Super charming

Read it in a day. Jesus girls in love. The caustic effects of living a lie. Recovering from mistakes. Warm fuzzies. ( )

The characters are super likeable and believable, but somewhere along the way I felt the plot became a bit too convoluted for me. Sure, it's a believeable plot but only if you're thinking in terms of 'TV show trying to be accurate to modern life'. Still a very enjoyable light read and a lovely one for people looking for a queer MC who is Christian and isn't in conflict over it. ( )

On the one hand, a very readable book -- good characters, good messages, good dilemmas that are thoughtfully addressed.

On the other hand, I have a really hard time with this sort of social drama book -- you see the train wreck coming, it's based on the main character's choices, they keep heading straight into those oncoming lights, and you're just waiting for impact.

I especially have a hard time with the social drama in this book because it feels so engineered -- not, perhaps, unrealistic, but very much an experiment we watch play out based on a premise that was kinda shaky to begin with -- if preacher Dad is really cool with Jo's sexuality and choices, why ask her to lie low? I am glad that he is eventually called on this behavior and she finds her way through, but it did kind of drag in the middle while we waited for the train to hit.

Also, I appreciate reading a book about faith that is so clearly embracing all kinds of faith, including goddess worship as not necessarily unchristian...at least, I like that idea, but it's never been a reality that I've seen. In my experience, Christians don't buy representations of goddesses for their faithful children. Especially not in Baptist Georgia. I hope this means that things have changed significantly, but I guess I'm babbling, so I'll just let it go.

Sweet girl love story. Main character who has confidence in herself and the love of her family. Those things are excellent. ( )

Usually I wouldn't go for a book about a Christian teen because I wouldn't be able to relate, having never been Christian, but this book surprised me. Johanna is a charming character who sure, hangs out with the alternative crowd and dresses like it, but also has her Southern charm side. In some ways this book is her discovering who she is without the baggage of how she's gotten comfortable and defensive, but in other ways this is a story about learning that being yourself means not needing to compromise too much for any group you might be around. It's a complex story in that yeah, it involves going back into the closet for a while, which is never good, or comfortable. As a bisexual person who is often just assumed to be straight, I get that clawing out of the closet repeatedly is not something anyone wants to do. It's also just not right to ask anyone to do it for you. But at the same time, for Johanna some good came out of being a little less out for a while. This is a sweet little teen romance that I really got caught up in. It really helped me when reading the religiously motivated parts of the plot to hear Johanna herself refer to the Christian deity as a feminine, as a goddess, from time to time, though the rest of the religious plot didn't have as much impact on me because I just don't understand Christianity the same way as someone who was faithful once. I do understand the impact of being southern and a little alternative and all the cultural strife that comes with that and I think the author really got it. Around here a lot of people will talk down to you and treat you badly, but there are niches of the right people who will recognize that you're alright, you just have to find them. So, overall, cute teen coming of age romance. ( )

Even though I didn't like the majority of the decisions made by the characters, I loved the story, the romance, but overall the message. ( )