Double Date

The Dating Games #3

by Melody Carlson

With rumors flying and everyone taking sides, will the girls of the Dating Games club ever agree on their new members?

The girls of the DG have found that through the club, both their friendships and their dating savvy have grown. But all that is about to be put to the test. Despite their promises of secrecy, word has somehow gotten out, and new girls want to join the club. The reaction in the DG is mixed, but with the Christmas Ball coming up, they need to pull together to organize their double dates. The trouble is, how can they get guys interested in a dance that’s become increasingly unpopular?

Genres: Christian, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Christian Fiction, Young Adult

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 2015

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 3 out of 5]

About this book:

“With rumors flying and everyone taking sides, will the girls of the Dating Games club ever agree on their new members?
The girls of the DG have found that through the club, both their friendships and their dating savvy have grown. But all that is about to be put to the test.
Despite their promises of secrecy, word has somehow gotten out, and new girls want to join the club. The reaction in the DG is mixed, but with the Christmas Ball coming up, they need to pull together to organize their double dates. The trouble is, how can they get guys interested in a dance that’s become increasingly unpopular?”


Series: Book #3 in “The Dating Games” series. Review of Book #1 Here! and #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- Set at a Christian high school; A couple Scripture are mentioned & talked about; Prayers; Talks about God & praying; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God & His grace; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches & church going; Mentions of Christmas; A few mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of blessings over food; A mention of a miracle;
*Note: A mention of a girl having a bit of the devil in her.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, an ‘idiot’, a form of ‘shut up’, a form of ‘wimp’, two ‘crud’s, two ‘duh’s, two ‘witch’s, and twenty ‘stupid’s; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Lots of eye rolling; A bit of sarcasm; Many mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of threats, guns/knives, & creepy thoughts (like seeing a murdered body, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of bullies & facing racism; Mentions of blackmail; Mentions of alcohol, (underage) drinking, & getting drunk (Book #2); Mentions of hatred; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of divorces; A few mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A couple mentions of gangs & drugs;
*Note: Mentions of brand names (including Apple products); A few mentions of celebrities; A few mentions of car brands; A mention of Girl Scouts.


Sexual Content- a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; a ‘babe’, a ‘cougar’, a ‘sexy’, a ‘sl*t’, two ‘hot’s, and three ‘hooker’s, All about many mentions of boys, boyfriends/girlfriends, & dating; Many mentions of dances & dates; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of abstaining from sex on dates; A few mentions of kisses & kissing; A couple mentions of boy crazy girls; A mention of a guy having his way with a girl (teasing mention, does not happen);
*Note: Mentions of a hinted rumor of a girl being an exotic dancer/hooker & her website page with provocative photos (not quite pornography) and suggestive comments (it was all fake); Mentions of other fake and provocative websites; A few mentions of girls wearing low-cut tops & short-short skirts; A few mentions of underwear; A couple mentions of a girl showing a lot of leg & not being able to bend over without showing her bum; A mention of skimpy clothes; A mention of an inappropriate wardrobe; A mention of a form-fitting and strapless dress; A mention of a girl getting a makeover to get some serious male attention; A mention of a girl’s curvy figure; A mention of someone being a pain in the rear.

-Devon Fremont, age 16
-Cassidy Banks, age 16
-Emma Parks, age 16
-Bryn Jacobs, age 16
-Abby Morrison, age 16
P.O.V. switches between them
215 pages

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Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- One Star
Early High School Teens- Two Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
While the ending of this third book was a little rushed, it was a cute story to get in a Christmas-y mood. Normal teen dating drama with some typical unwise choices thrown in, it was a decent read. I’m curious how the final book will wrap-up this series.


Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...


*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.

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

More fun from this series! I'm really enjoying this one!

[Danielle Turko · Rating 4 out of 5]

After getting their first date and a blind date out of the way, the girls decide a double date is the next step. When better to do it then the Christmas ball? In order to make sure they get asked on a double date, they arrange a contest that requires 2 couples to work together, and add in some great prizes an incentive. The one sticky point is there are 5 of them, in order for it to work best they need one more member. Originally they choose Felicia, but some rumours around school make them second guess their choice. Maybe Amanda would be a good choice, but there's something about her that Cass doesn't fully trust. They managed to survive dating, but can the club survive another member?
This book made the characters the most likable of the first 3, but it still didn't overly make me want to spend time with any of them. There is at least one more book in this series, but I'm not sure I would go out of my way to read it. The actual date part of it felt very rushed too.

[Lydia Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn’t as fond of this one as the first. Warning *SPOILERS*

In this one, the DG are trying to come up with Double Dates for the Christmas Ball, but not very many people are actually interested in this dance. That, and there’s five girls in DG, which make a problem for Double Dating. As a solution, they all suggest adding new girls to the group. One of the girls they like, though, has gotten into trouble with a bully at school and with the principle and she’s kicked out because of what the bully did to her. So in the middle of planning the ball, trying to find another girl for the group, and finding dates, many of the girls are trying to help the expelled girl prove herself innocent.

Their choices and friendships are put to the test in this book and many of them learn a few things. I’ll let you read it, though, to find out the whole story.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only saving grace to this book was the positive Christian message weaved into it. I also liked that the Devon character was not as much the villain.
However, the following are getting old:
1- how catty these girls are, always ready to pick a fight and ditch the club.
2- why are some parts of the story fairly detailed, while others are left really poorly supported (i.e. The love interests for all girls, even though many are repeat offenders from previous books in the series OR the sleigh projects of some in this novel OR the storylines of some of the girls--we know very little about the new DG members family situations and are left guessing if Devons home life is as bad as she thinks or if she is just being a drama queen...).
3- finally, the end of this book seemed super rushed. The beginning was fairly descriptive, but then later sleigh projects were poorly described (if at all) and the dance/date/follow up/ice skate party were not described much or at all as well.

I keep having to convince myself to keep reading, and mostly because I just want to know the final end state of these girls. I also keep hoping that the author will stop treating Devon so bad and allowing the other girls to do so...

[Natasha Polak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read from start to finish, with a great focus on the needs of others. In this 3rd book in The Dating Game series, Double Date by Melody Carlson is what happens when the members of the DG plan out a fun Christmas ball, complete with a fundraiser for children in need. In the midst of all their planning, their friendships are tested - and some new faces enter the scene with some rather surprising results.

What I liked about book 3 is that the characters have really grown a lot, and not just with their peers, but also with their parents. It reminds me that through a teen's journey in high school, it's not all about what goes on in the classroom, but what happens the rest of the time! And it's always good to read about teens being selfless and finding ways to do something for their local community! Great read just in time for preparing for the holiday season.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm starting to like this series a lot, which surprises me since I didn't really like the first two books. But, I almost always love Melody Carlson's books, so I guess it's no surprise these books are growing on me.

I'm really wondering about Amanda, though! Is she friend or foe?

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want the dress on the cover.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F CAR dg bk.3

[Duchessbookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

better than the other books