Books and Literature for Teens: Me, Just Different by Stephanie Morrill

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Me, Just Different by Stephanie Morrill

Getting a fresh start is harder than it looks.....

Skylar Hoyt is a girl who seems to have it all-she's pretty, popular, and has a great-looking boyfriend. Her senior year should be the best one yet. But a horrible experience at a summer party has changed everything. Now she's vowing to make better choices, including going back to church. But as Skylar tries to gain new perspectives on life, the world as she knows it begins to fall apart. Her parents are constantly fighting. Her younger sister has a big secret that Skylar is forced to keep. The guy she dating is annoyingly jealous. And the new guy down the street is just plain annoying. In the midst of the chaos, Skylar starts to wonder who her real friends are and, even more importantly, who she is. - from the book cover

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From the locker halls to the dirty, back stabbing plays of the "in" crowd, Morrill captures high school to a T, not to mention where all the problems first start-at home. Though it's a honest story of just how messy life can get, Me, Just Different wouldn't be complete without it's positive message of hope and reminder that there is a light at the end of every dark tunnel.

With topics like being "popular", teenage pregnancy, boyfriends, and finding true friends, I think many teenage girls can relate to Skylar and her journey to find the answers to all her questions.

Despite the heavy topics and situations, I kept turning those pages, dying to see what would happen to Skylar next. I didn't always have a great time reading this book because of all the things happening to Skylar, but the concept of the story was too great not to appreciate. And the characters? Terrific. Skylar's snooty flock of "friends" were the perfect spoiled-you get the picture. Eli was tricky. I thought I had him figured out-which I actually did-but not before he made a few unsuspected twists. Sneaky. Conner was lovable from the start, a little annoying perhaps, but still the "perfect" guy. Skylar's character was by far the best because she kept you guessing till the very end!

Me, Just Different is categorized as a Christian book, but it will most defiantly appeal, if not more, to non-believers for it's non-preachiness and it's look on edgy topics.

Could we have another Melody Carlson on our hands? Hmm, maybe but Morrill defiantly takes a whole different (and younger) approach to her story. I think Morrill did a great job at her debut novel, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Skylar's story!

Stephanie Morrill is twenty-something gal living in Kansas with her high-school sweetheart husband and their daughter. She loves writing for teens because her high school years greatly impacted her adult life. She also loves playing her music extra loud!