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Christy Miller #6
A Heart Full of Hope
Christy starts going out with Rick and thinks it's romantic that he has come up with a list of things for them to do. What a thoughtful guy! So, why is it that her best friend Katie warns her to be careful of "Slick Rick"? When Rick lets Christy know he's not happy about her early curfews and weekend job, Christy wonders if she should heed Katie's warnings. Or is Katie secretly jealous? And where does mysterious Todd fit into Christy's life right now? Will Christy give up on all these complicated relationships? Or will her heart find a way to hope again?
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
8 people are currently reading
312 people want to read
About the author
Robin Jones Gunn
162 books2,638 followersROBIN 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
April 29, 2015
In this book, Christy makes her first foray into dating. I personally feel like she's already been dating for a year, but I guess that was just "hanging out" and not officially "dating?" o.O
Both love interests that Christy has are men (boys?) who I don't feel really deserve her. I feel very protective of Christy, and it makes me anxious when guys don't treat her right.
On the one hand, we have Todd. A strong Christian, a California surfer, and a putz. He hesitates to hold Christy's hand. He's kissed her a few times (five times over the course of a year, no tongue). He is always preaching to her about God, quoting the Bible to her, showing up late to dates, asking her on a date that turns out to be a group-outing, etc. He drives Christy nuts with his wishy-washy, non-committal, afraid-of-physical-contact hesitation.
On the other hand we have Rick. Ostensibly a Christian. He thinks he's an alpha male. Bossy, dominating, controlling, ALSO shows up late for dates (what IS it with these guys?), competitive and jealous. Doesn't he just sound like a great catch? He's waited 9 months for Christy to turn 16 so that they could start dating. Now that he's got her (she went out with him and on the first date agreed to "go steady" with him) he should be Proceeding With Caution. Instead, he's jealous of every guy who talks to her. He yells at her for taking a job without talking it over with him first. He STEALS a bracelet that Todd gave her (a gold one that says FOREVER) and trades it in at the jeweler's for a big silver one that says RICK. (She's not your dog, Rick. Grow up.) He's critical and controlling of what she wears, her hairstyles, and her make-up.
Instead of putting her foot down on how uncomfortable all this makes her, the basically spineless Christy just goes along with it, feeling more and more sick to her stomach with every passing day.
I really feel that I like Christy. I can identify with her, I care about her, I worry about her when she dates Rick, my heart aches for her when Todd brushes her off. I have strong feelings about Christy. But I don't like the author's basic message - that Todd is the perfect man, that Christy needs other people to "guide" her and "help" her make the "right" decisions, and her message that dating boys, wanting boys to touch you (just hand-holding or kissing, okay? Nothing heavy) is BAD. Because it brings you away from God, or makes you a slut, or something.
Christy does good, brave things often. But instead of the author rewarding her for this, she punishes her for it. In the last book, Christy was brave and talked to Todd about her feelings. She feels upset that he almost never touches her (like hand-holding! Not sex!), and does a great job explaining to him that she needs a little affection. He shuts her down, saying men are the leaders and women are the responders, and in a nutshell, she should be grateful for any scraps of affection he gives her. PUTZ.
In this book, Christy deals with the opposite problem - Rick is moving too fast for her. She does a really brave thing and talks to him about it. It takes serious guts to do this, I was really proud of her. Rick agrees to back off, but kind of makes fun of her for being a prude. Of course, in my opinion the serious problem with Rick isn't the 'fooling-around' part but the part where he thinks he owns and controls her. To the blessed relief the readers,
Another brave thing Christy does in this book is tell Todd about her true feelings for him. I was stunned. I was sure spineless Christy would keep her mouth shut, and as a result the author could make many misunderstandings between Christy, Todd, and Rick. But no! To my amazement, Christy has the ovaries to tell Todd how she feels. She is alone with him on the beach. Good. She tells him that she really, really likes him. She doesn't really want to be Rick's girlfriend. She has feelings for him - and she's had them for a long time. It's sweet, and heartrending, and so brave and meaningful.
What does Todd do? Kiss her? Tell her he feels the same way? Tells her that he likes (loves?) her too? No. He tells her, "It was selfish of me to think I could hold on to you and wait for you to grow up." OOOOHHHHH, DIS. Way to make the girl who loves you feel like sh*t, Todd. And then, he says, "May I bless you?" WHAT A PUTZ. EPIC FAIL. Then he tells her, 'Oh, by the way I'm moving to Hawaii." He promptly disappears for the rest of the novel. What on Earth does Christy see in this guy?!?!!?
What breaks my heart, what absolutely breaks my heart, is how grateful, happy, and stunned Christy is to receive a little bit of physical affection. Listen to these quotes from the book: "As the four of them talked, Rick's warm hand rubbed the back of her neck. Christy loved feeling adored. This was what she always dreamed it would be like with a boyfriend.
AND - ... She felt so secure slipping her hand in his and feeling his strong fingers wrap around hers like a blanket. Rick held her hand firmly during her entire walk, and Christy loved it.
After being around Todd, who starves her in regards to skin-on-skin contact (again, I want to stress we are talking about G-rated stuff here), Christy is just lighting up on the inside when Rick doesn't pull his hand away. HE ACTUALLY WANTS TO TOUCH HER AND LETS HER TOUCH HIM. In my opinion, Todd has done her no favors by making her so unsure and insecure of his feelings. It's just damaged her a lot and made her confused about guys.
Because Jones Gunn's message here is wrong. She is saying, "Any guy who touches you wants sex. By letting him kiss you, you're leading him on. Because you enjoy a man touching you, you are a slut with no morals." This is completely not true, and a very insulting message to both males and females.
This is one of the only books I've ever read where I'm actually hoping for a third love interest to come along. We have a love triangle, and I'm actually frantic for it to become a love square. Usually I hate love triangles, but here, with these two dismal choices for Christy, I'm actually desperate for Jones Gunn to bring an actual normal male in here so that Christy can learn that men are not all either a.) saints who refuse to touch you or b.) slavering potential rapists. The author will never bring in that kind of normal guy, though, because she thinks Todd is the perfect Christian man and is doing the right thing by being such a putz. *rolls eyes
Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, I want to bring up Christy's father's absolutely awful behavior in this book. When Christy comes home late from a date, her father is angry. Now, Christy just got back from saying putting her foot down with Rick, who she thinks is moving too fast because he wants to French kiss her. o.O How does her father respond? He assumes she was late because she was doing immoral sexual stuff with her date. He basically calls her a slut. OMG, I cannot even tell you what a bad move this is. Implying that your daughter is a slut when she's still a virgin is one of the quickest (if not THE quickest) way to ensure that she will start sleeping around. Not only that, but to a young woman, Daddy's opinion of you is so important. You're always trying to please your father, looking up to him, adoring him, and a father's constant love and pride in his daughter is VERY CRITICAL for her self-esteem and healthy development.
So instead of trusting his loving, responsible, strongly religious, moral, obedient daughter - he immediately and for no reason assumes that she's become a "loose" woman, insults her, and as a result she flees to her room in tears.
I think it's important to mention that THIS IS NEVER RESOLVED. Her father never apologizes to her. Instead, it's implied by the author that this is what Christy deserves for coming home past curfew. THIS IS SO F*CKED UP.
Christy, and any young woman, deserves to have some enjoyable dating experiences. Wanting to go out with a boy, hold hands with a boy, kiss a boy - is not wrong. It doesn't make you a slut. And guess what? MEN CAN BE NICE, RESPECTFUL, CONSIDERATE PEOPLE. This message that men are all one thread away from losing control and raping any woman they're with is f*cking insulting. It is a slap in the face to all the wonderful, kind, sweet, respectful, patient men that I have known in my life. Even Todd, who you'd think is the farthest thing from a rapist you could find - NOT SO. Instead, the message Jones Gunn in sending is "Todd is not touching you for your own good. You may not appreciate it, but he is resisting holding hands with you because feeling your soft, tiny, feminine hand in his would probably make him throw you down on the ground and take you by force. You should be grateful that he knows best. And you should be worshipping the ground he walks on because he has the self-control of a saint. Everything he does is for your own good, and if you can't understand it, that's okay - you're just a female and the world is a big and scary place. Thank God you have this strong, Christian man here to make all your decisions for you and keep you safe."
RAGE!!!!!
Both love interests that Christy has are men (boys?) who I don't feel really deserve her. I feel very protective of Christy, and it makes me anxious when guys don't treat her right.
On the one hand, we have Todd. A strong Christian, a California surfer, and a putz. He hesitates to hold Christy's hand. He's kissed her a few times (five times over the course of a year, no tongue). He is always preaching to her about God, quoting the Bible to her, showing up late to dates, asking her on a date that turns out to be a group-outing, etc. He drives Christy nuts with his wishy-washy, non-committal, afraid-of-physical-contact hesitation.
On the other hand we have Rick. Ostensibly a Christian. He thinks he's an alpha male. Bossy, dominating, controlling, ALSO shows up late for dates (what IS it with these guys?), competitive and jealous. Doesn't he just sound like a great catch? He's waited 9 months for Christy to turn 16 so that they could start dating. Now that he's got her (she went out with him and on the first date agreed to "go steady" with him) he should be Proceeding With Caution. Instead, he's jealous of every guy who talks to her. He yells at her for taking a job without talking it over with him first. He STEALS a bracelet that Todd gave her (a gold one that says FOREVER) and trades it in at the jeweler's for a big silver one that says RICK. (She's not your dog, Rick. Grow up.) He's critical and controlling of what she wears, her hairstyles, and her make-up.
Instead of putting her foot down on how uncomfortable all this makes her, the basically spineless Christy just goes along with it, feeling more and more sick to her stomach with every passing day.
I really feel that I like Christy. I can identify with her, I care about her, I worry about her when she dates Rick, my heart aches for her when Todd brushes her off. I have strong feelings about Christy. But I don't like the author's basic message - that Todd is the perfect man, that Christy needs other people to "guide" her and "help" her make the "right" decisions, and her message that dating boys, wanting boys to touch you (just hand-holding or kissing, okay? Nothing heavy) is BAD. Because it brings you away from God, or makes you a slut, or something.
Christy does good, brave things often. But instead of the author rewarding her for this, she punishes her for it. In the last book, Christy was brave and talked to Todd about her feelings. She feels upset that he almost never touches her (like hand-holding! Not sex!), and does a great job explaining to him that she needs a little affection. He shuts her down, saying men are the leaders and women are the responders, and in a nutshell, she should be grateful for any scraps of affection he gives her. PUTZ.
In this book, Christy deals with the opposite problem - Rick is moving too fast for her. She does a really brave thing and talks to him about it. It takes serious guts to do this, I was really proud of her. Rick agrees to back off, but kind of makes fun of her for being a prude. Of course, in my opinion the serious problem with Rick isn't the 'fooling-around' part but the part where he thinks he owns and controls her. To the blessed relief the readers,
Another brave thing Christy does in this book is tell Todd about her true feelings for him. I was stunned. I was sure spineless Christy would keep her mouth shut, and as a result the author could make many misunderstandings between Christy, Todd, and Rick. But no! To my amazement, Christy has the ovaries to tell Todd how she feels. She is alone with him on the beach. Good. She tells him that she really, really likes him. She doesn't really want to be Rick's girlfriend. She has feelings for him - and she's had them for a long time. It's sweet, and heartrending, and so brave and meaningful.
What does Todd do? Kiss her? Tell her he feels the same way? Tells her that he likes (loves?) her too? No. He tells her, "It was selfish of me to think I could hold on to you and wait for you to grow up." OOOOHHHHH, DIS. Way to make the girl who loves you feel like sh*t, Todd. And then, he says, "May I bless you?" WHAT A PUTZ. EPIC FAIL. Then he tells her, 'Oh, by the way I'm moving to Hawaii." He promptly disappears for the rest of the novel. What on Earth does Christy see in this guy?!?!!?
What breaks my heart, what absolutely breaks my heart, is how grateful, happy, and stunned Christy is to receive a little bit of physical affection. Listen to these quotes from the book: "As the four of them talked, Rick's warm hand rubbed the back of her neck. Christy loved feeling adored. This was what she always dreamed it would be like with a boyfriend.
AND - ... She felt so secure slipping her hand in his and feeling his strong fingers wrap around hers like a blanket. Rick held her hand firmly during her entire walk, and Christy loved it.
After being around Todd, who starves her in regards to skin-on-skin contact (again, I want to stress we are talking about G-rated stuff here), Christy is just lighting up on the inside when Rick doesn't pull his hand away. HE ACTUALLY WANTS TO TOUCH HER AND LETS HER TOUCH HIM. In my opinion, Todd has done her no favors by making her so unsure and insecure of his feelings. It's just damaged her a lot and made her confused about guys.
Because Jones Gunn's message here is wrong. She is saying, "Any guy who touches you wants sex. By letting him kiss you, you're leading him on. Because you enjoy a man touching you, you are a slut with no morals." This is completely not true, and a very insulting message to both males and females.
This is one of the only books I've ever read where I'm actually hoping for a third love interest to come along. We have a love triangle, and I'm actually frantic for it to become a love square. Usually I hate love triangles, but here, with these two dismal choices for Christy, I'm actually desperate for Jones Gunn to bring an actual normal male in here so that Christy can learn that men are not all either a.) saints who refuse to touch you or b.) slavering potential rapists. The author will never bring in that kind of normal guy, though, because she thinks Todd is the perfect Christian man and is doing the right thing by being such a putz. *rolls eyes
Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, I want to bring up Christy's father's absolutely awful behavior in this book. When Christy comes home late from a date, her father is angry. Now, Christy just got back from saying putting her foot down with Rick, who she thinks is moving too fast because he wants to French kiss her. o.O How does her father respond? He assumes she was late because she was doing immoral sexual stuff with her date. He basically calls her a slut. OMG, I cannot even tell you what a bad move this is. Implying that your daughter is a slut when she's still a virgin is one of the quickest (if not THE quickest) way to ensure that she will start sleeping around. Not only that, but to a young woman, Daddy's opinion of you is so important. You're always trying to please your father, looking up to him, adoring him, and a father's constant love and pride in his daughter is VERY CRITICAL for her self-esteem and healthy development.
So instead of trusting his loving, responsible, strongly religious, moral, obedient daughter - he immediately and for no reason assumes that she's become a "loose" woman, insults her, and as a result she flees to her room in tears.
I think it's important to mention that THIS IS NEVER RESOLVED. Her father never apologizes to her. Instead, it's implied by the author that this is what Christy deserves for coming home past curfew. THIS IS SO F*CKED UP.
Christy, and any young woman, deserves to have some enjoyable dating experiences. Wanting to go out with a boy, hold hands with a boy, kiss a boy - is not wrong. It doesn't make you a slut. And guess what? MEN CAN BE NICE, RESPECTFUL, CONSIDERATE PEOPLE. This message that men are all one thread away from losing control and raping any woman they're with is f*cking insulting. It is a slap in the face to all the wonderful, kind, sweet, respectful, patient men that I have known in my life. Even Todd, who you'd think is the farthest thing from a rapist you could find - NOT SO. Instead, the message Jones Gunn in sending is "Todd is not touching you for your own good. You may not appreciate it, but he is resisting holding hands with you because feeling your soft, tiny, feminine hand in his would probably make him throw you down on the ground and take you by force. You should be grateful that he knows best. And you should be worshipping the ground he walks on because he has the self-control of a saint. Everything he does is for your own good, and if you can't understand it, that's okay - you're just a female and the world is a big and scary place. Thank God you have this strong, Christian man here to make all your decisions for you and keep you safe."
RAGE!!!!!
February 6, 2017
4 stars out of 5, just because Rick annoys me to no end. Review coming soon!
July 29, 2011
I Remember really liking these books when I was little. I really liked it.
December 6, 2014
This is my favorite book out of the Christy Miller series for many reasons. Out of all her books I felt like this was the most well written and really made me feel as though I was in the environment with the characters. These characters are very relatable and help the reader get into the novel. I feel like these characters and books are relatable because the characters are common everyday people in everyday situations. If you are looking for an action packed crazy adventure these books are not for you. But this reality fiction series is a good guide for christian teens growing up in this world.
August 28, 2021
This book was pretty good. I have to say that I am SO glad that Christy didn't end up with Rick. Rick is such a jerk! Anyone looking can see how bad he treated Christy even while doing nice things for her. Just because a guy takes you out, gives you nice things, and gives you compliments doesn't mean he is the right guy especially if he says some not nice things in the process. I think this book does a good job showing the difference between what a good, godly boyfriend should be (Todd) and who is not (Rick).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2025
rick is a jerk, i'm sorry, but he is. 2.5 stars-- christy needs to know what a red flag is
August 15, 2018
I picked this up as a short read while I am waiting for a reserved book on my library app. I read it so fast I don't even believe it!
So through all the books from this series I have read so far, I have gotten annoyed at Christy and the choices she makes. But as I go along, I can see her grow and mature and that's cool.
I got so annoyed with Rick though! He has a few pros but in regards to his relationship with Christy, there are a lot of cons.
I want Todd back! He only made a short appearance in this book.
So there are a couple things I want to mention/talk about.
1. I think that her parents need to get a few things straight. a. They need to acknowledge that Christy is a young adult now and respect her for that. SHe is happy about having boundaries set for her but they need to make things more personal. b. They need to encourage her spiritual walk. They never talk to her about that! "Hey Christy, how can we pray for you?", "Christy, what have you been learning from the Bible?", simple things like that. And c. Teach her about making good choices in the current romantic relationships and feelings she has. Doing what she is doing isn't taking her future marriage into consideration. Just had to say that! They seem to be good parents but they could do a little better.
2. Rick! Come on, dude! If you are going to give a girl a gift, you don't hide it in her dinner to surprise her! Eww! And what girl wants the name of her creepy boyfriend stamped onto her jewelry?
3. I must say though, the last chapter made up for the annoying things that took place in the rest of the book. *long happy sigh*
Well done Christy! You have a few things straight!
I love her prayer on the swing:
Father, You know how much thinking I've been doing this past week. I keep coming to the same conclusion. I need to fall in love with You. I need to be content with just You as my first love. I'm not ready for a steady relationship with any guy until I'm first secure in my love for You. I want to love You with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind. I want to be more in love with You than I've ever been with anyone or anything. What did that poem say? 'All that I have I give. Smile Thou, and I shall sing but I shall not question much'.
I overall liked how this book concluded and looking forward to seeing how Christy grows next.
So through all the books from this series I have read so far, I have gotten annoyed at Christy and the choices she makes. But as I go along, I can see her grow and mature and that's cool.
I got so annoyed with Rick though! He has a few pros but in regards to his relationship with Christy, there are a lot of cons.
I want Todd back! He only made a short appearance in this book.
So there are a couple things I want to mention/talk about.
1. I think that her parents need to get a few things straight. a. They need to acknowledge that Christy is a young adult now and respect her for that. SHe is happy about having boundaries set for her but they need to make things more personal. b. They need to encourage her spiritual walk. They never talk to her about that! "Hey Christy, how can we pray for you?", "Christy, what have you been learning from the Bible?", simple things like that. And c. Teach her about making good choices in the current romantic relationships and feelings she has. Doing what she is doing isn't taking her future marriage into consideration. Just had to say that! They seem to be good parents but they could do a little better.
2. Rick! Come on, dude! If you are going to give a girl a gift, you don't hide it in her dinner to surprise her! Eww! And what girl wants the name of her creepy boyfriend stamped onto her jewelry?
3. I must say though, the last chapter made up for the annoying things that took place in the rest of the book. *long happy sigh*
Well done Christy! You have a few things straight!
I love her prayer on the swing:
Father, You know how much thinking I've been doing this past week. I keep coming to the same conclusion. I need to fall in love with You. I need to be content with just You as my first love. I'm not ready for a steady relationship with any guy until I'm first secure in my love for You. I want to love You with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind. I want to be more in love with You than I've ever been with anyone or anything. What did that poem say? 'All that I have I give. Smile Thou, and I shall sing but I shall not question much'.
I overall liked how this book concluded and looking forward to seeing how Christy grows next.
March 8, 2023
A Heart Full of Hope was an eventful read. Christy is allowed to date, finally, and ends up agreeing to exclusively date Rick. He gets her to take off her Forever bracelet (that was a gift from Todd) on their first date and she puts it in her purse. Later we find out that when she forgot her purse in his car, he stole the bracelet and ends up trading it in for a bracelet that says "Rick" which he gives to her.
Christy and Rick end up breaking up and she gives back the bracelet. She goes to the store he got the bracelet from to see if they still have the Forever one and they do. So now she is making payments on it to buy it back. Still can't believe Rick did that! So many of his actions in this book annoyed me and you can tell that he and Christy aren't right for each other.
Christy and Rick end up breaking up and she gives back the bracelet. She goes to the store he got the bracelet from to see if they still have the Forever one and they do. So now she is making payments on it to buy it back. Still can't believe Rick did that! So many of his actions in this book annoyed me and you can tell that he and Christy aren't right for each other.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2023
Christy agrees to date Rick, exclusively, and that was definitely a learning experience. He's bossy, controlling, pressuring, and angry if he doesn't get his way.
I didn't like Rick at the start of this book and by the end I felt justified -
I didn't like Rick at the start of this book and by the end I felt justified -
November 29, 2013
After finishing this sixth volume, I wonder who Christy will pick: Rick, Todd, or someone else entirely? Hmm...
The story, writing, and such were consistent with the previous entries in the series.
EDIT: See my review of the entire series at:
http://rwlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/0...
The story, writing, and such were consistent with the previous entries in the series.
EDIT: See my review of the entire series at:
http://rwlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/0...
February 6, 2016
I bought "A Heart Full of Hope" off Amazon and was excited pretty excited to read this book and continue with Christy's story. :)
*full review to come*
*full review to come*
July 18, 2014
Nice continuation of the series, looking forward to the next one! It was a bit predictable, but it still had me interested.
August 13, 2023
(2023) Never let go of your standards.
January 12, 2023
3.5 stars
This book was good, but I found something didn't quite click with the way Christy was acting. She changed her mind so many times about who she loved, if she wanted to date someone yet etc, that it seemed almost unrealistic. Her mood swings and her emotional fickleness seemed if not poorly-thought-out and -written, at least somewhat exaggerated. But it still had a really good message :).
This book was good, but I found something didn't quite click with the way Christy was acting. She changed her mind so many times about who she loved, if she wanted to date someone yet etc, that it seemed almost unrealistic. Her mood swings and her emotional fickleness seemed if not poorly-thought-out and -written, at least somewhat exaggerated. But it still had a really good message :).
July 1, 2020
The whole thing with Rick really annoyed me, he is such a jerk!
Not sure about the end date but yeah
Not sure about the end date but yeah
June 25, 2021
Ugh. Why does Christy not have a backbone? Seriously.
June 16, 2023
3.5 stars
March 1, 2025
Some reread thoughts as an adult (2020):
Christy lets herself be pulled along by others too much in this one, just like she did in A Whisper and A Wish. The "I didn't know what time it was!" got old fast. Maybe she doesn't wear a watch, but did car dashboards not have clocks in 1992? I was very glad when she asserted herself at the end of the book - I like that she ultimately knows and does what is right, even if it takes her a while to stand up for herself.
The pseudo break up on the beach bothered me as a teenager, and it practically infuriates me as an adult. It is incredibly unfair for Todd to tell Christy she needs to grow up, when she has been the mature one in this relationship! Yes, there was some petty phone call behavior in Yours Forever, but after their relationship was established with the bracelet and promise of forever friendship (at the end of that book), Christy has been the one who rolls with the punches while Todd takes another girl to prom and does nothing (in front of Christy) to discourage Paula's advances. For him to insinuate she is not mature enough for a dating relationship was unfair.
As for Rick, I think he's the only character in the series with more emotional ups and downs than Christy. He alternates between an attentive/romantic and a possessive/controlling boyfriend. The bracelet scam is too much and part of me wishes Christy had pressed charges, though I understand why she didn't. I am glad the relationship ran its course in one book.
All my complaints aside, don't think I don't love these books! They are my comfort series I will reread for the rest of my life. There is a lot of good in this volume, too. I love Christy's experiences with her first job (Walter!) and her adventures with Katie. This is also the book that introduced me to Christina Rossetti. I bought a small book of her poetry after reading this as a teenager and still have it.
Christy lets herself be pulled along by others too much in this one, just like she did in A Whisper and A Wish. The "I didn't know what time it was!" got old fast. Maybe she doesn't wear a watch, but did car dashboards not have clocks in 1992? I was very glad when she asserted herself at the end of the book - I like that she ultimately knows and does what is right, even if it takes her a while to stand up for herself.
The pseudo break up on the beach bothered me as a teenager, and it practically infuriates me as an adult. It is incredibly unfair for Todd to tell Christy she needs to grow up, when she has been the mature one in this relationship! Yes, there was some petty phone call behavior in Yours Forever, but after their relationship was established with the bracelet and promise of forever friendship (at the end of that book), Christy has been the one who rolls with the punches while Todd takes another girl to prom and does nothing (in front of Christy) to discourage Paula's advances. For him to insinuate she is not mature enough for a dating relationship was unfair.
As for Rick, I think he's the only character in the series with more emotional ups and downs than Christy. He alternates between an attentive/romantic and a possessive/controlling boyfriend. The bracelet scam is too much and part of me wishes Christy had pressed charges, though I understand why she didn't. I am glad the relationship ran its course in one book.
All my complaints aside, don't think I don't love these books! They are my comfort series I will reread for the rest of my life. There is a lot of good in this volume, too. I love Christy's experiences with her first job (Walter!) and her adventures with Katie. This is also the book that introduced me to Christina Rossetti. I bought a small book of her poetry after reading this as a teenager and still have it.
January 28, 2009
I've enjoyed reading this series and going through the ups and downs of Christy Miller as she tries to steer through life. This book had a slight damper though, I did not like Rick. I've actually never thought much of him. Some of his actions in this book were a little underhanded, and very possessive. I probably would have dropped him like a plate of hot coals if he had tried those stunts on me. I wouldn't have had him be my boyfriend, no sirreebob. Aside from that detail, I still liked the book and would probably recommend it.
*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2009...
*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2009...
January 6, 2012
As one reads through the Christy Miller books some of them tend to run together and feel a bit lightweight, yet are still fairly important stories for Christy's growth as a character. This is one of those -- Christy has turned 16 and is allowed to date, and so is "wooed" by the big man on campus Rick Doyle. She discovers that being by pursued by the hot guy isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Readers will know from the beginning how things will work out, but that's all right, Christy stays true to herself.
August 20, 2016
Although I very much enjoyed this book, I have to give it a three star rating, because I just don't really like the main character, and I despise rick. :( Also I do not like the kissing and all the hugging and weird talk. I do like Todd though. :) This book is definitely for an older audience, of about 13 and up. So I enjoyed the book, but had quite a few things I didn't like.
September 6, 2014
This was by far the worst Christy Miller book ever. I thought that Christy must have been high, because she was never thinking! She made so many bad decisions and messed everything up. And then she chooses to remain innocent by not reporting Rick's thievery. What a moron.
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March 26, 2010F GUN cms bk. 6
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July 24, 2010Read this christian books series as a tween. High school drama with an emphasis on the characters' relationship with Christ.
June 7, 2017
Nobody is really at their finest in this one and I end up frustrated with a lot of characters but...I know what is coming so it's fine.
January 28, 2014
Love the cover <3 Great book
June 26, 2014
Great read
June 25, 2020
Conflicted feelings on who to date, how far is ok, controlling boys, listening to parents advice.
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