Time Will Tell

Sierra Jensen #8

by Robin Jones Gunn

Faced with a serious lack of communication with her sister Tawni and her friend Amy, Sierra tries to trust in God to help her understand her relationships with the people in her life and not prejudge them.

Genres: Young Adult, Christian Fiction, Christian, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Teen

149 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

ROBIN JONES GUNN has written more than 100 books with over 6.5 million copies sold worldwide. Her Father Christmas books have been made into three Hallmark Christmas movies. The timeless Christy Miller series now continues in Christy & Todd: The College Years, Married Years, Baby Years, and the Haven Maker series. Robin's novels and non-fiction works include Before Your Tween Daughter Becomes a Woman, Victim of Grace, Praying for Your Future Husband, and Before You Meet Your Future Husband co-authored with Tricia Goyer. Her books have received multiple awards and are a favorite with book clubs and study groups. Many of Robin's books are in eBook, audiobook, large print, and foreign editions. Robin does a weekly Podcast called "Women Worth Knowing" with Cheryl Brodersen. Robin and her husband have a grown son and daughter and live in California.

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sierra is desperate to confront/reconcile with Amy. She lost Amy's friendship when she judged her and lectured her for French-kissing a boy.

After Sierra went to bed that night, she thought about Amy and the loss of their friendship. it wasn't so much that Amy had a boyfriend. It was the way their friendship had ended. Sierra realized now, quite clearly, that she had a different set of values and goals in her own dating life. She had formulated what she called a creed, which outlined her standards in writing. She had assumed that Amy had the same set of values and that she would only go out with a strong Christian and would be deliberate about staying morally and physically pure. That didn't appear to be Amy's goal.

So, basically, Amy Frenching a boy means she's 'unpure.'

Tawni tracks down her birth mother and writes her a letter. She finds out her birth mother had her at age 15.

Vicki and Sierra become friends because Vicki's a Christian now. Because if you share a religion with someone, that means you are instantly friends.

Sierra and her family are still living with senile Granna Mae. This is difficult and I sympathize.

Randy has long hair and the Christian school they go to doesn't like it. Cut it off or be expelled. Randy chooses to obey the school's rules instead of standing up for himself because we should obey our earthly masters, or something.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time Will Tell was a good read. There's drama surrounding Randy and his long hair. The school doesn't allow men to have long hair, but he eventually gets approval because he has good arguments for it... but then he realizes that he doesn't need it and ultimately cuts his hair.
Sierra and Amy are having problems and even though they do finally see each other, the friendship is still not good.
Sierra and Paul are sending each other letters.

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

If you liked the previous Sierra Jensen novels, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one, too; for a book as far in a series as this one, that's about all that needs to be said.

EDIT: Rereading this series has been a blast so far; I'm glad my library has it in its entirety! I could re-review these books, but...why reinvent the wheel?

[jaymee 💌 · Rating 5 out of 5]

first book of 2025!!!!🥳💕🫶🏻 it was good & on par with all the rest of the Sierra books! i enjoyed it!!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sierra and her friend Amy are struggling in their friendship. Amy's choices are ones Sierra doesn't approve of and she let's Amy know it. Later on,, Sierra makes a new friend who shares her values. Randy gets in trouble with the school for his hair, disputes the rule and gives his reasoning (they then okay it), but then he decides to follow the original rule anyway. Sierra and Paul reconnect through letters.

[Karina (Karina's Christian Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number of pages: 146

Genre: Contemporary YA

Series: Sierra Jensen Series #8

Age recommendation: High School (15/16)

Summary: Amy still isn’t talking to Sierra, Tawni has a big decision to make that she’s not telling Sierra about, and Randy is causing trouble at school by challenging the rules. Plus, Sierra hasn’t heard from Paul for a long time! Can she figure out these relationships before they ruin her entire senior year?

My thoughts: I love this quote from page 224 “don’t ever apologize for reading the Bible, Sierra. No matter how fast or slow you’re going through it.” It was a good reminder that it’s more important to do it, and to get something out of your Bible reading than to read through your Bible in a year.
I think this was my favourite book yet by Mrs. Gunn. There was still a little bit of romance, but overall, it was very light. The main part of the story was about friendship, being a good example to others, not cutting people off - even when you don’t agree with them, and just being there for people. I love Vicky and how she and Sierra can be friends.
Randy is such a great character. He's very mature, and an example to his whole school. I appreciated how he was able to question the school, without disrespecting their authority. He allowed them to think about whether their rules were outdated and needed to be changed.
I feel so bad for Amy. She is obviously going through a lot and it’s hard for her to have her parents split up. Also, I feel bad for Tawni. It’s a huge deal to find your birth mother, but it’s hard to know how to proceed with a relationship with them. I really hope her birth mom answers her back.
I really enjoyed how realistic and relatable this book felt. I really like the Sierra books (more than the Christy books) and I think it’s because I relate to her more than Christy; the big family, the striving for perfection at school, the impulsive behavior and quick forgiveness/inability to hold a grudge reminds me so much of myself.
Overall, this was a great book I'd definitely recommend, as well as the rest of the Sierra Jensen series!

My personal rating: 4.5/5 stars.

Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...

[lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

we love 24 hour reads

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as interesting as the previous one in Switzerland.

[Cadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I thought that even though at the beginning Sierra judged them, they still come back to Sierra when they need a good listener." -Cadee, age 12.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed reading about the life of Sierra Jensen and always look forward to the next stage. I did like how she had to trust God and accept what he was giving her in this book. I'd recommend this book to fans of Robin Jones Gunn.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2008...

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I've said it many times but I always appreciate how much more of a complex character Sierra seems compared to Christy. I really enjoy both series but I think, in general, the writing is definitely better in this series.

[Keri Murcray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last read May 2011

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

July 2013 re-read.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F GUN sj bk.8

[Claire Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow that was a great book. I am loving this series!!!!