"Secret Admirer" by Melody Carlson

About this book:

  “Love Is So Much More Than They Ever Knew

Love is in the air, on the slopes and on the dance floor. And the Girls of Harbor View must uncover the secrets of guys, friendship, and what really matters.

Ski Trip - The long-awaited ski trip finally arrives, but events take a downturn when some of the girls go completely boy crazy. Carlie, however, won’t have anything to do with the boys—or her flirtatious friends. Instead, she gets crazy-dangerous snowboarding. What will it take to bring the girls to their senses?

Secret Admirer - As Valentine’s Day approaches, Amy finds herself pursued by a secret admirer, and she mistakenly sets her heart on the wrong guy. When news gets out, Amy is devastated and humiliated, until she concocts a plan to transform the day.”


Series: A collection novel of the books seven & eight in the “Girls of 622 Harbor View” series. Review of the first collection Here!, second Here!, and third Here!


Spiritual Content- 2 Corinthians 4:18 at the beginning; A couple Prayers; A few messages/sermons; Talks about God, forgiveness, & prayers; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God & forgiveness; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, church events, youth group, pastors, & sermons/messages; Mentions of Christians; Mentions of dancing at church (including those who believe it is a sin to dance); A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of a baby Jesus figure; A mention of the Bible; A mention of a Christian dating website.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’, three ‘duh’s, five ‘idiot’s, eight ‘dumb’s, and thirty-nine forms of ‘stupid’; Eye rolling; A broken bone & pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of broken bones, accidents, fainting, & pain; Mentions of hatred (Carlie struggles with this towards Chelsea); Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of the prior book’s trouble with Emily’s biological father (he is currently in jail after breaking and entering); A few mentions of a bully who was released from juvenile detention; A mention of shoplifting; A mention of calling someone a liar;

             *Note: A few mentions of celebrities & a band; Mentions of designer names; A mention of a car brand; A mention of a movie.

Sexual Content- a ‘baby’, a ‘hottie’, and a mention of the ‘hottest’ guy at school; All about many mentions of boys, boy crazy girls, who-likes-who/crushes, flirting, girls wanting (or not wanting) boyfriends, & break-ups; Mentions of a dance & Amy’s plan to get a boy to notice her; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of dates & dating; A couple mentions of girlfriends; A couple mentions of kissing.

-Carlie, 12

-Amy, 12
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        270 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

 {Add ½ to a full star for girls in public school.}

While this series might have seemed a bit dated with mentions of celebrities & MySpace, it did have good messages for girls ages 11-13 who are in public schools and face different challenges. It’s been ten years such this series first came out and I would totally love a little catch-up novella or even a blog post about where these girls are now in their early twenties.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.