"Starring Me" by Krista McGee

About this book:

  “Kara McKormick is told she's auditioning to star in a new teen variety show. But it's what she isn't told that could change her life.
  The feisty New Yorker moves to sunny Orlando to participate in a month-long audition, where she'll live with nine other contestants and an eccentric housemother. Kara knows that the show already has a big-time celebrity lined up for the co-host, but she doesn't know who it is.
  Chad Beacon quickly rose to fame after winning America's Next Star, but he doesn't want his entire career to be about singing. There is so much more he wants to do-like act. The new variety show sounds like the perfect next step for him, but his parents want him to have a co-star who shares his faith since they'll be spending so much time together.
  Acting is high on Kara's priority list. But a relationship with God? Not so much. In fact, she's tried to stay away from anything religious. But God is after Kara's heart and He's put people in her life who are showing her there's far more to Christianity than rules and judgment.
  And just when it seems that Kara's going to have to give up her acting dream, God reveals that she may have a starring role after all-in a story so big only He could write it.”


Series: It’s not officially part of a series, but it’s connected to “First Date” and “Right Where I Belong”. “First Date” is first and “Starring Me” is second! ;)


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned; Many Prayers; Lots of being witnessed to & Witnessing; Many talks about God, Christians, & praying; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Chad has a faith; Kara doesn’t believe in prayers or God, but says she’s open to spirituality *Spoiler* After she tries praying a few times & reading the Bible, Kara wonders more about God and towards then end she prays for God’s forgiveness *End of Spoiler*; Many mentions of God & His will; Many mentions of prayers & praying; Many mentions of faiths & Christians; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & Bible studies; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, & helping others in need; Mentions of Heaven & Hell; Mention of missionaries & ministries; Mentions of testimonies; Mentions of sins & sinners; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of choirs; A mention of thanking God; A mention of C.S. Lewis’s conversion of atheism to Christianity;

             *Note: Mentions of Greek gods & Kara thinking Chad is one; Mentions of myths of gods; Mentions of luck & the universe; A few mentions of other religions; A mention of the “gods of television”; A mention of positive thoughts.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’, a ‘suck’, a form of ‘suck up’, two forms of ‘shut up’, two ‘wimp’s, four ‘stupid’s, and six ‘dumb’s; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & eye rolling; Chad gets pummeled by a female fan, Injuries, & Pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of the mafia, gangs, killing, murderers, & prisons; Mentions of criminals, drugs, & alcohol; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of running over a squirrel & it dying; A few mentions of Addy’s parents who were missionaries that were killed overseas; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of gossip; A few mentions of tattoos; A couple mentions of smoking; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of poker;

             *Note: Mentions of celebrities, TV shows, TV channels, movies, & fictional characters; Mentions of authors & books; Mentions of vampires & aliens; A few mentions of a singer & song; A couple mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of social media platforms; A mention of someone being called a ‘brownnose’.

Sexual Content- Imagining kisses (barely-above-not-detailed); A few Touches & Embraces (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); two forms of ‘hot’ and three ‘baby’s; Mentions of a script of a girl trying to steal another girl’s guy & kiss him; Mentions of kissing, kisses, & an almost kiss; Mentions of dating, girlfriends, boyfriends, break-ups, & cheating; Mentions of flirting; A few mentions of temptations for a teen boy & hormones; A couple mentions of girls ripping off Chad’s shirts in the past; A mention of someone not being a pimp; A mention of a line in a script about a couple having babies that crawl out of her belly;

             *Note: A few mentions of girls wearing bikinis that leave little to the imagination; A mention of a mom having difficultly conceiving; A mention of a bug bite on a girl’s rear.

-Kara McKormick, age 17

-Chad Beacon, age 17
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        328 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I will try not to squee and squeal over yet another Krista McGee book, but I make no promises. 😉 This is my second or third time reading this hilarious sequel to “First Date”. I think I enjoyed it a bit more when I was younger, but it was still such a great read with the fun main characters and all of the faith content! Some of the parts were a bit coincidental, but I like happy endings. Definitely considered a favorite and a classic in my eyes for Christian teen girls!

  

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.

"Revolutionary" by Krista McGee

About this book:

  “Back in the hands of the State, Thalli is caught in a horrible game of power—with consequences reaching further than she ever imagined.

  After several months aboveground, Thalli had almost forgotten what living in the State was like. Programmed to be without emotions or curiosity, she was always an anomaly there. Too emotional. Too curious. Citizens of the State should behave exactly the way the Scientists designed them to behave: work in their assigned fields, maintain productivity.

  Thalli’s entire genetically engineered generation has been eradicated by a scientocracy that believes human life is expendable. Now a pawn in a mad game of manipulation, held hostage, and tortured in the name of the State, Thalli can barely summon the strength to hope that the future of humanity could be any better.

  She clings to her new faith in the Designer. But when she discovers that even the few villages aboveground are in danger of State domination, that fragile faith begins to crumble.

  As Thalli, Berk, and Alex make plans to overthrow the evil Dr. Loudin, a chilling secret explains why they have been left alive at all . . . a personal secret that will haunt Thalli forever. And as she struggles with this new truth, she also struggles with decisions of the heart.

  Can the State’s expansion be stopped? Or will humanity—above and below the surface—be irreparably damaged? Thalli is faced with a purpose both overwhelming and undeniable: to assume the role of a Revolutionary.”


Series: Book #3 in the “Anomaly” series. Review of Book #1 Here! and Book #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, remembered, & quoted; Prayers; Witnessing; Church going; Thalli struggles with why the Designer isn’t helping & answering her prayers; Many talks about God, believing, & trusting; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Many mentions of God (called The Designer) & trusting; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles & faiths; Mentions of those in the Bible & events; Mentions of a church, pastors, sermons, & services; A few mentions of a song about Jesus & salvation; A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of baptism; A couple mentions of sin;

             *Note: Mentions of evil in the world & evil people; Mentions of a man thinking he is God/higher than God & that believing in God is foolish; A few mentions of someone who does not believe in God; A few mentions of a man believing in evolution & that the Bible is mythology; A mention of a man mocking others for praying to a god; mention of someone believing they are more evolved than another; A mention of a group of people being called ‘superevolved’; A mention of someone calling others ‘underevolved’; A mention of mythical gods; A mention of superstitions.   

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’; A bit of eye rolling; Seeing people killed, bleeding, & how it happened (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing deaths & the smell of a body burning (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing an autopsy & organs (barely-above-not-detailed); Pain, Being Shocked, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Fighting & Pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Attacking someone (Thalli apologizes while doing it); Thalli has a few moments where she wants to physically hurt Loudin; Being held captive; Many mentions of being annihilated (including those being forced and those choosing to end their life), poison, & dying/deaths (and seeing people die); Many mentions of a war, fighting, bombs, & deaths (and seeing deaths, barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of threats of torture & threats of killing others; Many mentions of lies, lying, & manipulation; Mentions of deaths & how they happened (both peaceful deaths & awful murders, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of assassinations, a cruel murder, & a sacrifice (Book #2); Mentions of plans to murder others (Thalli doesn’t think she could take a life); Mentions of mass murders; Mentions of drownings & deaths; Mentions of autopsies (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a body, cremation, & the smell of burning flesh; Mentions of fights, fighting, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of being shocked, being beaten, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of injuries & blood/bleeding from beatings; Mentions of drugs/poisons, being drugged, being poisoned, & deaths; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of hatred; A few mentions of a drunk & bars; A couple mentions of cheating; A mention of suicide; A mention of poker.  

Sexual Content- a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, two border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses, and two semi-detailed kisses; Touches, Warmth, Embraces, & Nearness (from two boys, barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); a ‘babe’ and a form of ‘hot’; Mentions of a kiss & kissing; Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of seeing couples kiss; A couple mentions of embraces & touches; A mention of a honeymoon; A bit of love, falling/being in love, & the emotions.

             *Note: Many mentions of procreation, the Scientists eliminating it, the ingredients for creating life, & the donors for those ingredients (*Major Spoiler* It is revealed that Thalli was not created like others, but a product of love between a couple. That it all that is said on the ‘how’ it happened besides the fact that they never created children in the traditional way *End of Spoiler*); A few mentions of scientists creating infants & many infants dying; A mention of the fertilization process for those ingredients for creating life; A mention of a possibility of people being sterile; A mention of people only producing children with severe disabilities.

-Thallium ‘Thalli”, age 17
                                1^stperson P.O.V. of Thalli 

                                                         298 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Death is a topic often discussed in this book and some parts might be creepy/triggering for younger reads. Very clean, but the Scientists can be disturbing with their methods and an evil man with his murderous ways and threats.}

While I definitely cannot say this was a perfect ending, it was an ending to a wild ride.

Let’s back up a bit: I first read this book when it came out after waiting months for it. Fast-forward to now—over four years later—I didn’t remember this book at all. Book one and two I remember vividly, but this final one? Not so much. Needless to say, this second time reading it was very similar to a first time reading a book.

This third and final book continues the story of Thalli, the love-triangle, and the overall plot of the evil Dr. Loudin’s. This book definitely felt more violent than the previous books because of that last point and all the killing. While it was still pretty clean, if a reader dwells on certain parts it can be depressing/sad.

There was one loop-hole that I caught (p.98, Loudin says Helen’s name, but it was never said & he apparently didn’t know about her, so how did he get her name?), but I think most readers might struggle with certain parts of understanding the differences between the crazy brain activity parts and what are dreams shown or even because Loudin lies often.

Again, not my favorite ending (that epilogue was a bit rushed), but it was a slightly more than decent ending for this trilogy in my opinion.

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.