Harsh Pink: Color Me Burned

TrueColors #12

by Melody Carlson

Kendra, the most popular girl in school, decides to make Reagan part of her elite crew. But Reagan finds that acceptance has a steep price, as her new friends make life miserable for anyone who gets in their way. And after a tragic accident and party gone too far, can Reagan make the right choices? The twelfth book in the TrueColors fiction series, Harsh Pink goes deeper into important teen issues such as peer pressure, relationships, identity, and values.

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

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

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

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

All the books in this series follow almost the identical path, except for a different conflict-a self centered girl finds herself in trouble, and a secondary character who is obviously there just for this reason, introduces our heroine to God, and everything is peachy. The topics adressed are serious and need to be discussed but I find it all just a bit too easy.

[Lucy Somerhalder · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oof, that's bad squishee.
Picked this up in a charity shop not realising it was Christian YA. It was in no way spiritual, and the very unsubtle message was, If you don't find God, you probably won't survive your teenage years. Ugh.

[Kbee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Overall: 1/5 Stars
Characters: 1/5
Setting: 2/5
Writing: 2/5
Plot and Themes: 2/5
Awesomeness Factor: 1/5
Review in a Nutshell: Harsh Pink is a boring, stereotypical Christian youth novel that has the potential to be so much better, but ultimately doesn't deliver.

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Issue: Being top dog in popularity
Sub-issue: Bullying, meanness, being a good friend

Reagan Mercer is new to the area and the school. She lives with her mother and grandmother. Her mother is a bit of a workaholic and her grandmother is noticeably mentally not the greatest (suspicion of dementia or Alzheimers).

In the world of varsity cheerleading, anything that may undermine one's status is something to be hidden. For Reagan, it is her grandmother and her health issues; for Jocelyn, another team member, it is that her family is poor.

Kendra is used to being the top dog, and even though she is not on the varsity team, she still struts her stuff as though she is. Reagan and Kendra become somewhat friendly, antagonizing Sally, who was used to being Kendra's "best friend".
Reagan is drawn into being mean to Jocelyn, whom Kendra replaces on the team after Jocelyn quits.

Reagan also doesn't want to be seen with Andrea - but when Sally has a party and Reagan isn't comfortable, Andrea helps Reagan make good choices. Reagan saves Sally and another cheerleader's lives - though Kendra is furious because they got into legal trouble (it's what happens when you're underage and drink).

Andrea, being a Christian, talks with Reagan about accepting Jesus, which Reagan does. This does not change Kendra's attitude toward Reagan (or anyone else who sides with Kendra).

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popsugar 2020: A book with a pink cover.
I read this is a teen, and reread it again. It brought me back to high school and that gave me mixed feelings. It was a fairly easy read, relatable story. Melody Carlson has been a favorite author of mine for awhile, but this one was okay- just not a favorite.

[Jessica King · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wasn’t nearly as boring as some of the others. The start wasn’t that slow. Reagan has a lot of things going on in her life from the beginning and I think that’s pretty accurate for most teenagers. But no cliff hangers at the end and I appreciate them wrapping up all the loose ends.

[Kiah Nordgren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character was written to be a terrible person, I do get that, but it was physically painful to read. Like. I did in fact throw my copy of the book away after finishing the book

[Madeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another trite YA novel about a girl who falls in with the popular mean girls and realizes the error of her ways (Before I Fall has a similar concept and does it far better, in my opinion). Except this one has a heavy-handed Christian message. Skip it.

[TWJ Magazine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brand new to Belmont High, Reagan Mercer gains an enemy when she beats the “it girl” out of getting on the varsity cheerleading squad. Now that fitting in is no longer an option, she is determined to attain popularity. Reagan becomes the typical “Mean Girl” of high school. Though she likes to think of herself as a survivor, she uses other girls to get to be popular, caring little for any feelings she might hurt in the process. She even ranks these girls by how popular they are. Class B’s and C’s are only the catalysts to propel her to becoming friends with the girls at the top- The class A’s. Will Reagan find out that popularity isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be?

Reagan’s ambition to become popular isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but it’s the way she goes about achieving popularity that’s the problem. At first, it doesn’t bother her if she uses a few people along the way. Reagan starts putting her “duties” as a cheerleader above her responsibilities and the needs of her family. Even she doesn’t like the person she’s becoming. She’s willing to laugh at other’s expense - as long as that means that she gets what she wants most - approval from the most popular girls. But the kind of life that seeks the approval of others only proves to be empty. Her life becomes filled by the constant competition with the other cheerleaders. It takes a birthday party turned near-tragedy for Reagan and other cheerleaders to finally get the wakeup call they need.

Harsh Pink wraps up the last of the Melody Carlson’s True Colors series with perhaps the topic girls struggle with the most. Many people know the film Mean Girls starring actress Lindsay Lohan, much like that movie, Harsh Pink shows that popularity and peer pressure are hard to resist. It feels good to be at the top of the high school “food chain”. It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting and striving to be popular, but, like Melody Carlson shows us through Reagan’s story, in the long run, it just can’t fully satisfy.

The Wordsmith Journal strives to guide readers to books of personal interest, with the understanding and respect that what appeals to some may not appeal to others. Therefore we attempt to keep our reviews focused on content, genre and style. The rating is necessary to make use of Goodreads and Amazon. It reflects the reviewer’s own level of enjoyment, but the review is intended to be informative for the benefit of all readers.

[Sofia Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Reagan: "Even when I saw Geek Girl in school during those first few days less than a week ago, I pretended not to know her. ... The only alternative would've been to set her straight, and that's pretty harsh. Anyway, I think she got the hint. Does that make me a mean girl? No, I reassure myself ... It simply means I'm a survivor."

It's hard to be the new girl. But if you do it delicately enough, if you know just the right way, if you speak or be quiet just when it is needed, you can be in the cool crowd in no time. That's what Reagan did. After making varsity cheerleading and making big progress about being friends with the coolest girl in school, she has finally attained a good place. But then there are people who don't want her around and who will do anything to get her out. And, anyway, why does she feel like such a hypocrite?

"Harsh Pink: Color Me Burned" tells the story of a girl trying to fit in with the cool crowd. Reagan constantly tries to manipulate the truth and play things her way. She tries to attain a cool status, but the more she tries, the more she feels like a hypocrite. Closer to the end, she gives her life to Jesus. And then the burden on her heart is gone, and she can finally change.

"Harsh Pink" doesn't have that much about God. Also, there are a couple places where I raised my eyebrows a little. Technically speaking, there is a lot of "telling," without which the story could probably be better. However, it did show how much God can help us through our problems.

A story of trying to fit in and finding out that that is not the biggest treasure, "Harsh Pink" can capture your attention.

This is the 12th book in the True Colors series. The rest are "Dark Blue: Color Me Lonely," "Deep Green: Color Me Jealous," "Torch Red: Color Me Torn," "Pitch Black: Color Me Lost," "Burnt Orange: Color Me Wasted," "Fool's Gold: Color Me Consumed," "Blade Silver: Color Me Scarred," "Bitter Rose: Color Me Crushed," "Faded Denim: Color Me Trapped," "Moon White: Color Me Enchanted," and "Bright Purple: Color Me Confused."

[Zoneswimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melody Carlson is the fabulous author of Harsh Pink. It's about a teenage girl who just moved into a new country. Reagan Mercer just made the varsity cheerleading squad when she runs into high school's homecoming queen, Kendra Farnsworth. Reagan finds herself going from enemy to best friend of Kendra. When she get's invited to a drinking party with her geek friend, she finds herself making a huge choice. Does she try and see if she can fit in with popularity? Or does she stand up for what she believes? Then as she thinks when life couldn't be any worse her 90 year old grandma falls when she isn't home. Her grandma is starting to not remember who anyone is. When Sally (worst enemy of Kendra and Reagan) invites them to her 18th birthday party when none of her parents are home, she decides she'll go. Reagan get's sick of being mean to her fellow classmates and leaves the party early. She goes to her neighbor who is in love with God, and asks for help. There she asks Jesus into her heart and thinks of what Jesus would do. So she goes back to check on everyone since they were going to see who could eat the most Jell-O shots. Where she finds Sally half conscious and all of her friends to wasted to care. Reagan finds herself calling 911.
Weeks later Sally's mom says "Thank you for if you wouldn't have called the paramedics she would be dead by now." Even though she becomes worst enemys with Kendra again Reagan knows she has good christian friends to help support her faith.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Harsh Pink, Reagan Mercer moved into a new high school after leaving her childhood town of Boston. She made the varsity cheerleading squad, but soon after found out she took the spot of Kendra Farnsworth, a popular girl you do not want to mess with. As she got sucked into Kendra's tight knit group of friends, she found herself losing her own identity and morals for Kendra's harsher ways of treating people. She sabotaged a friends cheerleading outfit and reputation and also started lieing to her mom and partying. She soon received a reality check after a party that went overboard when one of the girls almost dies of alcohol poisoning. She ditched Kendra and found her own identity.
This was one of my favorite books by Melody Carlson. I've read a lot of books from her color series, and this is probably my second favorite one. I got really sucked into this book, and I didn't want to put it down once I got started. It reminded me just how hard it is to keep your own identity and morals once you start compromising them for someone else. I really enjoyed this book.

[Taylor]

Harsh Pink by Melody Carlson is a very good book. Its about a girl that moves schools this year and she loves to cheer so she tired out. She made varsity! But she kicked this girl off, Kendra, and now Regan is starting to regret this whole thing. So after the first game they won and all the cheerleaders went to this party. But Regan wasn't invited so she followed and went to the party. She had some drinks and her and Kendra started to be friends. I think most teenage girls will like this if they give the series and chance. I don't think any guys would really like them because they are kinda chick books. But you never know who likes them. I really like this book. Actually i love the series! They are amazing, they really relate to a lot of girls. They actually teach people lessons on what you shouldn't do.

[$hanel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much for trying to fit in. Reagan Mercer and her Mom and her Grandma just moved from Boston and Reagan will do anything to fit in the in crowd... that might not happen because she emberassed Kendra Farnsworth during cheerleading practice and there is no way that Reagan has a chance now, but Kendra decides to play nice and let Reagan fit in with her crowd. That is until Kendra starts using Reagan to play dirty rotten tricks on other girls at school. Is this the friend that Reagan wants? No. In the end Reagan decides that she dosen`t need Kendra but does that through a tricky trick. Harsh Pink is a inspiring book for teenage girls that are dealing with friendship problems and fitting in. I have been there.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically mean girls in a book with a few plot changes I read this because it was free on kindle. It was pretty good for a free book, I don't know if I'd spend money on it though. The only thing I didn't like about this book was (and this might sound bad) how religious it suddenly got towards the end. It all seemed very fake and preachy to me. One day she's calling her neighbor ) an overly religious freak (she was), and the next she's talking about how god can help her through all her problems? Eh. It's not that I'm anti-religion or anything, it was just a little much for me. It was also a bit too preteen sappy for me. Other than that it was pretty good and hard to put down at times. :)

[Kala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book on my Kindle without realizing it's a religious YA book. If I had known that, I never would have gotten it - it's just not my thing. It reads like an over the top sermon against underage drinking and "mean girl" behavior (neither of which I condone). It was too preachy and I found myself skimming most of it just to get through it (since I didn't realize until about halfway through that it was a Christian novel). The story was not original at all - new girl joins up with the mean girls until she finds Jesus and becomes a nice Christian girl. I have zero interest in reading any other books by this author.

[Courtney]

Not going to rate this one because it just isn't my kind of book. If you like reading about how hard it is to be a part of the "in crowd" then this is definitely for you. Personally,... though,... I wanna just yell at these characters to GROW UP and do what makes you happy instead making your short years in high school about gaining the acceptance through the people you affiliate with.

Even though there was growth within the story at a tragic price,... it just wasn't a book I like to read...

[Audrey Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as graffic in details as Torch Red, This book is the ultimate in the bullies and mean girl club!! Some of the things these girls do and say to each other is UNBELIEVABLE!!
I would maybe let my daughter read this one when she is in her late teens. This book also cover's selfishness, class and status (rich vs poor), Popularity and peer pressure, and even rounds it out with underage drinking.
It also shows what happens when there is no family time and kids are expected and trusted to be ADULTS at 16 and 17.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been almost three years since I first started Melody Carlson's True Colors series, and, just now, I finished reading the twelfth and final book. The series as a whole was good, but its appeal seems to be limited; only those who enjoy "young adult" and Christian literature would enjoy the novels, and even some of those may be turned off by the edgy themes: drug addiction, cutting, suicide, alcoholism, etc. If you do decide to try True Colors out, make sure that you know what you're getting into before you do.

[Joann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It talks about knowing who your true friends are when things get tough and this book really digs deep into that topic. It is also about Christianity and how the teenagers convert themselves into Christians and their life is a lot simiplier. I don't want to go into detail about what this book is about because i recommend this book to everyone. This book is also a series and I'm hoping to read more of Melody Carlson's books.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melody Carlson, an author for girls ages twelve and up, has written another amazing book called, Harsh Pink! Harsh Pink is about a girl named Reagan. Reagan is new to her high school this year, and she has to deal with Kendra, the head cheerleader. I recommend Harsh Pink because it's a book that you can't put down, and it's very descriptive. I also think that you should have more of a higher reading level to read this book. Overall this book is AMAZING!

[Paigepossum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read 3 of the books in this series and this is probably my favourite. Largely because Melody Carlson didn't push the Christian element too much and so it felt more realistic. As a Christian I love reading books with Christian characters but that doesn't mean I want the book to be 98% about that with only a smattering of plot. I feel like this is an example of a Christian book that's not a 'Christian book'

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was pretty good, but not as exciting as all the other books. It was about a girl trying to fit into her new school. Well she did and got into the popular group. Things got out of hand, but another girl set her straight. She also told her how to invite Jesus into her heart. I am glad to be done with this series and start something new!

[LizzieM · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the rest of the series, Hot Pink ultimately felt too much like it was a combination of Deep Green and Burnt Orange. While I agree that the issues in the TrueColors Series need to be discussed, the series as a whole got way too repetive, and Hot Pink was no exception.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice book in the series because the topic didn't seem so dire. It was interesting to read about girls who are so mean because they want to be popular and stay popular, since I know nothing about that.

[Deanna]

I really enjoyed it! I didn't think I would like it quite so much but there you go. It turned out great and I think its very relatable. This last book of the series left me with good thoughts about the whole series.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fairly good Christian YA novel. It shows how a teenage girl gets tired of the peer pressures involved with staying popular and finds Christ and becomes a recovered "mean girl." It was a simply written novel, but it was well done, and the characters were drawn well also.

[Ashley L · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am sort of dispointed about melody carlson now because i have stopped in the middle of two books now because they were boring me i really dont recomend this to anyone :(

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was about knowing who you are, and sticking with your true friends. I think it was really well written, and can't wait to read more of the color series by this author.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

there wasnt alot of God in it as i would have expected..