It’s My Life

Then in a calm but firm voice, I say, “This is my life and I intend to live it however I feel is right. So you better get used to it.” Now I’m thinking perhaps that last line was uncalled for. But, sheesh, isn’t it the truth?

Book: Diary of a Teenage Girl Series, Caitlin #2: It's My Life by Melody Carlson, Multnomah Publishers, 2001

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 13-19

Subjects: Dating Relationships, Sex, Family Relationships, Salvation, Friendship, Teen Pregnancy, Anorexia

Summary: Does being a Christian mean you just roll over and do what anyone else wants you do? Does it mean you shouldn’t have any fun anymore? I mean, just because her best friend is pregnant doesn’t mean Caitlin should sit around and be miserable with her instead of going to the lake for the weekend or the mall for the afternoon. And just because Josh is aroused by her appearance doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be able to wear the brand new pink bikini she just bought. And just because her parents think college is oh-so-great doesn’t mean she has to do that when she’s thinking of doing missions right out of high school instead. Why can’t anyone just let her live her life the way she wants to?

Notes: Becoming me is the second in the Diary Of A Teenage Girl – Caitlin series. There are 4 separate series in the Diary Of A Teenage Girl sets. This one tells the story of a girl growing up in a semi-Christian, at least religious, home. It starts her story right in the middle of high school and leads her through quite a few challenging situations. Through the course of the first book Caitlin finds out more about Jesus Christ and is able to put her trust in Him for salvation. She also makes some decisions about not having sex before marriage and not dating. In this book Caitlin is now a senior in high school and ready to start making a lot more independent decisions while there seem to be more and more demands on her life. The biggest demand seems to be God Himself. So many times she is tempted to let go of the promises she made to follow Him, abstain from sex until marriage and not date. She’s not the only one facing trials though. One friend is anorexic, one friend is pregnant, one friend has a dad that just assumes his daughter will cook and clean for him leaving him to take no responsibility for himself, two friends have mothers so bad it’s just not healthy for them to live at home anymore, a classmate she is parenting with on a school project is declaring himself an atheist. Caitlin has to learn how to help and show God’s love without taking on responsibility for their problems herself. Most of all it just shows an ordinary teenage girl facing things that many many many other teenage girls face and shows how she learns to turn to Christ to figure out how to deal with them. I highly recommend the five books in the Caitlin set of the series.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.