Open Your Heart

Sierra was sure that if she were traveling with her mom instead of Marti, this whole embarrassing mess never would have happened. Mrs. Jensen would have liked Alex immediately. Sierra just knew her mom would understand if she had to bend the rules a pinch to get around Marti, the tyrant. That if, if Sierra ever had the opportunity to bend those rules.

Book: Open Your Heart (The Sierra Jensen Series #7)by Robin Jones Gunn, Bethany House Publishers, 1997

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 14-19

Subjects: Friendships, Relationships with family, Dating relationships, Growing up

Summary: A sudden trip to Switzerland with Christy should be a dream come true for Sierra, but the one taking them on this trip is Christy’s Aunt Marti and that changes the whole picture. Marti is not only not a Christian, but is opposed to Christianity and doesn’t appreciate it in either of the girls. And she has a secret from her past, a secret that makes her crabby and even downright angry or rude. When a cute guy Sierra’s age shows interest in her and turns out to be a godly young man walking with the Lord, Sierra is extremely attracted to him. But he’s a stranger and Aunt Marti wants the girls to have nothing to do with him! With her purity standards, Sierra is wondering how wise it is to pursue this young man anyway. Christy encourages her to keep her heart open – not give away her purity, but also not discount relationships God puts in her path. Now if only Aunt Marti will give Sierra a chance to do that!

Notes: Sierra Jensen was introduced in the last book of the Christy Miller series and this is the one of twelve books about her story. Seventh in the Sierra Jensen series, Open Your Heart focuses on two different directions with two different characters being encouraged to open their hearts. The first of course is Sierra being encouraged to be open to relationships without giving away her purity, even emotional purity. The second though is Aunt Marti being encouraged to open her heart to God and let Him heal the pain from her past. She believes her tragedies to be God’s way of affirming His judgment and unwillingness to forgive her. She is the example of the character who will not open her heart and lives a life wallowing in anger and pain as a result.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

1 Peter 4:8 – Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.