Book Review: Becoming Me by Melody Carlson (Diary of a Teenage Girl, Caitlin #1)

Becoming Me by Melody Carlson (Diary of a Teenage Girl, Caitlin #1)

Publisher: Multnomah

Publish Date: August 10, 2000

Paperback, 256 pages 
Fiction, Young Adult, Christian
 ISBN: 978-1576737354

My Review:
This book may have been published over 10 years ago but there is nothing dated in it.  The same issues that faced girls in this book in 2000 still face them in 2011 (and faced them when I was in high school in the early 1990s as well.

I love Ms. Carlson's books and feel she has crafted another book that will appeal to teenagers.  Caitlin in the beginning of the book is just like any other teenager, questioning rules her parents are giving her, questioning the role of God and religion in her life, which is something she begins to question even more when her life begins to turn upside down.  Then her aunt takes her mom, Caitlin and her brother to a different church where Caitlin meets a youth pastor who is a senior in high school but really gets her thinking.

All of this is written in frank diary entries and in a 6-month period, Caitlin truly deals with a lot, but in the end she really comes out shining.  I like how real her situations were.  I can tell you a lot of the situations were similar to ones I went through except I wish I was more convicted like Caitlin.  I admire how far she comes in her life and her inner strength.  I also admire that she knows that this won't be an easy road.  I look forward to continuing t read Caitlin's story to find out more of what happened with Caitlin, Beanie and their friends as the summer comes around and as their senior years starts.  This series can be a true blessing in a teenager's life while still being and enjoyable book.  It's also a great way for a parent and teenager to discuss issue if you both read it separately.

I find it amazing that Ms. Carlson continues to have her pulse on teenagers like she does and that she was able to make this a timeless story like she did.  Becoming Me is a truly great story of a teenage girls search to find herself and her place in high school without compromising her new found values and beliefs.  I wish we could all be as strong as Caitlin, even as adults.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:
In the fictional Diary of a Teenage Girl, sixteen-year-old Caitlin O'Conner reveals the inner workings of a girl caught between childhood and womanhood ... an empty life without Christ and a meaningful one with Him. Through Caitlin's candid journal entries we see her grapple with such universal teen issues as peer pressure, loyalty, conflict with parents, the longing for a boyfriend, and her own spirituality.

Follow Caitlin O'Conner as she makes her way from New Year's to the first day of summer - surviving a challenging home life, changing friends, school pressures, an identity crisis, and the uncertainties of "true love."

Caitlin experiences heartache, and encounters a new reality in her life: God. See how rejection by one group can - incredibly - sometimes lead you to discover who you really are...

About the Author: 

Melody Carlson published her first book in 1995 and she has been writing prolifically ever since. To date, Melody has published over 200 books, making her one of the top 20 most prolific authors of all time. With total sales of over 1.4 million her award-winning books include: Homeward, Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon; Limelight; the Diary of a Teenage Girl series; the True Colors series; and the Charter House Girls series.

In her professional life, Melody has worn many hats: from pre-school teacher to political activist to senior editor. Currently, she writes full-time, and freelances from her home. She has two grown sons and lives in Sisters, Oregon with her husband, Chris, and Bailey, her chocolate lab. They enjoy skiing, hiking, and biking in the beautiful Cascade Mountains.  

 
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FTC Information: I received this book through Glass Road Public Relations for an honest review.

Teaser Tuesday - October 11

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

He leaned over to kiss me before I got out, but I didn't have the heart for it.  Thinking about him lurking, waiting to be a part of her death put a serious damper on romance.

From The Vision by Jen Nadol

About The Vision


Cassie Renfield knows the mark tells her when someone is going to die and that she can intervene and attempt to change fate. But she still doesn't understand the consequences, especially whether saving one life dooms another. With no family left to offer guidance, Cassie goes in search of others like her. But when she meets Demetria, a troubled girl who seems to have the power of the Fates, Cassie finds the truth isn't at all what she expected. And then there's her heady new romance with bad boy Zander. Dating him has much graver repercussions than she could ever have imagined, forcing Cassie to make choices that cut to the essence of who she is and what she believes.

Book Giveaway: Weight of Stone by Laura Anne Gilman

Thanks to the wonderful Publicity Manager at Gallery Books, Melissa Gramstad I have three weeks of giveaways leading up to the release of The Shattered Vine by Laura Anne Gilman on October 18th.

Last week the publisher gave away Flesh and Fire, the first installment, and the winner was:

 Anita Yancey who I will be notifying later today

I will also have reviews coming up as well as I get my copies of the book.  This week I have the second book in the Vineart War series, Weight of Stone up for grabs.  I received my copies this weekend and I cannot wait to start this series.

Here's a little more about the book:

An island nation has vanished. Men of honor and magic have died unnatural deaths. Slaves flee in terror. . . . Are the silent gods beginning to speak? Or is another force at work in the Lands Vin? Laura Anne Gilman’s critically acclaimed, Nebula Award–nominated Flesh and Fire introduced a brilliantly imagined world where the grapevine—cultivated by the Vinearts who know the secrets of wine magic—holds together disparate lands. Now, confusion, violence, and terror are sweeping over the Lands Vin. And four people are at the center of a storm.

Jerzy, Vineart apprentice and former slave, was sent by his master to investigate strange happenings—and found himself the target of betrayal. Now he must set out on his own journey, to find the source of the foul taint that threatens to destroy everything he holds dear. By Jerzy’s side are Ao, who lives for commerce and the art of the deal; Mahault, stoic and wise, risking death in flight from her homeland; and Kaïnam, once Named-Heir of an island principality, whose father has fallen into a magic-tangled madness that endangers them all.

These four companions will travel far from the earth and the soul of the vine, sailing along coastlines aflame with fear, confronting sea creatures summoned by darkness, and following winds imbued with malice. Their journey will take them to the very limits of the Sin Washer’s reach . . . and into a battle for the soul of the Lands Vin. For two millennia the Sin Washer’s Commandment has kept these lands in order: Those of magic shall hold no power over men and those princes of power shall hold no magic. Now, that law has given way. And a hidden force seeks the havoc of revenge.


So do you want to win it?  It's simple, enter through the Rafflecopter below, all that is required is your name and email.  Open to the US only, the book will come straight from the publisher.  Ends 10/15 at 11:59pm EDT.  Thanks!

Book Review: Lucky Girl by Cate Lord

Lucky Girl by Cate Lord

Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC

Publish Date: September 4, 2011

Paperback, 268 pages 
Fiction, Chicklit, Romance
 ISBN:  978-1937044213

My Review:
I really enjoyed Lucky Girl as pure entertainment.  Jess's exploits from leaving Orlando to returning were highly entertaining and the true essence of classic chicklit to me.  There is humor, self-depreciation, girlfriends, makeovers, great clothes and shoes, friendly pets, good men, bad men, bad women and so much more.  While some plot lines were a little glossed over for me, overall the main plot lines were covered well and the characters rang true.  I loved Jess and her stay true to your girl friend cousins.  I also like Nick who showed himself to be a very good man.

Lucky Girl as I said pretty much has it all.  There are explanations into previous exploits in characters lives to make it obvious why they have acted that way in the past.  There is Jess on vacation who is sure she is going to act different to attract a man and get over her engagement gone bad and her self-esteem that is in the toilet.  And who better to do that with than hot, sexy spy guy, Nick?  Reading Lucky Girl, I want a Nick of my own.  He sounds amazing and so sweet to.  I really liked him as he and Jess begin to fall for each other, he's so sweet.  Of course some of what happens is predictable, but the end is great so that is all that matters, and that part wasn't predictable.

My only qualm was a couple of the story lines became glossed over through the book.  I'm guessing the author ran out of space and eventually they were really backseat to the main story so I understand.  The main story was resolved and I was happy, though I did still wanted to know a few other things, but truly that was my only gripe with the book.  Otherwise I found the book to be a great read.  It read quickly, kept me entertained.  It was sweet, romantic and was just one of those great books that takes you away for the day and romances you and reminds you there are great men out there (and for me reminds me I have one of them).  I loved Jess and Nick's story and look forward to more of Ms. Lord's writing.  There was a definite fun voice to this story and hopefully we'll get to see maybe one or two of the cousins in their own story in the future.

My Rating: 4.25/5.0


About the Book:
Jessica Devlin isn't looking for love. Heartbroken after being dumped by her unfaithful ex-fiancé, she's determined to have a fabulous time during her vacation in England where she'll be maid-of-honor at her cousin's wedding. After working overtime as beauty editor of Orlando's O Tart magazine, avoiding dating, and putting on ten pounds, Jess is ready to toss her past like an empty lipstick tube and party like a single gal.

But when she steps into the church on her cousin's wedding day, she sees the one man who could sabotage her plan:  James-Bond-gorgeous Nick Mondinello. She's never forgotten the London marketing exec who held her in his arms after her beloved grandfather's funeral two years ago. Ambitious, and lusted after by women everywhere, Nick is completely wrong for guarded, Plain Jane Jess.

Could Spy Man Nick ever fall for her? Nope. Not unless Jess is one lucky girl.

About the Author: 

Cate Lord is the contemporary pen name of multi-award-winning historical romance author Catherine Kean. Writing stories as soon as she could wield a pencil, Cate penned her first novella at age twelve and her first full-length manuscript at sixteen.

After completing a B.A., double major (first class), in English and History from the University of Victoria, B.C., Canada, she was accepted into the post-graduate Works of Art Course run by Sotheby's auctioneers in London, England, where she studied centuries of history, antiques, and fine art. During her year abroad, she also met the charming Brit who later became her husband. She worked in Canada for several years as an antique and fine art appraiser.

Her previous novels have garnered numerous accolades, including two Reviewer's Choice Awards and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Her books also finaled in the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the 2008 National Readers' Choice Awards.

Grateful for her wildly active imagination and plenty of story ideas, Cate is busy working on her next book. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking, baking, antiquing, shopping with her daughter, and gardening. She lives in Central Florida with her husband, daughter, and a very spoiled cat.

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FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher for an honest review. 

In My Mailbox - October 10

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. To see this weeks list of participants go here.

Another busy week.  It was made even better when I won a $25 GC to Amazon from Fantasy Cookie.  I promptly spent that on books for my Kindle :)

I received two trilogies that the third book is coming out in the coming weeks from Simon and Schuster.

 The Iron Elves Trilogy by Chris Evans (Ashes of Black Frost releases October 18)

The Vineart Trilogy by Laura Anne Gilman (The Shattered Vine releases October 18)

Some of the other books that have come into my house this week are:

Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh

A Plain and Fancy Christmas by Cynthia Keller
 Burned by Thomas Enger

The Winters in Bloom by Lisa Tucker

The World We Found by Thirty Umbar

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Need You Now by James Grippando (no image yet)

Hospice Tails by Debra L. Stang

The Power of a Praying Wife Devotional by Stormie Omartian

 Dark Eden by Patrick Carman (Amazon Vine)
You Against Me by Jenny Downham (Amazon Vine)
In Too Deep by Amanda Grace (Teen Book Scene tour) 

Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz (win from Chrissy at YA Book of the Day)