Sometimes being popular isn’t everything…

Skylar is a high school senior who has found a new group of friends. She’s ready for a new life — if the old one would just get out of the way. Some consider her beautiful. Her old friends just want her to be herself. Her family is in crisis, and then there’s the whole romance issue.

Stephanie Morrill debuts her first novel, Me, Just Different, Book 1 in The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series.

It’s fun to read. The charactes are compelling and deal with real issues, like friendship, sexuality, and pressure to fit in.

Sound good?

Leave a comment and one lucky teen will win a copy of Me, Just Different!

Tory Tyson may only be in high school, but he knows what he wants out of life–a successful music career. And he’s not going to learn about all that at school. So when school lets out next month he’s not going back. He’s finally ready to stop spinning old records at parties and start laying down his own beats–and the Unsigned Hype music contest is the perfect place to launch his career. But will he be able to handle the fame and fortune he seeks?

Grounded in the world of today’s urban youth, Unsigned Hype will draw readers in with its fresh voice and true-to-life rendering of the hip-hop world. Booker T. Mattison delivers a story with attitude in the vernacular of the urban teen.

From RTF:  This is a fun book that shows what it is like when you have a dream and that dream might just conflict with the way you were raised, or the way you’ve always been taught to believe. Tory lost his dad in a street mugging and inherited his vast album collection. He can mix the beats like no one else his age and when his talent is recognized, he has to make some tough choices.  He’s got a lot of father figures in his life, not all of them with his best interest at heart. So who is he going to listen to, and where will his musical talent take him? Read it to find out. Five stars!

As a youth culture columnist, I’m always on the lookout for great new books that tie in culture and Christ.

As stand-alone articles, I think the content is great. But as a book and small group study guide? Not so much. I was excited to get this book, especially as a fan of Christianity today and their articles for youth and adults.

But it feels forced, as if they took several articles and tried to make them work as a unit. Great information, but these articles are already available through CT. I love your stuff, CT, but not this one.

Just Another Girl
by Melody Carlson
Read an Excerpt

Aster is the name of a flower. Almost a weed, really. And sometimes that exactly how Aster feels. Her older sister, Rose, has her own life to live and somehow Aster gets stuck with Lily, their special needs sister. It’s not that Aster doesn’t love Lily. She does. It’s that Lily demands 100% attention and she’ll do whatever it takes to get that attention. Their dad moved on and spends his time caring for the son he always wanted. Their mother is working, spending hours at her job that aren’t required, but that leave the chores and caretaking jobs to Aster. All of them.  All of the time.

Then the guy from school drops by and wants to hang out with her. Aster dreams up her freedom getaway plan and the pieces start to fall into place, and fall apart at the same time.

Melody Carlson writes about real life and real issues. Just Another Girl is one of her latests books and it’s good reading, especially if you’re trying to find your way to fit in life and even in your own family.

Check out all of Melody’s books at her website.

Unplugged, one of our fav places on the web, shares their thoughts on the PG-rated movie, Coraline.

Excerpt: Most 11-year-olds want new parents at some point. And Coraline is no different. Especially since Mom and Dad have moved the family from Michigan to Oregon—where it rains most of the year. (Ugh!) Mom says it’s too muddy to play outside. The house is boring. And the only kid she’s met is really weird.

Oh, and the food’s lousy, too. Mom doesn’t like to cook.

So nothing in Coraline’s little world feels right. Until the day she sets out to do some exploring—and finds a door to an alternate reality. Yep, right there in her new room, covered over with wallpaper, is a little door that leads to a world in which she gets just the right everything.  Read the rest of this review.

What did you think of this movie?

Congratulations to Lydia Rule, Real Teen staff writer, on the publication of her first book, Devos to Go!

Devos 2 Go is a fun, fast-food themed devotional for busy teens and young adults on the go. It has a quick thought for the day, a verse, and a prayer to help teens get spiritually full.

We are proud of Lydia. You can check out her book on Amazon.com. We’ll connect with Lydia soon in an interview so she can share her publishing journey and what it’s like to be a teen author.

If you want to read more of Lydia’s devos on Real Teen Faith, check out the archives. She loves Jesus and she loves writing, and both are evident in her RTF devos.

By Debra Weiss, RTF Staff Writer

First Impressions

IntheTimes.com is a fun, unique, and exciting website. Their aim not only as a magazine but as a website is immediately clear. Every page feels like it supports the overall aim of In the Times.

The first impression also left my head spinning as the design feels a bit cluttered at first glance. While the background is fun, it feels distracting and pulls readers away from the content. A simple white background works wonders to correct this problem.

Tone

The tone of the magazine is chatty and upbeat, as though I were talking to a best friend or big sister. The topics covered are relevant to today’s teen and it doesn’t feel as if the editor is shying away from important issues such as purity, trusting God, putting Him first, and more.

Content

In the Times.com’s content is recent and updated daily. The blog format is an excellent choice for this website and the format feeds into the chatty, big sister tone. However, I would love to find a way to comment on the posts and perhaps interact with other readers in the process. Maybe allowing moderated comments would be a consideration for future versions of the site.

Interviews with recording artists such as Krissy Nordhoff, Tammy Trent, Lindsey Kane, and Cadia, provide fascinating entertainment stories that build up rather than tear down. The format “the story behind the song” is easy to read, even in a short amount of time! (more…)

The Redemption of Sarah Cain by Beverly Lewis

Review by Catey Yuen, RTF Staff Writer

I’m hopelessly stereotyped as a reader. People look no further than my long hair and feminine mannerisms to assume that I’m a die-hard romance reader. They naturally place me in the category of people who read Karen Kingsbury, Wanda Brunstetter, and Beverly Lewis.

They place me with the people who cry in chick flicks and can’t stand it when characters have to suffer anything other than emotional angst over the boy they love.

They’re wrong. (more…)