Published by: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Number of Pages: 144
How I got this book: ARC from Thomas Nelson as part of blog tour
My rating: 5/5
Amazon Summary:
"Grow with the spirited, sometimes awkward, but always charming Lily as she learns what real beauty is.
In this fun, entertaining story, readers meet awkward sixth grader Lily Robbins who, after receiving a compliment about her looks from a woman in the modeling business, becomes obsessed with her appearance and with becoming a model. As she sets her sights on winning the model search fashion show, she exchanges her rock and feather collection for lip gloss, fashion magazines, and a private "club" with her closest friends. But when the unthinkable happens the night before the fashion show, Lily learns a valuable lesson about real beauty."
My review:
First, a big thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book and providing a copy of the book for giveaway! Also, thank you to author Nancy Rue for visiting and for posting on my blog!
Lily is a character that most girls can relate to in some way. It is a rarity to make it to middle school without reaching middle school without feeling insecure about yourself at some point. Lily, unfortunately, is one that is uncomfortable in her own skin because she feels like a "giraffe" and has frizzy orange hair and is all around awkward. Even her own family teases her. But then one day, a lady from a modeling agency visits her school to talk about beauty secrets, and makes Lily feel better about her looks. She even tells her she could be model material!
Her family allows her to take modeling classes somewhat hesitantly - they are hestiant, because they are not sure that modeling is an activity where she will find God. However, Lily uses what she learns from modeling to help her fellow "awkward" friends at school to find their inner beauty and confidence. And she discovers that her mentor and modeling coach, Kathleen, is also a Christian, and she teaches Lily about "God-confidence."
I loved this book! Like I said, young girls will really relate to Lily and will hopefully gather some wisdom from this delightful story. My 11 year old daughter read it after I did, and she devoured it almost all in one sitting! Her comments - "You don't need make up to be pretty, because God made you the way you are. All you need is God confidence!"
And now I welcome Nancy Rue, author of over 110 book, including The Lily series to my blog. She is here to talk about our heroine, Lily!
“How
I Met Lily”
By
Nancy Rue
Author
of more than 100 books, including the Lily series
Lily Robbins, of my Lily series, was “born” back in 1998 at the
request of Women of Faith founder Stephen Arterburn who wanted to start a Young
Women of Faith Library. “I’d like to see a series about an eleven-year-old girl
named Lily,” was the direction I was given. And it was all the direction I
apparently needed because almost immediately, a gangly, precocious mini-woman
with out-of-control red hair came into my heart and stayed there. I only had to
listen to find out that everyone else in her family had a “thing”—a passion
that defined them—but she was just sixth-grader Lily who had one best friend
and was the brunt of every joke class clown Shad Shifferdecker could think up.
She was bright, well-spoken, and wasn’t afraid to remind absurd little creep
boys that they weren’t just breaking the rules—they were demolishing them. What
self-respecting middle school smart alec could resist that? I knew that once
Lily found her “thing” she would go at it 150%, as tween girls so often do, and
that she would form a close group of friends (the Girlz Only Club) who would be
right in there with her. But I also knew that it was going to take several
growing-up years for Lily to discover who she truly was. That meant that each
fiction book could star Lily in a new role—aspiring fashion model in book one,
developing doctor in book two, and so on.
But early on I decided that since
Lily’s fellow mini-women were going through many of the same things that Lily
was enduring (such as a new interest in appearance, a changing body, and issues
with peers), they might benefit from a non-fiction book to accompany each of
the fiction titles. I wanted those books to be interactive and fun with plenty
of concrete material that would help readers navigate the tween years.
What delighted me the most about
the Lily project was that I was free to show Lily’s spiritual development along
the way and to be even more upfront about that in the non-fiction books. Kids
in the formative 8-to-12 age range are no longer just coloring pictures of
Noah’s Ark in Sunday school; they’re discovering that they can have their own
relationship with God and they have questions about how that works and what it
means in their young lives. My greatest joy in writing these books has been
receiving emails and letters that say things like, “I never knew exactly how to
pray until I started a ‘Talking To God Journal’ like Lily did,” and “Lily shows
me how to be a Christian in school without, like, preaching to people.”
I couldn’t be more jazzed that the
Lily Series is getting a new face and an opportunity to reach yet another
generation of mini-women. I’m in touch with Lily’s fans on my blog, “Tween You
and Me” as well as on my website – www.nancyrue.com
– and through mother/daughter events where we spend an afternoon working
through some of Lily’s—and the daughters’—biggest tween challenges. I so
appreciate this chance to talk to you, the moms and dads who have challenges of
your own in raising your precious daughters in a very tough society. Blessings
on all you do.
In God for your girls,
Nancy Rue
And now for a chance to win your own copy of this adorable book! If you win, Thomas Nelson will send you a paperback copy of your very own! Just check out the rafflecopter widget below...
a Rafflecopter giveaway
1 comments:
Yay! I won! what a wonderful surprise! My soon to be 10 year old daughter and I will enjoy this book together!
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