B Is For Bad At Getting Into Harvard

I closed my eyes. He guffawed.

“That isn’t going to hide it,” he said. “It’s etched in my brain.”

“What is?”

“How much you’re hurting.”

He said it softly, huskily. So much I could feel myself blushing again. This was nothing something I was accustomed to. I dug full bore into the fried rice.

“If you can’t admit it, then you’re not following my rules,” he said.

“I admit it,” I said into the container. Everything that used to be important to me is starting to melt down into whole different vision for the future. It’s scary, it’s confusing, it’s definitely against my father’s rules.”

Book: "B" Is for Bad at Getting into Harvard (Raise the Flag) by Nancy Rue, Waterbrook Press, 1998

 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 13+

Subjects: Cheating, Honesty, Stress, Family Relationships, Dating Relationships, Friendship

Summary: Cheating. Is it really that big of a deal? When you take into consideration the fact that everyone is doing it and the teachers aren’t really doing anything about it, the fact that parents expect academic success, or rather academic perfection in Norrie’s case, and the fact that the teachers are crazy hard on them, it seems like maybe cheating shouldn’t be such a big deal. Yet, it feels like a very big deal to Norrie. She’s not the same person she once was. Her relationship with God compels her to act honestly. There’s a price for not participating in the cheating ring though. Norrie’s refusal to do so is getting her into a world of trouble. She longs for some peace, some relief from the pressure but it seems there is none to be found. And if her grades drop, lack of peace at home is a guarantee.

Notes: Second in the Raise The Flag series, this book tells the story of Norrie. In the first book six girls show up for See You At The Pole and begin to form a friendship and prayer group. Each book in the series tells the story of one of the girls as well as continuing the overall story of each of the characters. In this book Norrie, who became a Christian at camp last summer, has to learn what it means to walk with God. Her conscience has started to get to her enough for her to know what NOT to do, but finding out what to do instead is hard. She struggles to find what a devotional time looks like for her as opposed to other friends. And she struggles to figure out how to follow God when her actions upset everyone around her, particularly her dad who has extremely high expectations for her. The spiritual elements are woven throughout the entire story. I highly recommend this book as well as the others in the series.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Romans 12:1-2 – Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.