The Amy Stamp of Approval

I got the book for Garrett's cousin this afternoon... and just finished reading it like ten minutes ago! Hey, I don't read nearly enough for someone who is trying to write a book and I thought I might as well jump at the chance to read this book before I gave it away! Anyhow, it is a Christian book for teens and it's in the first of a series, "The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor." It's by Melody Carlson, which is the main reason why I chose this book, as she penned my favorite book as a teenager, Diary of a Teenage Girl (and then it became a whole series, but the first book was the best), and also my current favorite novel, Finding Alice. I'll probably expose Hannah to these books in a couple of years (if she doesn't get into them herself), but didn't feel now was the right time. I also got to the point where I was highly leaning towards Little Women, but when I went to Barnes and Noble today, I remembered the book Bad Connection from my last visit and started to feel drawn towards it, and I decided to trust my gut and get it. Funnily enough, the book is about a girl who receives dreams and visions from God and has to ask a few people to trust in her instincts. Carlson took a part of Christianity that is easily shied away from and misunderstood and handled it wonderfully, and most important Biblically.

There were the beginnings of a budding romance between the main character and a guy, but they were taking things very slowly, which is exactly the kind of message I want Garrett's cousin to get about dating... take it slow. :) Not to mention the main character is almost 17 and this will be her first real boyfriend (I'm assuming they hook up later in the series... knowing Carlson they will). So I heartily approved of this. I also really enjoyed the whole story... it was a little bit suspenseful and I wanted to keep reading it... so I did! It's about a normal girl dealing with the supernatural in a sense, and that seems to be along the same vein of other books Hannah likes, so hopefully she'll like this one... I think she will.