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

Shelley Adina (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2008

New Yorker Gillian Chang starts her second term at posh Spencer Academy 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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: FaithWords (August 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446177970
• ISBN-13: 978-0446177979
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,662,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Award-winning author Shelley Adina wrote her first teen novel when she was 13. It was rejected by the literary publisher to whom she sent it, but he did say she knew how to tell a story. That was enough to keep her going through the rest of her adolescence, a career, a move to another country, a B.A. in Literature, an M.F.A. in Writing Popular Fiction, and countless manuscript pages. Between books, Shelley loves traveling, playing the piano and Celtic harp, watching movies, and making period costumes.

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 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Fruit of My Lipstick (All About Us Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

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 "Romance novels with a kick of wasabi" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fruit of My Lipstick (All About Us Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars One Persons Journey Through A World of Books Thoughts:, January 25, 2010

By 

Sheila A. Dechantal (Brainerd, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fruit of My Lipstick (All About Us Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

This book was nominated for the 2009 Christy Award. As I read the book I found it to be nicely written, well rounded characters with a lite Christian theme. The girls were in a boarding school and there is a romance brewing between Gillian and Lucas that is pretty standard YA. I wasn't feeling the hardiness behind the book - what I would be expecting from a book, any book, up for an award.

And that is about the time that in my opinion author Shelley Adina hits a home run in this book with a twist to the plot - so perfectly woven throughout the books happenings that I didnt see it coming. Shelly takes this book to a higher level and threw all my previous thoughts on the book out the door when she blind sides me as the reader, with a topic very important to young girls, abuse.

I am trying hard not to give away too much of the book here yet this is such an important part of my review. When the abuse - not only physical but also verbal is presented I actually had to pause in my reading to consider what I had read - and how it was there, and I hadn't seen it. And that is where the brilliance of this book comes in. How often do young women go about what they think is a normal relationship and not see it in the correct light? Sometimes it takes a friend to show us the way. And as I write this I am reminded that it is not only the young that can be caught by this ... but women of all ages.

Overall, I am impressed, Faith and Friendships flow generously through this well written book.