The Fruit of My Lipstick (All About Us Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

by Shelley Adina (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'A brave and talented author who looks at the darkness as well as the light.' -- Mary Jo Putney, New York Times bestselling author

Product Description
New Yorker Gillian Chang starts her second term at posh SpencerAcademy boarding school in San Francisco prepared to focus on her studies, her faith, and her friends. She plays a dozen musical instruments and can recite the periodic table of the elements backward. She's totally prepared for everything--except love!
She's falling hard for Lucas Hayes, who isn't even a senior yet and is already aiming at a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford. The problem is, she never seems to be able to measure up and be the girlfriend he wants. He's under a lot of pressure from his parents to achieve--maybe that's why he's short-tempered sometimes. But even a thick-skinned girl like Gillian can only take so much.
With her heart on the line, Gillian conceals more and more from her friends. So when she's accused of selling exam answer sheets, even her girlfriends, Lissa Mansfield and Carly Aragon, wonder if it can be true. Gillian will need the power of honesty--with herself and with Lucas--to show what she's really made of.


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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: FaithWords (August 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446177970
• ISBN-13: 978-0446177979
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #158,301 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Story with a Message, September 13, 2008

By	The Book Muncher - See all my reviews

Normally, all that Gillian Chang has to worry about is making sure her grades are absolutely perfect. This generally isn't a problem because Gillian is extremely intelligent, but pressure from her strict parents can get a little tough at times. The last thing Gillian wants to worry about is a guy, particularly after the fiasco Gillian's best friend Lissa got involved with last term. But then again, love, or at least like, is not something Gillian can prepare for--especially when she finds herself falling for the only other person who's possibly smarter than she is, Lucas Hayes. But is Lucas really the golden boy Gillian thinks he is? Only time will tell, and Gillian is going to have to believe in herself, her friends, and her faith is she's going to survive this term at Spencer Academy.

The Fruit of My Lipstick was a well-written story about friendship and dealing with boys, with a little bit of religion mixed in. Some readers may be wary of reading this series because of the inclusion of religion, but in reality, the Christian faith is more of a healthy influence on Gillian and her friends' morals. I definitely would not consider this book or its prequel It's All About Us preachy in any way. The storyline and the characters in this novel are very believable, which makes it easy to relate to Gillian and her friends' various situations or at least sympathize with them. The plot was a little slow towards the beginning, but it picked up towards the middle with the addition of a school scandal. The Fruit of My Lipstick is a fun yet sincere novel with a positive message that all teen girls can relate to and enjoy.

The Fruit of My Lipstick is the second novel in Adina's It's All About Us series, but the story can stand alone. I look forward to the third installment in this series, Be Strong and Curvaceous, and I recommend both It's All About Us and The Fruit of My Lipstick to anyone looking for a much more mild form of Gossip Girl with actual depth and meaning.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun!, August 28, 2008

By	Camy Tang "Asian romance author (www.camytang... (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This was such a fun book! I admit I'm a bit partial because it's set in San Francisco, but the story and characters really drew me in.

The story premise is really neat--a girl's first boyfriend and the things she learns about being true to herself and to God. It also touches on the sticky relationship between a girl's friends and her new boyfriend with sensitivity and humor.

I have to admit I was a bit annoyed in the middle when Gillian kept making bad decisions and doing stupid things--you know how you want to scream at a character to stop being a dodo-brain?

But I was completely caught up in things at the climax, which is a terrific climax, by the way. Very emotional, very satisfying, and absolutely hilarious.

Gillian's personal conflicts about "measuring up" are things I saw a lot in my friends when I was single, and it took a long time and a lot of prayer to understand who I am in Christ versus who I want to be for others. It's nice to see this issue being communicated here in a teen novel--hopefully teen girls won't go through the angst I did.

The characters might be a bit young for a 16 or 17 year old girl, but I think 15 or younger girls will really enjoy this story. It's so wonderful to see a hip, fresh, fluffy novel like this that still communicates the truth of God's love for us.

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Review: The Fruit of My Lipstick, June 27, 2009

By	A Novel Menagerie (Huntington Beach) - See all my reviews

The Review

I started the series backwards and read Who Made You A Princess? first. After all, it is the last book of the series and I was lucky enough to get an ARC. After reading it, I wanted to read the entire series as soon as I could! Thank GOD for Hachette!

As soon as I got the remaining three books to the series, I read and reviewed It's All About Us, which is the also the title of the series. Due to my exuding enthusiasm, I was fortunate enough to able to host a fabulous giveaway in which I was able to host a contest for 3 copies of Who Made You A Princess? and also the grand prize of the entire It's All About Us Series.

So, what was remaining on my shelves were The Fruit of My Lipstick (Book 2) and Be Strong and Curvaceous (Book 3). I decided that I wanted to read them back-to-back so that I could get the full story line in my head all at once. This week, I read them both. Now, I have to do some Mommy bragging and tell you a little story. I have been told that I'm a fast reader. But, apparently, not as fast as my daughter Dee. She read It's All About Us last night in bed in just under a couple of hours. She LOVED the book and is begging me to "hurry up and write the blog post" so that she can read the next two books. As a Mommy and a Christian, I couldn't be more thrilled!

In It's All About Us, we started the story with Lissa and her friends. This second book is the story of Lissa's friend Gillian, a Chinese-American junior in the elite private high school they all attend in Northern California. As aforementioned, Gillian is a genius and an incredible pianist. Gillian is deeply committed in her relationship to God and hosts a weekly prayer circle for the students. She also has a mad crush on Lucas. Although, with my experienced eyes, I could see that Lucas wasn't all that he was presenting himself to be, poor Gillian was lost in her puppy-dog eyes for him. She allows him demean her and starts to change who she is so that he will still like her and be her boyfriend. (Examples: Trying to lose weight at the expense of her favorite art class and toning down her personality to present more demurely.) What her friends saw and Gillian didn't is that she was fabulous just the way she was. And, of course, you shouldn't change who you are for a boy as he should like you just the way you are.

Lucas ends up being more of the "bad guy" than Gillian expected and displays violent tendencies. When she breaks up with him, he lashes out and tries to frame her for some acts she didn't commit. Her friends, at the assistance of the Lord, rally to rescue her from Lucas' attacks. The ending of the story does not disappoint because, with God on your side, you're going to end up A-Okay!

The content of this book is lighter than It's All About Us, but the message is equally important. Throughout the story, Gillian looks to God to help her find her center and make the right decisions that will honor him. As I've stated in my other two reviews for this series, I appreciate Shelley Adina's commitment to providing books that we can be proud to buy for our daughters! These are stories that give mothers a platform to talk to their daughters about the peer pressures that they face or are going to eventually encounter.

On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:"


Dee (1st Book) and Colie (4th Book) have both told me how much they love these books. I want to provide them good reading material that sends a positive message to girls that will honor their faith and our God. Shelley Adina has provided me that opportunity! I love love love this series and for my review of this Fiction: YA-Christian, I am going to rate this book a 9 OUT OF 10.