Books for Christian Girls: "The Crowd" by Alleece Balts

About this book:

“Whitfield Preparatory Academy ought to be the perfect school…
Not only does the Academy boast a distinguished faculty and lavish campus, it is also home to the privileged youth of the upper class. They will one day hold the reins of power in the business world and political arena – but for now, they exercise absolute authority at the Academy.
For seventeen-year-old Ella Parker, acceptance into the prestigious Academy is a dream come true. But her delight quickly turns to dread when she finds herself in the crosshairs of an elite group of ruthless students dubbed “the Crowd.” Ella's been at the center of unwanted attention before – but never like this – and she'll do anything to make them stop. Anything, that is, apart from accepting the advances of popular and wealthy playboy Jackson Montgomery, the leader of the Crowd.
Will Ella be humiliated, or triumph over her tormentors?
An irresistible story of faith, friendship, betrayal, and romance, The Crowd will immerse readers in Ella’s tumultuous struggle from the very first page.”

Series: Book #1 in the “The Crowd” series.

Spiritual Content- Psalm 118:14 at the beginning; Many prayers; Scriptures are talked about, remembered, quoted & mentioned; Church going & singing; Talks about God; Many mentions of churches, choirs, church going, services & hymns; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading & Bible studies; Mentions of a pastor & sermon; Mentions of Christmas & the first one; Mentions of Christians, Christian artists & music; Mentions of a Christian school, religious studies & a chapel on campus; a few mentions of those in the Bible; A few mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of being Blessed; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of an angel; A mention of a nun;

*Note: A mention of Vulcan; A mention of acting zen; A few mentions of cults & animal sacrifices.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘gah’, a ‘shut up’, a cut off ‘son of a—‘, and twenty-three forms of ‘stupid’; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Mentions of curses & horrible things said (not written); Pain, a broken bone, talking to a suicidal person & being shot (up to semi-detailed); Snooty & mean guys and girls along with mean tricks; Mentions of a school shooting, blood & deaths (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of injuries & blood (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of thinking about suicide & overdoses; Mentions of prison, jail & convicts; Mentions of rehabs & crack; Mentions of drinking, drunks & alcohol; Mentions of fighting, blood, injuries & wanting to punch someone (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of bullies & bullying; Mentions of envy & jealousy; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of cheating; Mentions of lying, lies & liars; Mentions of a tattoo; A few mentions of a car crash, injuries & deaths (up to semi-detailed); A few mentions of gunshot & gunfire sounds; A few mentions of parties & drinking at them; A couple mentions of wars; A couple mentions of murder; A couple mentions of a rumor of someone setting fire to a nightclub; A mention of a cocaine overdose; A mention of water balloons filled with urine; A mention of a message written out in blood; A mention of a 14 year old being either high or drunk;

*Note: A mention of an alien; A mention of a sadist; Mentions of Halloween, a haunted house, a gruesome zombie, a savage looking vampire & bloody costumes.

Sexual Content- a nose kiss, two forehead kisses, two not-detailed kisses, two barley-above-not-detailed kisses, five semi-detailed kisses, two very semi-detailed kisses and a detailed kiss; Touches, Nearness, Embraces, & Hand holding (up to semi-detailed); Noticing & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; a form of ‘hot’, a ‘sexy’, and two ‘whore’s; Talks about kissing, kisses & wanting to kiss; Talks about dating & couples; A guy calls out that Ella can embrace him with her arms or legs; Mentions of doing “it” and a guy mention another guy not having to bang a girl anymore; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of staring at someone’s lips; Mentions of a flirt & playboy; Mentions of dating, dates, types, crushes, boyfriends, girlfriends & couples; Mentions of blushes; A few mentions of hearing a couple roll in a bed & start moaning (hints of what they’re doing, but nothing is actually said besides “gross”); A few mentions of a girl seductively blinking & trying to undue her blouse (she doesn’t get past the first button) and other girls willing to undress for a guy; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of seducing & sexual talking; A mention of seducing someone; A mention of a guy saying he’s going to find a companionable shower; A mention of a plaything; A mention of a guy’s roaming eyes;

*Note: A mention of underfed supermodels; A mention of an NFL cheerleader; A mention of hormones; A couple mentions of PMS & menstruating; A couple mentions of girls dressed for attention & hooting; A few mentions of a curvy girl & a girl with “edges”; A few mentions of a mean rhyme about a girl making all the straight boys gay; A few mentions of kissing a shorter guy but hinted to where he’s really big (taken the wrong way, she meant his brains).

-Eleanor “Ella” Parker, age 17
P.O.V. of Ella & Jack (along with some head-jumping of others)
268 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add 1/2-1 for those in public school or interested in teen issues.}

I literally cheered when I saw there was a sequel at the end. (And of course the teaser ended in a cliffhanger *crying emoji*) #LindseyAt4AM [That could literally be a hashtag I talk about in every post, but this book made the time fly by.] First off, though, I need to let everyone know that I'm completely weak for books set in boarding schools. When the author contacted me and I saw ‘boarding school’ in the description, I got a bit giddy, I won't lie. There was the typical snooty (or snotty, whichever description you prefer) girls and cliques at the school (which is honestly the only way I can stand them), but there also was a depth to this novel that I wasn't expecting. Add in Ella's faith and I was impressed. That's something I don't say often. Yes, there were comments and mentions I wasn't a fan of and thought could have just been left out; it got kissy nearing the end; there was some head jumping and a cursed love-triangle (Southern boys all the way!), which does affect my ratings. It had its not-quite gritty moments and trigger warnings, but it had all the signs of a contemporary YA novel. Content wise it was pretty much what I was expecting for a public-schooly YA, I kind of got an Ally Carter vibe from this book and plot. Everyone kept raving about Ella’s voice, so I can’t help but want to hear her! So, I’m giving this a personal rating of 3.5, since I have been craving a good public school-ish YA; I wish I could give a bit of a higher rating, but I just can’t because of some content. I am eagerly waiting for the sequel, though, and I do hope it’s less kissy, preferably. ;)

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!