Lily Rules

I think it was a miracle that I got elected, she wrote, which means You meant for it to be. Please work on Mom and Dad so they’ll see that. And please don’t let Kresha and Reni feel left out. And please make me the best president of the seventh grade that ever was.
Lily paused to consider that last request. From what Art had said, it wasn’t going to be that hard to surpass everybody else who had ever held the office.
But I’m still going to be amazing, God, she wrote I just have to think positive.

Book: Lily Rules! (Lily Series, Book 8) by Nancy Rue, Zonderkidz, 2002

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 11-14

Subjects: Leadership, Spiritual Gifts, God’s Will, Friendship, Time Management

Summary: A prank can backfire sometimes. And that’s just what happens to the “ABC’s” as Lily calls Ashley, Bernadette, Benjamin and Chelsea – the popular kids who don’t like Lily at all. They mockingly nominate Lily for class president and Lily wins! From there, the Girlz and two boys take the whole election. The teachers and former seventh graders all assure Lily that the class officers do nothing but plan one fundraiser. Lily is not okay with that. If she’s going to hold an office, she wants to truly affect change. At first her plans seem to go well and people are pleased with what she has accomplished. But when she hurts her friends and turns a blind eye to injustice, she realizes her office needs to be about doing what is right, whether it’s the “political” way or not.

Notes: This is the eighth in the Young Women of Faith – the Lily Series, a series of 14 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, it’s all about power and authority. When her parents try to get to truly pray about whether or not leadership is her spiritual gift and being class president is the best use of her time, she plows over all objections. She starts taking anything that goes her way as a “sign” that God wants her to do this. She ignores things like friends and parents and teachers all challenging her to reconsider. She’s completely confident she has the spiritual gift of leadership. Then, without understanding anything about what spiritual gifts actually are, she starts using the phrase to convince her friends to do what she wants, telling them they have the gift of writing, selecting music, etc.

Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

1 Corinthians 12:24-30 – But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret?