can follow Emily's healing, both in faith and love.

Praise for Roadside Assistance
(Award list provided on Amy Clipston's website page for the book, Roadside Assistance)

• 2011 National Readers' Choice Awards - Finalist
• 2012 Golden Quill Award Finalist
• 2012 Winter Rose Contest - 2nd Place in the YA Category
• 2012 Southern Magic Writers' Group Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence Contest - Finalist
• 2012 Volusia County Romance Writers' Laurel Wreath Contest - 3rd Place Inspirational Category

What other teens think about this book:

•  At first, I read this book because I really liked the cover.  After reading it, I'm so glad I did.  Emily's hurting and healing in faith is very emotional. - Jessica N., 17

See Roadside Assistance in Salina Public Library's Catalog:

• Roadside Assistance in book format

See Roadside Assistance on Goodreads.com


zondervan.  (2012, March 6).  Roadside Assistance - Amy Clipston [Video File].  Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlKwkVgb-ww


Clipston, Amy.  Roadside Assistance. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011.  Print.  ISBN-9780310719816, paperback, USD $.9.99.

"Faking Faith" by Josie Bloss

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10752154-faking-faith

Dylan did the thing that girls always swear not to do.

Dylan let a guy come between her and her two best friends.

Things for Dylan quickly fall apart when her so-called-boyfriend cheats on her and then circulates compromising pictures of Dylan around school.

Dylan's world is turned upside down by the "sexting" incident, and her parents are too busy to help much.

She soon stumbles upon a blog of homeschooled fundamentalist Christian girls and immediately is drawn into a world nothing like her own.

Hope chests?  Chaperoned courtships?  Wifely submission?

Whoa.

Desperate for a new beginning, Dylan weaves a lie, joining the blog under the alter-ego "Faith," and begins blogging as a fellow devout and wholesome fundamentalist Christian gal.

Dylan is forced to choose.  Come clean?  Or continue living a lie.



What other teens think about this book:

• I couldn't stop crying.  It wasn't sad or anything, it was the fact that it was wonderful and inspiring.  I loved the book.  -Jackie H., 14

Praise for Faking Faith

• A Junior Library Guild Selection

See Faking Faith in Salina Public Library's Catalog:

• Faking Faith in book format

See Faking Faith on Goodreads.com



Bloss, Josie.  Faking Faith.  Woodbury, Minnesota: Flux, 2011.  Print.  ISBN-9780738727578, paperback, USD $9.95.

"Nothing But Drama" by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/712218.Nothing_But_Drama

Meet Camille, Angel, Jasmine, and Alexis.

Camille is annoyed because she is forced to join a church youth group after hiding her boyfriend from the police.

Angel heads to the church hoping to find safety and an answer for the secret that has kept her frightened.

Jasmine is tough as nails.

Alexis comes from a wealthy family, and is loved by society.

The four girls are part of a youth group lead by a woman named Rachel, who challenges them to always honor their parents and to adopt a new outlook on life.

Grow with the four girls on their journey to finding friendship with one another while discovering their faith.

Nothing But Drama is the first book in an awesome series by ReShonda Tate Billingsley.

ReShonda Tate Billingsley has written a ton of other great inspirational teen fiction books.  Click here to see her teen book section on her webpage.




See Nothing But Drama in Salina Public Library's Catalog:

• Nothing But Drama in book format

See Nothing But Drama on Goodreads.com



Billingsley, ReShonda Tate.  Nothing But Drama.  New York: Pocket Books, 2006.  Print.  ISBN-1416525602, paperback, USD $9.95.

"Premiere" by Melody Carlson

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6764252-premiere

Premiere is the first book in  Melody Carlson's series "On the Runway," and features Erin Forrester and her sister, Paige.  They've just been offered their own fashion-themed reality T.V. show, and Paige can't wait to be in front of the camera.

Erin, however, prefers to be behind it.  Filming. 

Erin is a new Christian and is faced with being true to herself and her faith amidst the chaos of reality T.V. and a sister who doesn't understand Erin's faith.

Here is an awesome video about what Erin and Page face in Premiere:

See what other teens think about this book:

• This book had a slow start, but I ended up laughing and crying along with the girls. - Kelly B., 17

See Premiere in Salina Public Library's Catalog:

• Premiere in book format

See Premiere on Goodreads.com




zondervan. (2012, March 8). On the Runway [Video File]. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRwdsiT9uBY



Carlson, Melody.  Premiere. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2010. Print. ISBN-9780310717867, paperback, USD $9.99.

"Jinx" by Meg Cabot

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/207684.Jinx

Ever had a day where NOTHING goes right?  Something breaks, you fall in front of your crush, you spill all over yourself at school...

Well for Jinx, every day is like that.  Being unlucky is is kind of her thing.

Jean is so unlucky that her entire family calls her Jinx.

Jinx moves from Iowa to live with her aunt and uncle in Manhattan in a very swanky house.  She's thrilled at first, hopeful that he luck will start improving.

Her cousin, Tory, has been practicing witchcraft and is convinced that Jinx also has "the gift." Legend of witchcraft that has been rumored about in their family for generations among the family's women.  Jinx recognizes the dark magic Tory practices and refuses her cousin's invitation to join Tory's coven.

Tory and her friends couldn't be more different from Jinx, and things quickly become tense between the two cousins.  To make matters worse, Tory is convinced that Jinx is trying to seduce Tory's crush and next-door neighbor, Zach.

Tory's behavior grows far more sinister than anything Jinx could have imagined.



Here's a video of Meg, talking about her "writing process" on a typical day.  Maybe writing is in your future, too!

Check out Meg's website, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter!


See Jinx in Salina Public Library's catalog:

• Jinx in book format
• Jinx in audiobook format (CD)

See Jinx on Goodreads.com

MegginCabot.  (2011, October 3).  A Day in the Life of Meg Cabot [Video File].  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obwic2exbwI

Cabot, Meg.  Jinx.  New York: HarperTeen, 2007.  Print.  ISBN-9780060837648 ; hardback; USD $16.99.