I found out while watching the Oscars, my YA book Paper Thin: The Lip Gloss Chronicles Vol. 3 is a Dallas Morning News Best Seller. Thanks to all who purchased the book for their teenagers.

1. If You Were My Man, by Francis Ray

2. The Lip Gloss Chronicles: Paper Thin, by Shelia M. Goss

3. The Reason Why, by Vickie M. Stringer

4. Beater, by Brian W. Smith

5. Goodness and Mercy, by Vanessa Davis Griggs

Yippee–another 4 star review!

Check it out:

SPLITSVILLE is Volume 2 in THE LIP GLOSS CHRONICLES.  In the first book, the reader gets a glimpse
inside the life of Britney.  For SPLITSVILLE, the reader now gets to know more about Jasmine, Britney’s friend
from THE ULTIMATE TEST, and the girl who DJ Johnson was bothering.

Jasmine’s life is out of control these days.  She’s practically failing geometry, so she engages Cecil as her tutor.  DJ
is still on her case at school.  She interacted with TallandFly on the Internet and now he won’t stop texting and
calling her.  And last, but certainly not least, her parents are constantly fighting and it looks like they’re headed for
divorce.

Thankfully, Jasmine has her friends.  They insist on accompanying her to the mall to meet the boy from the Internet.
They stand by her side when DJ gets in her face again. They tell her she’s being too tough on Cecil, her tutor, who
obviously has a crush on her.  And they help her out when she gets her parents to agree to go on a new reality show
that offers marriage counseling, Situation Number Nine.

As the reader can imagine, with all of these things going on, something is bound to happen.  But I’m not one to give
away such exciting plot twists.  You’ll just have to pick up SPLITSVILLE for yourself and find out what happens to
Jasmine!

This second installment of the series continues the story of Jasmine, Britney, and Sierra nicely.  It’s easy to pick up
from where the first novel left off.  And if you’re discovering THE LIP GLOSS CHRONICLES for the first time,
you’ll easily figure out all of the characters.  It was also nice to see a different point of view in this novel as
compared to THE ULTIMATE TEST.

Go directly to review, by clicking on the link: http://www.teensreadtoo.com/SplitsvilleLGC.html

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

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 was featured on Color Online this week.

100 words or less how would you describe your work?
I write stories with a twist. I like to write about every day issues many people face. Although my stories are entertaining and dramatic, they are also inspirational.

To read the entire interview, go to: http://coloronline.blogspot.com/2010/02/women-writers-of-color-sheila-m-goss.html

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/

The Lip Gloss Chronicles made one of the top 25 YA Power Reads of the Decade.

Thank you EDC Creations and Black Pearls Magazine.

25 Young Reader Power Reads of the Decade: 2000-2009

Ella Curry and EDC Creations is proud to announce the Children and Young Reader Best Books of the Decade 2000-2009.  Each book created an impact for readers and the Sankofa Literary Society network. Our literary hallmarks indicate excellence in writing. These are the books we want to showcase to the world.

01. Love, Ocean by Celia Anderson

02. A Song for Harlem by Patricia C. McKissack

03. Divine Confidential by Jacquelin Thomas

04. The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

05. Aaliyah by Victoria Christopher Murray

06. The Secret to Teen Power by Paul Harrington

07. Catwalk by Deborah Gregory

08. Cheetah Girls by Deborah Gregory

09. The Lip Gloss Chronicles by Shelia Goss

10. Believing in Hope by Stephanie Perry Moore

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.

5 Questions with YA Author Shelia M Goss

Shelia Goss gained success writing women’s fiction but decided to take a plunge into the young adult market earlier this year with the popular Urban series - The Lip Gloss Chronicles.

To read the interview, go to http://www.chicklitteens.com/2009/11/guest-post-shelia-m-goss.html