What do You think about Becoming Me (2000)?
I loved this book. I picked it up at the library and almost put it back until I saw it had christian stuff in it. Then I was like "heck yes I'll read it!" Because I'm a christian and a believer in Jesus. So... it's written to be like a diary of a sixteen year old girl named Catlin. She is struggling to fit in with the popular kids in school. So she starts to put on an act, and pretends she's something she's not just so everyone will like her. Then when her parents start to get into marriage problems she stars getting into trouble at parties and other things. Then a friend invites her to a church youth group. She learns about Jesus and she finally accepts the Lord into her heart. Suddenly drastic changes start happening in her life. Her parents get back together. And she is filled with peace and joy. She decides she doesn't need to act for the kids at school any more. And she is more happy that way. But not everything is fixed... her best friend is having a major problem with her boyfriend and sex. Also Catlin is having trouble with deciding if it's a good idea to date or not. I think this was an awesome book for teen girls and I think every one should read it.(Of course OLDER teenage girls. I'm 14 and I think even I was a bit too young for this.)*GOOD*It shows Catlin in the situation a lot of teens are in these days. It shows how Catlin was able to fix problems and over come sadness and trial. It also tells about how much she was changed by Jesus and how happy it made her. It has good morals and I learned A LOT from this book. It totally changed my POV about dating and sex. I think every teenage girl should read this. But I would not recommend any one 15 or under should read it. *BAD*There was a lot of descriptions of kissing. There were parts were Catlin was at parties with teens drinking alcohol and doing drugs. There was a lot of parts that talk about sex out of marriage.(Although it has this stuff in it, it does show it as sin. And it also shows the consequences for it all later. And how Catlin was able to get through it all with Jesus.)It was written in a special type to make it look as if it was hand written. And the type made it difficult to read.
—Lindsey
This is the perfect book I have always wanted to read! It made me realize that it is a lot more easier to fulfill your promises to yourself by committing yourself to God. :) It made me see how God can make a wonderful impact in our lives by directing us in the right direction, if only we listen to His still, small voice. It's a wonderful feeling to have read another book that narrates how God can make miracles, be it big or small, in one's life. With God, you can truly have the strength to do things that you wouldn't have thought possible before. As Philippians 4:13 goes, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."This is another book that a lot of teenagers could definitely relate with, and probably change a whole lot of their perspective in life, that earthly things are really nothing compared with God for instance.I also love Caitlin's poem for her Dad! It was so thoughtful of her! I was really touched that it actually made me teary-eyed. :')
—Jenelle Morena
Caitlin O'Connor is invisible, at least she feels that way until she is noticed by Jenny, one of the "in crowd" girls. After Jenny befriends Caitlin, she finds that her old best friend doesn't seem to fit in with this new crowd and she starts avoiding her. Big mistake! Caitlin finds out that hanging with the in crowd is much harder than just being herself, there is so much pressure, worrying about what to wear, and if certain people are noticing you (aka boys) the pressure is fierce. Her grades slip, her whole world becomes all about her. And when she finally slows down, she realizes her family is in crisis. Her dad is not coming home, and her mom is crying a lot. A visit to her dad's office reveals there is another woman. OH my word, how does this happen to a family who attends church each week? Caitlin is so angry with her father, all his advise about dating and boys just is filed away as garbage, after all, he is not being true to his marriage vows why should she listen to him? Boys, that is a whole other issue, it would seem her friend Jenny's boyfriend is noticing Caitlin way too much, which is causing issues, and it is bad because Caitlin really likes him. A ski trip with his church youth group finds Caitlin being used, and she doesn't like that, it is time to get serious about life, she cannot go on this way. A new church, and a new youth group is turning out to be the answers she needs, but tragedy strikes in the form of a school shooting, costing the new youth pastor his life. Will everything ever go back to normal? A great book about the issues teens deal with. This book really addresses the deep things concerning dating, relationships and sex. A good read for all teen girls. 4 stars!This book was provided for review purposes only by Glass Roads Media Group, no payment was received for this review.
—Cindy
