Summer Promise

Summer Promise is the story of Christy Miller, a 14-year-old girl from Wisconsin that is spending her summer with her aunt and uncle in California. She has trouble making friends in the beginning, but after her aunts gives her a complete makeover she gains the confidence to finally go out and socialize. Her new friends seem wonderful, but looks can be deceiving. Christy has a wild and eventful summer, during which she learns all about herself.

This is another book that, as a mom, I would encourage my daughter to read in her teens. Though Christy has to deal with some tough issues, including death and finding herself, she shows younger girls that it is okay to be upset. The main message I took from this book was that when you put your show more life in God's hands, he will help you deal with your problems.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. It is a wonderfully wholesome and entertaining story. This book was hard to put down. Though the religious aspect was a bit overpowering at some parts, I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next. I'm still left wondering what is going to happen next, and encourage you to read the story and find out why. show less

I honestly couldn't finish this book. I had no idea this was going to be religious.

The entire time I was reading the book I felt like I was being preached at. There was a part where Todd, Christy's love interest, made it seem like if you weren't Christian then you weren't worthy.

I strongly disliked her Aunt Marti. From the beginning she was trying to change everything about Christy; what she ate, what she wore and how she acted. I did like her Uncle Bob though. He told her to be herself and that was good enough.

Note: This book was originally published in 1988, it was republished this year for the Kindle.

Robin Jones Gunn deals with some authentic teen issues while keeping with a Christian world view. I enjoyed this fast little read very much, and look forward to reading more from this author.

Targeted toward tweens to young teens, this well written story tackles the challenges of being a teenager and kicks it up a notch by focusing on the Christian teen. Christy is the average teen who only wants to be accepted and ends up in some very uncomfortable and unsafe situations. She lives on a farm, goes to church every Sunday, and is the all around "good" girl. She is soon to be 15 and not only wants friends, but wants a summer romance while she stays with her Aunt and Uncle. Her being boy crazy has an influence on how she looks at things and at times, her attitude is down-right annoying.

This book focuses heavily on peer pressure and how it can change one's life by making wrong decisions. After a particularly disturbing incident show more that happens to one of Christy's friends, there comes to light a very strong salvation message making this a wonderful tool to give to the teen that is beginning to question things about God.

All in all, this is a great book to give to any girl who struggles with peer pressure!! show less

Summer Promise is the story of Christy Miller, a 14-year-old girl from Wisconsin that is spending her summer with her aunt and uncle in California. She has trouble making friends in the beginning, but after her aunts gives her a complete makeover she gains the confidence to finally go out and socialize. Her new friends seem wonderful, but looks can be deceiving. Christy has a wild and eventful summer, during which she learns all about herself.

This is another book that, as a mom, I would encourage my daughter to read in her teens. Though Christy has to deal with some tough issues, including death and finding herself, she shows younger girls that it is okay to be upset. The main message I took from this book was that when you put your show more life in God's hands, he will help you deal with your problems.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. It is a wonderfully wholesome and entertaining story. This book was hard to put down. Though the religious aspect was a bit overpowering at some parts, I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next. I'm still left wondering what is going to happen next, and encourage you to read the story and find out why. show less

I received an electronic copy of this book from Librarything's Early Review program in exchange for an honest review.

Book Summary from Amazon:

"As 14-year-old Christy leaves her family's Wisconisn farm to spend the summer at her wealthy aunt and uncle's beach home in Newport, she realizes this could be the best season of her life. She's full of hope that surfer Todd will like her; the beach crowd will accept her; and she can become like her gorgeous new friend, Alissa.

But the summer doesn't unfold as Christy hoped; she discovers this season also holds heartache. Todd wavers between Christy and another girl; 16-year-old Shawn dies in a drug-related surfing accident-and the police want to know how Christy was involved; Alissa discloses show more that her sophistication hides a painful past.

Through it all, will Christy keep her promise to her parents not to do anything she'll regret? Or will she do anything to get Todd, to be accepted, to force her summer to give her everything it promised?"

What I liked about this book: The message. Gunn's story provides a positive message for teens. Even as an adult Christian I found passages that spoke to me. Though the book touches on several serious issues, it has a light tone. It doesn't weigh the reader down.

What I didn't like about the book: The writing was all over the place. Some passages were beautifully written with great depth. Other passages were rather flat. Sometimes, I wasn't sure if the writer knew where she was going with the story. Christy is a mostly likable character, but she seems rather immature for her age.

The series has great potential and I'm interested to see where she goes with the series. show less

This was a delightful book about a teenager coming of age. She is visiting relatives for the summer and at first she can't make friends because of a lack of confidence. Once her aunt does a make over things change and she makes friends. Through these friends she has to deal with drugs, sex and death. But with some friends sharing their love of God, she makes it through until she is called home. I just couldn't put this book down until I had finished it and I can't wait to get my hands on the next issue to see what happens next. I see that there are currently 12 books in this series and anyone will love reading this series, even younger girls just entering their teen years.