Stealing Bradford

Carter House Girls #2

by Melody Carlson

The Carter House girls are divided when two of them go after the same guy. Rhiannon and Taylor are at serious odds, and before it’s over several girls get hurt.

Genres: Young Adult, Christian, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Teen

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.

Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.

Reviews

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 2 out of 5]

About this book:

“The Carter House girls are just getting to know one another when the subject of boys comes up. Rhiannon’s dating Bradford, the most popular jock in school, Eliza’s seeing Harry, and even DJ has dated Conner, although now he acts as if he doesn’t like her. Boys aren’t always easy to understand, but every girl in the house wants a boyfriend and will do just about anything to get one. So when Taylor decides to put the moves on Bradford, Rhiannon is shocked and hurt. Mistakes are made and feelings battered there is forgiveness for some and bitterness for others but at the end of the day, the girls learn a valuable lesson about what it means to be a family.”


Series: Book #2 (of eight) in the “Carter House Girls” series. (Review of Book #1 Here!) {Another series by this author, “On the Runway” mentions these characters after the final book. {Read #1 of that series review Here!} I personally would read the CHG series then the OTR series. :) }


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God, how it works & praying; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Bible reading; Scriptures are read, mentioned, quoted & thought over; Youth group, Church & talks about sermons; DJ is a new Christian; A mention of a Catholic crucifix;
*Note: DJ calls Taylor evil, a spawn of the devil & “the devil girl”; A mention that Kriti is probably Hindu; A mention of a “little hellhole”; A mention of a goddess.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bull’, a ‘freaking’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘moron’, a ‘oh my gosh’, a ‘sheesh’, a form of ‘wimp’, two ‘duh’s, two ‘give a rip’s, two ‘sucker’s, three ‘crap’s, three ‘dumb’s, five forms of ‘witch’, ten ‘shut up’s, fifteen forms of ‘stupid’; A possible curse is cut off; Sarcasm, sass & eye rolling; Mean girls & bullies; Thinking of suicide; Taylor & Casey smoke; Mentions of martinis & wine; A mention of tobacco; A mention of cannibalism; A mention of Taylor’s father who’s in rehab & abuse when drunk;
*Note: Many mention of designers & celebrities; Mentions of Starbucks.


Sexual Content- a cheek kiss and two not-detailed kisses; A mention of Book #1’s passionate kissing & touching scene; Talks about kisses & first kisses; Taylor is a flirt & flirts with taken guys; a ‘babe’, a ‘baby’ and two ‘hot’s; When Casey & DJ hug, mean girls call them lesbians and to get a room; Five mentions of the rumor that the girl’s PE teacher is gay, and because of that rumor DJ feels uncomfortable when Ms. Jones gives her extra attention (it’s revealed in book #3 she has a boyfriend); Taylor asks if a teacher is gay (no, he’s not); A mention of a girl being bi & coming on to another girl (she isn’t & didn’t); Mentions of skanky-looking photos, photos of girls kissing girls, hoots from boys & someone asks if she’s “Training to be a porn queen?” (no, she’s not, the photos are edited); Mentions of guys noticing girls; A mention of the episode on the beach (Book #1) when Taylor embarrassed DJ; A mention of accusing someone of cheating; A mention of a pastor who had an affair; Two mentions of a pervert & one that might have kidnapped a girl as his sex-slave (did not happen); A mention of doing it in a back store room (but really just a “heavy make-out session” that could have gone to doing it but “it would be rather tacky to have sex in the backroom.” Then later a mention of going to a cheap hotel to do it.) Taylor says she doesn’t “want a guy who’s only interested in having sex.”; Lots of boys, boyfriends & girlfriends, dating & all that drama;
*Notes: A mini skirt is shown on the front cover; Mentions of Taylor’s breasts & lacy bra; Mentions of bras & “the girls”; A “butt out”.

-Desiree Jeanette “DJ” Lane, age 16
P.O.V. of DJ (Epilogue in Taylor’s POV)
209 pages

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Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- One Star
Early High School Teens- One Star (and a half)
Older High School Teens- Two Stars
My personal Rating- Two Stars
{Add 1-2 stars for girls in Public & Private School}
If I remember right, when I first read this series, this one was my least favorite in the series due to all the Sexual Content. But, the ending makes getting through all the icky stuff worth it! ;)


Link to review:
http://booksforchristiangirls.blogspo...


*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.

[Rose | Adventurous Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Woah, that was some cliffhanger. Also, this book had a severe case of the dRaMaTiCs.

Content: bullying, suicidal thoughts, lots of mentions of s*x and kissing, cheating

3 Stars

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stealing Bradford continues the journey of the Carter House girls. It is filled with drama and jealousy. I was shocked by something one of the girls did to Taylor. It was cruel and was too low of a thing to do. The ending makes me look forward to continuing the series to see what happens next.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating D

First Line "'I'm sorry, but my car's just not big enough for all the girls,' announced Eliza as they were finishing breakfast."

Review ...And cue the drama. Who will ride in what car? (Because we all know from Carter House Girls Book #1 that we are all supposed to hate Casey, the "troubled" "Goth chick" with safety pin piercings).

Believe it or not, I hated this book actually worse than I hated book number one, Mixed Bags. I didn't think it could get worse, but it did. DJ (the "athletic" "girl-next-door" protagonist), who I kind of liked in Mixed Bags, was schizophrenic in this book--first she can't stand this person, then she can't stand that person; first she's embarrassed by this boy, then she's mad at him, then she's "confused," but happy that he's her boyfriend. How about this gem of introspection:

"DJ smiled to herself as she went into the auditorium. Having a boyfriend, although it took some getting used to, was kind of fun," (p. 133).

Kind of fun? Takes getting used to? What is this girl, Amish? Give me a break. She's got a cute guy that she's been friends with for as long as she's lived in town (and they had a serious make-out session in Book #1), but she's not used to him? What? I'd be all up on that (as would most any other 16-year-old girl, right?).

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melody Carlson is easily one of the most prolific Christian writers of our time. Between kiddie/tweenie fiction series, Yuletide novels, and woman-centric dramas, she has written over two hundred books. You may think that producing literature at such a rapid pace would make Ms. Carlson's works low in quality, but, in my experiences with them, I've found them to be the exact opposite; Stealing Bradford is a perfect example. Like a well-produced Disney Channel Original Movie--although slightly harder-edged, especially at the end--this novel deals honorably and tastefully with serious issues that teens are quite liable to face in the real world. This is a sequel, so I would recommend reading Mixed Bags the series' debut, first. Older readers may not be too enthused about this, but those who are still young and/or young at heart will probably find this enjoyable. Just make sure you have the sequel on hand; the final few chapters' events will leave you hanging until the next installment.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too angsty for me, but it was pretty good. I remembered very little about book 1 so I kind of went into this one blind. I don’t like Bradford at all and I was very unhappy that Rhiannon got back together with him at the end. I felt bad for Taylor and everything she went through. Everyone hates her, and yes, she can be a little snotty at times, but I think she’s overall a good person. I’d like to see more development of her character in future books.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw a review for Mixed Bags which called the characters flaky and man are they just! Some seemed to have personality swaps and the others changed their opinions and attitudes based on the weather it appeared 😂

Now please bear in mind I'm a 22 female, and I enjoyed these books when I was 12, but having recently gotten the final few I decided to reread the entire series. This will all put a different slant on my opinion, but for a series of clean books with Christian themes and Christian discussion, I think it could be a good starting point for young girls, but considering this one was released in 2008, they're becoming less relevant as the years go by.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows right behind Mixed Bags. It starts right where the first one left off. Although this is only the second in the Carter House Girls Series, I think they are all going to be great. I think they are just write for an older teen or YA. There are several life lessons that keep popping up. It seems very true to life, the struggles a young lady would have with not only peer pressure but finding her way into the adult world and living her new found Christian faith. Loved the book. I think any teen could find one of six main characters they could relate to.

[Kimberly Storey · Rating 2 out of 5]

So the book is mainly about 6 girls who live in one house together. Only 2 are Christians, one of them is a new Christian. I was a bit turned off by them calling each other witches in place of the typical "B" word. The word crap was also used. One girl (non-Christian) was accused of being caught in the act with her boyfriend who claims to be a Christian, and there were several times the characters teased about homosexual relationships. I realize this is current in today's world, and the world could be worse, but I wouldn't be comfortable with my teen reading it.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the second book in the Carter House Girls, an entertaining series of Christian YA novels, which I actually bought for 2 dollars on Kindle because I enjoyed reading the first book so much. Like the first novel, this one was also well written, and I enjoyed seeing how the characters were developing. I got a good laugh in this one as well because a major plot element involved a MySpace page, and MySpace is very dead now. Anyway, I am so glad I started this cute series.

[Sarah Odom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a lot different than the first book. I shows what happens in high school and continues on the path of praying when things are crazy. DJ’s faith becomes stronger because her friends are going at each other then one of them goes missing. This book series is good just would recommend for someone who is 16+. Hard core topics in here!

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Guys, help. The girls in my 8th grade book club already made me read the first in this series and now they've made me read the second... and there's SIX more...pray with me they don't vote to work through the entire series. While I do see the appeal for a 8th grade girl, for me? Not so much.

[Jessica (BookRockGoddess) Bolton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second book was good but a little religious heavy for some people. I don't think that this will be to everyone's tastes but I thought it was good enough for me to continue on with the series.

[Amanda Schwind · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book demonstrates the complexity of the human person... These characters are complex, and Christians aren't inherently perfect.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so cute !!!! I can’t wait to read book 3!!! Fun easy reads

[MzDimitri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book I really didn’t like Taylor, but most of this book I just felt bad for her…not sure if I’ll be continuing the series or not though.

[Kathleen Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite these girls having so much privilege, these books cover some very real topics, like cyber bullying.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stealing Bradford was an easy read like the first book in the series. I'm not sure I enjoyed it as much, though. I appreciated how the issues with Connor and DJ were worked through, but since this is part of a series it's still unresolved at the end, which is okay, but I don't like too many loose ends. There was a big loose end that is sort of dealt with because you see the first chapter for the next book at the end of this one, but that's the only reason. Without that you'd be left hanging.

It seems like the characters are becoming more three dimensional as the series progresses, which is good. I like how gradually the deepening issues with Taylor are emerging and being peeled away like layers from an onion. It's great how the author shows that when you attempt to get to know people who you don't like, you will often see that their pain drives them to act the way they do. That's definitely the best part of this story. The scenario with Taylor at the school reminded me of A Walk to Remember's issue, almost as if it had been taken from that story. And last, I don't know why I kept seeing Taylor as a blonde in my mind's eye, then to find out she has a totally different parentage kind of threw me. Maybe I just missed that in the first book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This book follows directly behind the first (Mized Bags) book. It is literally like you hit pause from the first one and pick up in this one which is really nice. DJ is still trying to adjust to her new life and new ""friends"". She has many battles and struggles she faces and to top it all off things are about to get a whole lot worse. It can be difficult in school and even in life to know who to trust and who not to. It can also be difficult when people you want to be friends with are divided and pulling you in opposite directions. How do you know what to do? Well in this book DJ doesn't exactly handle things perfectly which makes her character that much more relatable. What is nice is that she is trying and is weighing her options. Her thinking about it and what to do doesn't help to stop some events in time but she ends up doing some good.

This one is better than the first one because it seems to flow a lot more nicely. DJ isn't as flaky and the characters are really starting to define themselves. This series seems to be an awesome one that can teach young teenagers and young women alike about how to better handle situations. The fact that it is christian based is more of a side note in this one which also made me like it more."

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really liking this YA christian stuff, but this one might have been too much for me. It felt very young adult. To the point where I feel like only a teenager might be able to relate to it. The writing felt amateur, the storyline was kind of silly. I just couldn't really get into it. Also, there was too much talk of people being gay. Not that any of the characters actually were gay, that we know of, anyway. But too much of the girls speculating about teachers being gay or other girls being gay, and it felt over the top.

Maybe kids these days really do think about this all the time. I don't remember thinking along these lines when I was in high school. It didn't matter to me, and it was none of my business, but I feel like it's half the focus for this novel. Granted, it's been over ten years since I was in high school, and I know things have changed, but that doesn't mean it's not annoying. I don't really think I'd recommend this series. The first one was okay, but this second novel wasn't great. I'll try one more, and if it doesn't get better, that's it for this series for me. Too many other excellent books out there.

[Pamela Hubbard · Rating 3 out of 5]

While these books are still on the cheesy side, with dialogue that seems stilted and unrealistic for teens, the message of the books is strong and they provide a clean read for teens. The girls living in the Carter House are still struggling to get along as the school year starts. The girls undergo some great growth and character development. Tensions are high as Taylor, the girl no one can get along with, sets out to aggravate the other girls, purposely stirring up trouble. This escalates to the point where she reveals some ugly truths about her life to DJ and then runs away. DJ continues to grow in her faith, start over in her relationship with Connor and reach out to the other girls. Casey also undergoes a change as she realizes that her rebellious ways are not really her and end up hurting her.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK I think I officially love Carter house girls more than Diary of a Teenage girl, granted this is only the second book, and I tend to get fed up by the third book so I guess I really cant say anything yet. I definitely loved this book more than the first one, the characters are becoming more developed and seem to have an actual personality. Sure I feel that Kriti doesn't get as much airtime as the other girls (theres seriously 6 of them) but I feel she will get a bigger role in the story. now Melody Carlson apparently has a tendency to take the Christianity thing over the top but although there was more in this book than the first one I still feel she wasn't shoving it down our throats, really good book cannot wait for #3 and I hope it doesn't disappoint, also Taylor please come home Casey is sorry and DJ loves you

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Carter House Girls' emotions are running wild as their diverse personalities clash over the subject of boys and dating. If there is one thing running rampant in this series it's Drama with a capital D. I'm not sure how I feel about Connor at this point and I'm wondering if he is even worth DJ's time. The rest of the girls I'm still getting to know, but there are definite ones (Taylor, Eliza) who are getting on my nerves and I don't know if they will ever shape up. Still, this book had me hooked and I wanted to see how things would turn out in the end. I would recommend.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2010...

[$hanel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stealing Bradford is the second book in the carter house girls series. The second book talks about all six girls:D.J.,Taylor,Kriti,Casey.Rihanna, and Eliana. The trouble starts when Rihanna starts dating the most popular boy in their high school, Bradford. The couple seems to be happy at first but mean girl Taylor comes over and steals Bradford from Rhianna and Rhianna is heartbroken by what Taylor has done! Rhianna plays some dirty tricks to get Bradford back, but nothing seems to work. Taylor says that she did not steal Bradford but it sure does seem like it! D.J. and the others seem to do what they can too to get Rhianna and Bradford back together but Taylor is on a roll! Will Rhianna ever get her "true love" back? Or is she always going to be heartbroken?

[VLynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just as charming as the first book in this series, Mixed Bags. However, the one draw back in this series is these books do not stand alone at all. There is no mini recap of the previous book to help catch the reader up or any history throughout the book to help explain why the characters are the way they are. I think the series is adorable and sweet. And real look into the young teens mind, this book deals with a real current issue. However, without the recap information I feel like the books need to read one after each other to understand them. And that many books in a row (I believe there are 7) may be too much young adult content for me. I would prefer to read one a week or so, but that means for me there 3 or 4 other books in between. I would need a brief recap.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, and a decent follow up to the first. I enjoyed reading what the girls in the Carter House are up to. I can imagine in a house of 6 teenage girls there will be a lot of drama, as this book so clearlly shows.

I do not miss the days of stealing boyfriends and playing games. Maybe some women still do that in their 20s, but thankfully I don't know them!

I am curious to read about Taylor's past in the last book. For a non-believer, she sure has a lot of scripture memorized.

[Mari · Rating 1 out of 5]

i read books 1 & 2 of this series one after the other - didn't like the first book, hoped the second was better but i was dead wrong. suffice it to say i am not interested in reading the rest. i didn't know that this was YA christian fiction and i don't think i'd mind but the christian references in this book felt too preachy and a bit forced. i thought the story and the characters fell flat, besides taylor, this "bad girl" who began to show some depth at the latter part of this book. sadly, one potentially redeeming character isn't enough to make me want to read more.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars! Loved the 2nd book in the series! This book starts right where the first book ended. It was the first day of school. This book goes through the first couple days of school and drama starts to unfold. Friendships are created and some friendships are broken. This book had left off as a cliffhanger. Can not wait to read the third book and see what happens. The Christian touch to this book was perfect and not overwhelming. Again this was a quick and easy summer read. I highly recommend this series to any teenage girl. 5 stars!

[Magma · Rating 5 out of 5]

ohmygosh! I couldn't believe what all happened in Stealing Bradford.
It was a wonderful continuation of Mixed Bags but I gotta say something.....Bradford stricks me as stupid, fickle, and an idiot....I mean REALLY....read the book and you'll see why I'm ticked at him<.<

I could NOT believe the somewhat cliffhanger ending Ms. Carlson made....I'm really glad they had the first chapter of the next book so we can see what happens next instead of banging our heads in frustration.

[Jazz]

The second in the line of the Carter House Girls series shows how teen girls react to relationships. What if they were being cheated on? What if their boyfriend began to distance himself from them because he thought something was her fault? And what if someone went to far with a joke? This book is a Bible for kids who want to learn how to handle certian situations and figure out what they would do instead of what the characters did.