I love how Janette is one of the few Christian authors who writes characters in their late teens/early 20s.

Tropes: not really any, this is a story of the character's life

Content: kissing ( )

AR: 5.0

I loved this ChristFic book when I first read it back in my teens. Something about a young heroine in an uncertain season between high school and college spoke to me. It's still comforting to see that Virginia's uncertainty and unraveling plans don't mean that she'll have no way to make it.

While I still greatly appreciate that aspect of the story, I'll admit Virginia's character irritated me somewhat this time around. She's pretty timid and tongue-tied while the young men she meets do pretty much all the talking. The couple of times when certain characters' jerky behavior gets to Virginia and she finally shows a little fire by calling them out on it, she shrinks back afterward. She rather comes off as a "Mary Sue" beside her fast-lane, selfish...friend, Jenny—a girl Virginia has almost nothing in common with. And especially during the second half of the novel, Virginia is frequently in tears.

Also, regarding an aspect of her view on Christianity that hit me differently this time than it might have when I was an adolescent... Well, I'll say that asking questions of your faith doesn't have to mean you're losing it or in danger of doing so. A faith that can't face uncomfortable, honest questions can lead to insular beliefs that a person can only hold on to while they're in a safe bubble or in an echo chamber with people who think the same way. Many times, people don't truly grow into a faith that can last through life's confounding twists and complexities until they grapple with questions from outside of their one, limited perspective.

God can handle people asking all kinds of questions.

On a different note, I still like how this novel brings together characters from two previous series. Granted, similar to other books by this author, the story sort of just finds a place to eventually stop rather than having a real climax and resolution, and a romance squeezed in around the last ten pages doesn't make for compelling romantic development.

Even so, the gentle pacing overall, the warm cups of tea, the "everyday-ness" of regular folks working through some normal problems, the ultimate sense of hope... There are still reasons why I've turned to this author again and again for comfort reading over the years. ( )

52016

"Virginia Simpson is about to graduate from high school and continue her education at college when a family crisis derails her plans. Virginia soon discovers that the rest of the world is moving on without her. Her best friend, Jenny, discovers the freedom of college, and Virginia's boyfriend begins to grow away from God and then away from Virginia."