Books for Christian Girls: "Right Where I Belong" by Krista McGee

{{This is an updated review. Originally posted May 13^th, 2013, it was updated on August 27^th, 2021 to the Official Rating System.}}

About this book:

“Natalia’s about to discover her place in the world…and it’s not following in her father’s footsteps.

After watching her father jump from one marriage to the next, Natalia has completely written off love. And when her father divorces his third wife—the only one who has been a mother to her—Natalia is ready to write him off too.

Needing a change of scenery, Natalia leaves her home in Spain and relocates with her stepmother to sun-soaked Florida. But she didn’t realize just how far a new school, a new culture, and a new lifestyle would push her out of her comfort zone.

One of her biggest surprises comes from Brian, a pastor’s son with an adorable smile, who loves God with a sincerity that astounds Natalia. She doesn’t want to fall for him, but she can’t seem to avoid him long enough to get him out of her min.

Love is the last thing Natalia wants. Even so, God has her right where she belongs.”

Series: It’s not officially part of a series, but it’s connected to “First Date” and “Starring Me”. To have the least amount of minor spoilers, I recommend to read them in this order: First Date, Starring Me, and then Right Where I Belong.

Spiritual Content- This is story is loosely based on Ruth; Bible reading; Scriptures are read, mentioned, quoted, & discussed; Prayers; Going to Bible study & a Bible class; Going on a mission trip; A devotional & discussion about Job; Many talks about God, Christians, faiths, callings, & witnessing; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Natalia tries to witness to her friend, Carmen (an atheist), but she sees faith as a weakness (a crutch); Natalia is very excited to be going to a Christian school & being taught about the Bible; Brian does not want to go into ministry since he’s a pastor’s kid; Many mentions of God, Jesus, Christians, faiths, witnessing, & callings; Many mentions of prayers, praying, prayer requests, & blessings over food; Many mentions of churches, church going, sermons, pastors, pastor’s kids, & faiths; Mentions of being mad at God & how to handle it; Mentions of how to defend your faith; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, Bible classes, & Bible studies; Mentions of going into ministry & Bible colleges; Mentions of missionaries & being called; Mentions of mission trips & Vacation Bible Study; Mentions of a Christian school; Mentions of Sunday school, church groups, & youth group; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of devotionals; A few mentions of dating/marrying non-Christians; A couple mentions of a Christmas play; A mention of being baptized;

*Note: Mentions of being mocked or teased for being a Christian by schoolmates; A couple mentions of Saint Nicholas/Santa.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shoot’, a ‘suck it up’, a ‘wimp’, two ‘stupid’s, and three ‘idiot’s; A mention of a guy saying choice words (implied to be cussing); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Mentions of divorces (including Natalia’s father’s multiple divorces & his reasoning that you can fall out of love); Mentions of hatred; A few mentions of robberies; A couple mentions of missionaries who were killed (from Addy’s story, First Date); A couple mentions of Natalia’s parents fighting (verbally); A couple mentions of lying & liars; A couple mentions of dog poop; A mention of wine; A mention of a cigar; A mention of night clubs & bars; A mention of gossip;

*Note: Mentions of celebrities, movies, authors, & books (Justin Bieber, Antonio Banderas, Puss in Boots, Spy Kids, Jane Austen, & C.S. Lewis); A mention of a designer brand (Jimmy Choo); A mention of a car brand (Lamborghini); A couple mentions of shopping and working at Target; A mention of an iPod; A mention of a nickname involving the word ‘vampire’.

Sexual Content- A greeting cheek kiss (Natalia to Brian, and he says (while blushing) that she can kiss him anytime); Wanting to kiss someone; Nearness, Smelling, Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, & Warmth (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Staring (including a guy’s muscles and a girl’s figure, barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Natalia prays to never fall in love (because of her father (who is looking for love and fulfillment in the arms of a woman) and his many marriages) and throughout the book forces her mind away from a certain guy; Many mentions of romance, going out/dating, dates, boyfriends/girlfriends, & crushes; Many mentions of attraction, temptation, & not wanting to lose your heart; Mentions of kisses & kisses as greetings in Spain; Mentions of a picture of a kiss (in eight grade) being printed and put up all around school; Mentions of a guy that all the girls in the school drool over, guys drooling over Natalia, & wanting all the guys at school to fall all over themselves over you; Mentions of flirting, blushes, & winks; Mentions of a Homecoming dance & dates; A few mentions of physical contact being banned at a school, hugs, & making out with someone; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of Natalia’s father mentioning needing passion in a marriage & a man’s needs (Natalia has an image of her father and “his needs” and tries not to gag); A couple mentions of match-making; A mention of fighting desires for someone & asking them to move farther away; A mention of not being alone with the person you’re dating so their passions do not overrule their better judgement; A mention of Natalia’s father dating a women six years older than her; A mention of Natalia’s father saying he’s not made to be with just one woman; A mention of a boy’s suggestive comment; A mention of boy crazy girls; A mention of a class hunk; A mention of a class’s Casanova; A mention of a job helping a guy’s physique and getting girls; A mention of a teen heartthrob; Love, falling in love, trying not to fall in love, & the emotions/feelings;

*Note: Natalia wears a bathing suit to the beach & Brian is thankful that it’s a one-piece and tries not to stare at her “perfect figure” in it; Mentions of tight jeans, a skintight skirt, & bathing suits; A few mentions of girls’ figures/curves; A few mentions of plastic surgery; A mention of a misunderstanding about hearing about a “tapas bar” and thinking the person said a topless bar.

-Natalia Lopez, age 17

-Brian Younger, age 18

P.O.V. switches between them

310 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

This may be my third time reading this novel, but, oh I still enjoyed it so much! Having this story be loosely based off the story of Ruth from the Bible was so neat and I truly adored all the faith content. There is so much of it, it’s refreshing and inspiring. I really liked both Natalia and Brian, he made me laugh a lot (even with some of his moping). I consider Krista McGee’s six books (published by Thomas Nelson) to be classics for the Christian Young Adult market and ones I highly recommend.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!