Melody Carlson
Multnomah, 2009, 244 pp., $12.99, WaterBrookMultnomah.com
The 16th and final in the Diary of a Teenage Girl series—covering four different girls—this relationship-driven book weaves together conflicts within friendships with girls and guys, emancipation from parents and mentoring by youth leaders. The settings are school, the nursing home where Maya’s friend is recovering from a drunk driving accident, a Christian rock band and a non-traditional family.
Maya chronicles her desire to make God-pleasing decisions with a vulnerable, smart and believable voice. It’s hard to honor your drug-addicted mother when even upon release from prison she attempts to use people for her own ends. Maya sings in a girl band and discovers life is not all “Jesus loves you” when one of the bandmate’s crushes begins to pay attention to Maya.
As with many series, there are several references to previous books’ subplots. That’s fine for loyal readers but will produce mental speed bumps for new readers.
