New Girl In Town

“I’m not done exploding,” I said. “’Cause you know what, I’m not gonna be this wimp anymore. I’m going to take some control.” 
“How do you plan to do that?” Joy Beth said. 
I looked at her and felt my face collapsing. “I have no idea.” I said.

Book: New Girl in Town ('Nama Beach High) by Nancy Rue, Zondervan Publishers, 2003

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 13-19

Subjects: Trust in God, friendship, dating relationships, relationships with parents, suicide

Summary: Control. Laura Duffy has very little of it and is very sick of not having it. Her parents up and move her to this new town, stick her in a new school, keep up a perfect 4.0 GPA, be a free babysitter for her little sister every single day, and be completely ok with all of this. When she finds herself in the counselor’s office for hitting a girl with a backpack when she accidentally found herself in the middle of a fight, she makes a choice to start fighting for some more control of her life. But that’s not gonna be an easy thing, and when circumstances spiral even more out of control, she’s not sure it’s even possible and isn’t entirely sure she even wants to live anymore.

Notes: This story is all about control and surrender. Laura Duffy gets so fed up with her life she willingly starts talking to the school counselor in an attempt to get some control. The counselor is a Christian, who, when she discovers Laura is as well, offers Biblical suggestions to her and teaches her to listen for God’s voice and learn how to surrender control to Him. At first, this advice only frustrates her all the more. She even tries the boyfriend route at the advice of a new friend. But her desperation for control even messes that up. She attempts to do the listening thing like her counselor suggests, but can’t even do that and until she reaches complete breaking point, she isn’t willing to surrender control to God. When she does her counselor says she has learned one of the “keys of her secret power”. This is the first in a beautiful, amazing four book series and Duffy learns more “keys” to power, all focused on following God wholeheartedly.

Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

John 15:5 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.