In Between—A Review? (Warning: It may be hazardous to your sanity!)

            Okay … so I go to the library and can’t find the book I want, so I decide to break down and look for one of my favorite authors in the Young Adult Section. I have vowed not to read any more Young Adult, because … well … maybe I need to grow up … and I’m trying to stick to Contemporary Romance as I learn how to write one. But having exhausted my favorites of that genre, I decided I needed a little Jenny B. Jones read. So I picked up In Between: A Katie Parker Production (Act I). Problem. It has an annoying side effect.

            Since discovering Jenny B. Jones this past year, I’ve developed the obnoxious habit of breaking out into laughter in an otherwise totally silent room. Of course, my daughter, who had been miraculously silent til that point, wants to get in on the fun, and asks why I’m laughing. Usually, when she does this, I say, “You won’t understand,” because I’m reading a book written for adults and though the humor is clean, it’s still about things she hasn’t experienced yet. Not so with Katie Parker. So now <sigh> I am forced to explain what has me guffawing in my lounge chair. And she laughs, too.

            Finally, after the fifth time of doing this, I throw the book down and tell my daughter to stop bugging me. I’ll let her read the book when I’m done. She’s satisfied, and I’m feeling like a genius. Of course it’s written for Young Adults and my daughter is only ten, but wonderfully, I realize this book is not inappropriate or over her head. Now how awesome is that?

            Next Problem: She likes the book and wants to share it with a friend–me. Though I’m glad she considers me like a friend and think it’s awesome we share the same taste in books, the umpteenth time she says, “Mom, you gotta hear this,” gets a little annoying … especially since I’ve read the book and I already know what happens. At this point, I leave the room and lock myself in the bathroom for some peace. Maybe she won’t follow me there.

            Wrong!

            “Okay, sweetheart, tell me what’s so funny,” I say through the door.

             She tells me.

            My eyebrows narrow and I open the door to see what page she’s on.

            “Jordan, honey,” I say forcing a sweet tone, between gritted teeth. “You’re reading the Acknowledgements.”

            “Yeah, Mom.” She bounces exuberantly, book in hand. “They’re so funny!”

            And they are. I kid you not!

            Now, I just realized I haven’t told you a thing about the story. Not important. Jenny could write a phone book listing and somehow I’d laugh hysterically. Yeah, it’s about a girl who goes to live with foster parents while her mother is doing time in the pokey. And she’s learning about herself and her place in God’s world as she does. But who cares. Yes, it’s a great story and her main character’s reaction to a newly introduced God rings so true for girls like Katie. There is so much more to this book. Lots of little gems. And big truths.

            So that’s it. Great book. Wonderful writing. Lots of fun. Definitely worth the price. Oh yeah, I did get it from the library, which means it was free. However, at my daughter’s prompting, we will be making this series a part of our home library very soon, so we can read them again and again.

Retraction (on pain of my daughter promising to harass me night and day):

            My daughter, having read the above, wants me to correct that she did not actually follow me to the bathroom … this time. She just stalked me all over the house. I’ve given up on the bathroom-as-my-refuge idea by now anyway.