Christians and teen pregnancy
24 February 2010
One of the reasons I have no desire whatsoever to be a more serious book reviewer is Google Alerts. For those unaware, as I was until 8 or so months ago, you can set up a thing on Google where you give it a phrase (in my case it’s Stephanie Morrill and Skylar Hoyt) and it sends you an e-mail whenever that phrase pops up on the internet. Sometimes it does weird stuff (like I often receive notifications about my own tweets. Thanks, Google). But especially now when reviewers are getting around to reading Out with the In Crowd I get a lot of legitimate hits.
For those who might be unaware of how this all works, bloggers can sign up with various publishing houses to do reviews for them. In exchange for a free copy of a book, the blogger writes a review to post on their blog, and they often post on bookseller sites like Amazon or Barnes and Noble as well. There’s a bit of skepticism as to how unbiased these reviewers can be since they’re receiving a free book, but I think for the most part, the reviewers are pretty honest.
I’ve read reviews that sting. It’s part of the business, albeit a sucky one. I cry, talk to my husband and writing friends, try to figure out if the complaint is legitimate, and then I move on with my regularly scheduled life.
But for the first time I’ve received a review that’s flat-out ridiculous. The reviewer totally hated my book, that much was clear, but I can honestly say it didn’t bother me one bit. And that’s because this was one of the first things this reviewer said: “Years ago it would be incredibly shameful to show your face in public with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy; today it is the norm. But I question that it should be for Christians. I don’t think it should be, regardless of what the world around us is doing.”
At first this made me laugh out loud. I just sat there and reread it over and over, shocked. I mean, seriously? SERIOUSLY???
And then as it sunk it, it occurred to me how incredibly sad this statement is. How can you read the gospels and believe this? After learning how Jesus chose Matthew, a tax collector, to be a disciple. How He dined with Zacchaeus. How He stood at the well with the Samaritan woman who’d had five husbands and now lived with another man, yet made her feel accepted and loved. How He allowed a woman who the Bible simply says had lived a “sinful life” to wash and perfume his feet.
A book of mine is never, ever going to make this reviewer happy. Abbie, the pregnant, unmarried teen she spoke of, is my second favorite part of The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series. (My first favorite is Skylar’s reinvention, as you might assume.) What I love about Abbie’s story is that she shows how sinful decisions carry consequences, like having a baby at 15, but God’s grace is bigger. He loves me—a girl who waited until she was married to have sex—as much as he loves the Abbies of the world. He loves McKenna and the little boy I’m carrying right now—conceived in holy wedlock—as much as he loves the children of girls like Abbie.
And I’m grateful for this. Because while that hasn’t been an area in my life where I’ve struggled, I’ve still used an abundance of God’s grace. We all have. And I have every intention of continuing to write stories that explore that.
Have a great day, everyone!
Comments
Well said!
Posted by Debbie McCool on 24 February 2010
For the readers like that woman, there are books aplenty. The rest of us need writers like you—so here’s to making God’s grace shine bright into the darkest corners!
Posted by Roseanna White on 25 February 2010
Kudos to you. I’m so grateful for God’s grace. We all have struggles and God is there in all of them to help us through.
Posted by Beth Hines on 24 February 2010