The Lip Gloss Chronicles Book Club recommends The Oracle of Dating by Allison van Diepen

About the book:

For five bucks, the Oracle of Dating will tell you:

• How to flirt
• If that cute guy you’re crushing on likes you, too
• Whether your new romance will last through lunch period
• And much more

What she won’t tell you?  Who she is.

No one at Kayla’s school knows she’s the famous Oracle of Dating — the anonymous queen of dating advice.  She doesn’t even have a boyfriend.   Two relationship disasters were enough to make Kayla focus on everyone else’s love life.

But then her advice backfires on her own best friend.  And Kayla starts to seriously obsess about Jared Stewart — the very cute, very mysterious new guy in school.  Suddenly, the teen queen of advice needs her own oracle of dating — and she knows just where to find one…

Lip Gloss Rating: 4 Lip Gloss

What we liked: It only took a few hours to read. Although Kayla’s website  says “for entertainment purposes only,” for a low price, a teen can get great advice from a self proclaimed dating guru.  Of course, people are not aware of her secret life.   Jared is Kayla’s love interest.  Her feelings for Jared is best described as sweet.  The quirky teenager has to take some of her own advice.  The Oracle of Dating  is a teen romantic comedy filled with some realistic good advice for teens.

What we didn’t like: Sometimes it seems as if some of the dating issues were a little too grown up; but times have changed.

Lesson Learned: It’s easier to give out advice, than take your own.

Overall review: The Oracle of Dating is a quick fun read with a witty lead character.  ~ The Lip Gloss Chronicles Book Club Reviewer

4 Stars

The ultimate test?  Never dish on the same guy as your best friend.  You know nothing good can come of it.

As you can imagine, girl drama abounds in THE ULTIMATE TEST, the first volume in THE LIP GLOSS
CHRONICLES.  Britney has a great head on her shoulders and is a good role model for young girls reading this
book.  She’s stuck in a situation that happens all the time in any school, urban or not.   It takes a tough situation to
make the girls come to their senses and realize that friends should always come before boys.

To read the entire review, go to: http://www.teensreadtoo.com/UltimateTestLGC.html

The Lip Gloss Chronicles Book Club recommends The Promise by Chandra Sparks Taylor.

About the book:

Since she broke up with the hottest basketball player in school, seventeen-year-old Courtland Murphy has been the subject of a million rumors. The fallout from her relationship with Allen Benson has made Courtland more sure than ever that waiting to have sex is the right decision. But the drama’s not over, especially with her own father acting strangely and Allen out to make her life hell—with his teammates’ help. All except Aidan Calhoun, the new star player who’s just moved from Atlanta. Aidan supports her involvement in the Worth-the-Wait club and the upcoming purity ball, and despite vowing to never date another baller, Courtland’s falling fast. But can she trust her feelings for someone new when the people she’s closest to may not be what they seem?

Lip Gloss Rating: 4 Lip Gloss

What we liked: Courtland Murphy’s character was not only likable but believable. Her actions and thoughts mimicked teens. Her and Brees relationship showed the true meaning of being a friend.

Courtland is hesitant on revealing her feelings to a new boy, Aidan, due to being hurt previously. She not only deals with her newfound feelings for Aidan, but she’s dealing with her father’s indiscretions that could threaten her family structure.

What we didn’t like: I wanted to know more about Courtland and Allen’s past relationship. I regret that I didn’t read The Pledge, the first book in the series, prior to reading The Promise.

Lesson Learned: Everything is not always what it seems.

Overall review: Just like life, The Promise has a few surprise twists in the story that will keep the reader entertained. ~ The Lip Gloss Chronicles Book Club Reviewer

I was watching the CBS Early Show and the author Eve Ensler was on the show talking about her book I Am An Emotional Creature.

In the book she addresses teen dating violence. It’s something that every parent should read. Teen dating violence is not limited to any one region in the country; it’s wide-spread and that’s why I addressed the issue in the latest book in the Lip Gloss Chronicles series – Paper Thin.

I want teens to realize that they do not have to stay in an abusive relationship with a boy, they should first try to leave the boy alone. If that doesn’t work, don’t be scared to tell an adult about it so they can intervene and help.

Here are some facts from StayTeen.org:

# 1 in 5 teens who have been in a serious relationship report being hit, slapped or pushed by a partner.
# One-third of teen girls say they have been concerned about being physically hurt by their partner.
# One-quarter of teens who have been in serious relationships say their boyfriend has tried to prevent them from spending time with friends or family.
# Nearly 1 in 4 girls who have been in a relationship (23%) reported going further sexually than they wanted as a result of pressure.

If you’re a parent reading this blog, don’t let your teen be a statistic.
If you’re a teen reading this blog, do not let a boy abuse you. Tell an adult. Get out of it and know that you’re worthy to be treated with love and respect and that you’re not the one with the problem, the boy is.

In Paper Thin, the character has people who care and try to help her. For more information about teen dating violence, go to: http://www.loveisrespect.org or http://www.acadv.org/dating.html

I came across this article online about internet security. Here’s an excerpt:

It’s up to you to spend time with them on these issues and there are a number of excellent websites that you can use with your children to help them become better digital citizens.

• The FTC’s You Are Here Web site is interactive and designed for children to learn about advertising techniques, privacy on and off line, and rip-offs. Visit the Security Plaza and try the interactive tools yourself to familiarize yourself with what is available. Then spend time with your kids helping the to learn about privacy issues. You also may want to try out the other interactive sections of the website to help your children learn how to become better consumers and protect their pocketbooks. You can find more suggestions about how to make use of this Web site at the parents and teachers section.
• LMK: Life Online was created by the Girl Scouts and Windows to help teens to safely navigate online. Articles are written by teens with the intent of helping both teens and their parents understand the online world. Some key topics you’ll want to check out discuss privacy issues, online sexual predators and social netowrking.
• Tips for Protecting Personal Privacy Online is a Web site developed by Common Sense Media to help parents explain key issues, such as the fact that nothing is really private and privacy settings are not infallible. You’ll find tips for keeping personal information private, tips for setting up privacy settings on social network pages, tips for setting up rules about posting on the internet and tips about how to help your child understand the dangers of rumors. You also need to remind your kids that everything they post leaves a digital footprint and could come back to haunt them one day.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

I need your help. Today is the official release day for Paper Thin, the third book, in the Lip Gloss Chronicles series. Please get a copy for a teen in your life.

Many on the threads complain about teens reading adult books, well there are options and The Lip Gloss Chronicles has enough drama to capture teens attention, yet they are clean reads with lessons in between the pages.

Teens Read Too has highlighted me on their book club website to help celebrate Paper Thin’s release day. Check out the interview when you get a chance at: http://trtbookclub.blogspot.com/2010/01/visit-with-shelia-m-goss.html

Review of Paper Thin:

Ms. Goss does a wonderful job with this book of showing young women as they really are. She allows them to be selfish and loving, impatient and supportive and mostly, realistic. The reader is allowed to see how young people act when their lives change and how they deal with the economic struggles that hit their families. One of the more poignant messages deals with weight and self-esteem issues. We also get to see the young ladies deal with the timely and disturbing problem of violence among girlfriends and boyfriends. Paper Thin is an entertaining and enlightening book geared towards young people, but I recommend it to all readers. It made this reader, who has lived a long time, think, feel and relate. ~Angelia Vernon Menchan, APOOO BookClub  To read the entire review go to: http://www.apooobooks.com/paper-thin-shelia-goss/

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Here are highlights from the review:

Highlight #1:

How refreshing. Paper Thin was a refreshing contemparary read that I think every girl in middle school through high school should read.
Paper Thin discusses the important issue of weight in young girls that has since been an ependemic. With the increasing about of girls in the United States with eating disorders, I felt the topic of this book was well fitting.

Highlight #2:

The main thing I like about this book was the realists of this book.  Partucularly in the characters. The friendship beteween Sierra, Jasmine, and Britney is very real. Of course there is that bonded friendship that will last forever, but then again in reality there is always that underlying feeling of jealousy and an urge to outshine one another that is present in every friendship, and I love how that is not sugar coated in this book.
The plot is as drama filled as a drama book can get, from the friendship problems, to the family, relationship, and severe teenage problems on top of the main issue of Sierra’s weight, there are always many conflicts and problems going on all over the book.

Highlight #3:

In the end, this book was a way more interesting way to here educate young ladies on how over obsessing with your weight can take over your life in a very negitive way. I reccomend this book to all teenage girls.