Lily And The Creep

There was a snort from the direction of the basketball court, and the Girlz all looked Shad stood there with the ball poised for a shot. “We told you to watch your backs,” he said. Then he and Daniel and Leo collapsed onto the cement laughing.

“We’re not as smart as we thought,” Suzy whispered.

“Oh yes we are,” Reni said. We’re smarter than they are, and my self-image is gonna be in big trouble if we don’t show them that.”

“All right,” Lily said. “Everybody start thinking. We’re going to get those guys, once and for all.”

Book: Lily and the Creep (Young Women of Faith: Lily Series, Book 3) by Nancy Rue, Zonderkidz, 2001

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 11-14

Subjects: Friendship, Bullying, Revenge, Self-Image

Summary: It’s just constant! The girls are not safe at school. Every chance they get, Shad, Daniel and Leo are doing something to pick on the girls. And they are downright sick of it! When a school counselor teaches Lily about self-image, she realizes that’s the direction she needs to go. If she is confident enough of who she is, then the boys’ teasing won’t bother her anymore. Reni however isn’t so convinced. Revenge seems like a much better plan. And after being embarrassed by them in front of the whole class, Lily agrees. A plan Is developed and put into action. At first it seems to work, but pretty soon, the consequences start to come down – hard! How can Lily have a positive self-image when it just reduces her to Shad’s level?

Notes: This is the third in the Young Women of Faith – the Lily Series, a series of 12 books about a young girl desperately wanting to know God’s will for her life. She wants to know what her “thing” is. Everyone else seems to have one specific passion that’s also their talent. Throughout the series Lily explores many options to figure out what hers is. In this book, she pursues the idea of self-image, trying to follow all the advice listed in the books she reads about it. But her growing view of herself crashes way down when she takes part in two attempts at revenge on the boys, realizes she has sunk to their level, and gets abandoned by her friends. Instead of thinking more of herself, she can’t even see that she’s worthy of reading the Bible. It takes her parents explaining some things to her to help her understand that what matters most is what God thinks of her and how much she’s focusing on Him. They take her to the commandments – Love the Lord and love your neighbor as yourself, helping her see that loving herself isn’t what is most important.

Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Matthew 22:37-40 – Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."