Stranger Online
Todaysgirls.com
written by Carol Smith
Created by Terry K. Brown
Click on image to buy from Amazon.com
Click here to buy from www.chapters.indigo.ca
This is a cute, very girlish
book, definitely geared toward the junior or high school
girl. While it depicts the often silly and giddy friendships
between teenage girls, it also deals with the darker side
of the teenage years such as peer pressure, cattiness between
girls jockeying for position in a group, and the dangers
of on-line chats with strangers.
Online Stranger,
the first in the TodaysGirls.com series, introduces the
six girls, featuring mainly Amber. A swim team member, devoted
friend, younger sister of an annoying big brother, and respectful
daughter, Amber is an ideal teen. While she makes the error
of trying to deal with all her problems on her own instead
of going to an adult for help, she does attempt to make
her choices on what she thinks God would have her do as
a Christian. The other girls, Maya, Jamie, Morgan, Alex,
and Bren each play a role in Amber's life and in the plot
of this book.
This story features the
risks associated with on-line chats and gives some very
good pointers on protecting one's privacy and safety while
on-line. The author also includes a lot of teen online lingo
for those who are newbies and I enjoyed seeing the girls
described with their on-line personality as well as their
"real" identities. I enjoyed the character bio's
at the back of the book as well as the short chapter from
the author on "Net Ready, Set, Go!" on safety
on the web and treating others on the web with respect and
dignity, as God would have us treat others. The theme of
faith in God and honouring Him is central in this story,
but does not come across as preachy in any way. Rather it
is included as the natural decision making in the life of
a Christian teen. It really depicts the ideal walk of a
young Christian girl (or adult for the matter) as she seeks
to make her relationship with Jesus central in her life
and her daily decisions.
I think this book would
be a great choice for any teen girl you know. I'm sure that
the others in the series would also be great choices. This
boook is great encouragement for real spiritual development
as it depicts healthy relationships with others and with
God.
