Customer Reviews

It's Not About Me (Second Glances Series #1)

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Why is everyone calling this book edgy? I don't get it. Actually I do. When you compare this book to most of what's out there in YA Christian fiction it definitely grabs the envelope and pushes. But I know very few 15-25 year olds living in opaque bubble these days. Do you? Compared to the state of the world kids live in today, this book is mild. The content might shock some readers of CBA fiction but few teenagers and young adults would describe this book as edgy.

My sons went to private Christian school through sixth and fourth grades respectively. After my oldest son's first day in 7th grade he said, "Well, Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore." Over the next three years he saw and heard things Michelle's book doesn't even come close to.

We're fairly judicious with the movies and TV we let our boys watch, but the reality is the majority of Christian kids are getting messages vastly more provocative and gritty than Sutton's on TV screens every day and movie screens every weekend. Oh, and there's this new invention called the computer and the Internet where they're getting even more "edgy" content. And the message being proliferated through those channels isn't choosing God's way of life, it's that sleeping with your boyfriend is normal, drinking is cool, etc.

Sutton has created real characters she puts in real situations and let's them react with real emotion and struggle. But instead of them going the way of the world, hope is given for a better way. God's way. The way of lasting love.

We don't need cotton candy pretend land books for teens and young adults. We need more books like Sutton's that will inspire young people to make different choices than the world wants them to take.

Edgy? Yes. And no. Let's keep pushing that envelope.

This is a great read for mature teens and young adults waging the war of staying sexually pure until marriage. As an adult and mother of three teenaged children, it brought home the terrific pressure the world puts on young people to give way to the momentary pleasures of sin, particularly Christian teens and young adults, some of whom are children of pastors and bible study teachers!

In this story, sweet and innocent Annie fights off the advances of her high school love, Tony, who is also an avid churchgoer and son of the local pastor. Tony is handsome and dreamy, but has succumbed to the worldly idea that "waiting" isn't realistic, particularly with the girl he loves and plans to marry. Sound familiar? Despite Annie's resistance, she caves under the pressure of an enormous diamond engagement ring - one owned by his grandmother. But, as fate would have it, the night Annie plans to give herself to him, she is brutally attacked and maimed and left for dead - a victim of robbery (you guessed it - over that precious ring!) Tony's guilt for not having been there to protect her will not allow him to forgive himself or face her in her time of need; he instead turns to alcohol to assuage the pain in his heart.

Enter Tony's older brother, Dan, who is equally handsome and dreamy and who has loved Annie from afar for several years. With Tony going AWOL, he now becomes the friend she needs and helps her recover from her injuries, both physically and spiritually. Dan tells her she is beautiful and treats her with tenderness and affection without the pressure of a sexual relationship looming in the background. Of course, when Tony comes to his senses and wants to resume his romance with Annie, she is torn. Was what they had real love? Or has Dan showed her something far deeper and richer: a love that comes only by first having a love relationship with the Savior, Jesus?

This book is a quick read and makes a great ministry tool. The characters are wonderful and realistic and are easy for young women and men alike to relate to. I enjoyed it as an adult - I especially liked Dan, who is the epitome of the romantic hunk: handsome, buff, smart, sweet, and saved, with an unwavering moral compass. For parents of teenaged girls, you will be convicted to pray your sweet, innocent daughter rejects the Tonys of the world and waits for her God-ordained Dan. And for those of you with teenaged sons, pray he becomes the Dan (and not the Tony!) to his Annie, who God has prepared especially for him.

Book Review, It's Not About Me by Michelle Sutton

For a recent overnight train trip, I packed Michelle's new novel, It's Not About Me, in my bag. As we clickety-clacked toward Texas, time spun backward to my teenaged years. From the first-chapter girlfriend/boyfriend wrestling match, Michelle perfectly captures the tension created when overactive hormones spar with God's mandates to purity--even in the throes of young love.

Annie Myers has vocal talent, good grades, and a handsome boyfriend named Tony, who adores every perfect inch of her. Then an intruder slashes his way into her life and throws her future into uncertainty. Suddenly the once-attentive Tony has disappeared...to be replaced by Dan, Tony's older brother.

As Annie's physical scars continue to heal, God holds up a mirror to her spiritual life and asks her to let Him help choose the brother best suited for her future. Suddenly Annie is thrust into a competition for her attention...and into an examination of her own values.

With edgy writing and unexpected twists and turns, Michelle kept me reading long into the night...long after my fellow travelers had extinguished their reading lights. Luckily I had time the next day to finish this exciting YA novel. A great read not just for teenagers but for their parents. And a great debut for Michelle and her "Second Glances" series!

Looks can be deceiving. Anyone would have thought Annie Myers had it all, a great looking boyfriend, loving parents, getting ready for college, even her Christian life was satisfactory. Then an encounter with a homeless man with a knife changed her life forever. Now Annie has some very serious decisions to make, and she's not sure where to turn. This is Michelle Sutton's debut novel and let me tell you, she can write. The story is a little edgy, but then so is life. She touches on serious subjects such as teen sex, alcohol, deception, trust, and forgiveness. and her characters are not cardboard perfect either. They mess up sometimes, and there are no easy answers, just as there are no easy answers to the problems we face in our lives. Realistic characters, a beliveable plot, and a strong message of a merciful God who loves us and is waiting to forgive and welcome a repentent sinner, make this a strong, powerful, riviting story. Look for more from this very talented writer.

Annie Myers was a Christian girl who wanted to wait until marriage to have sex. Tony Lane had been dating Annie for almost four years and the flesh was getting weak. It was becoming more difficult to wait to have sex, so when it was obvious that he wasn't going to get what he wanted out of wedlock he proposed marriage. Then tragedy struck and Tony regretted giving Annie his late grand mom's expensive ring. While Tony was having a hard time dealing with what happened, Daniel Lane saw it as an opportunity to get closer to his brother's girlfriend; close enough to take Tony's place in Annie's life.

I liked Annie. I felt so bad about what happened to her and about all she had to go through during recovery. She was a strong girl, though. And instead of becoming bitter and angry she began strengthening her relationship with the Lord.

Why this girl was being told that she wasn't a Christian, I really didn't understand that part of the story. Annie said the sinner's prayer when she was in seventh grade because she was told that was what she needed to do to be saved. I believe she mentioned twice that she'd said the sinner's prayer. And since she wanted to be saved I would think she not only confessed with her mouth that Jesus is Lord but believed in her heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). She was attending First Christian Church, singing for the Lord, serving God as the church's secretary, wanted to be married in the eyes of God before she had sex - sounded to me like she was following Jesus' teachings. Yet, someone suggested to her that she wasn't really a Christian. If she wasn't working on her personal relationship with Jesus, not growing in Christ wasn't really a good thing but it didn't mean she wasn't a Christian. If she got saved, then she was a Christian.

As for the love triangle, I'm sure it was supposed to be romantic, but I just couldn't see it that way. If Daniel really loved his brother like he said why would he want the girl his brother loved and had been with for almost four years? Daniel claimed he wanted to be more like Jesus and there were areas in his life where he was Christ-like. But Jesus wasn't selfish. I think it was selfish of Daniel to want a relationship with Annie. Tony loved Annie. He also had serious issues and needed his brother's support. There are some lines you just do not cross. Where was the family loyalty? Tony was the youngest and the troubled one throughout most of the story, yet he was the bigger man in the end and much more like Jesus than Daniel.

Besides the "being saved" contradiction the author wrote a good, dramatic story. And it was really good that she included Teen Challenge, letting teens and parents know there is help out there.

Sutton also makes some important points: True Christianity isn't just about getting saved, but having a personal relationship with Jesus. Alcohol consumption can only make a bad situation worse. What's in a person's heart means much more than outer appearance. A Bible-believing church service should always include a salvation invitation so those who aren't saved can become Christians if they choose. And Jesus can change people!

This is the second book that I've read by Michelle Sutton, the first was Danger at the Door. I don't usually read YA books, but enjoyed DATD so much that I thought I'd give it a try. The author did a wonderful job of bringing the challenges that face young people today to the page. As an adult, I sometimes forget how difficult life can be for them. If you like love scenes that leave you breathless, Michelle Sutton's books are for you! And, the unexpected plot twists will keep you turning the page. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next, Ms. Sutton threw me another curve. I stayed up way past my bed time reading it. I won't take your time with a synopsis because we're all busy and you can read it on Amazon, but I highly recommend this book no matter what your age. I believe that anyone would enjoy this book and it would make a great gift for a teenager who is struggling with the temptation to have sex before marriage.

I think this is a very good book for young adults or older teens. It deals with sex before marriage, the temptation, and peer pressure teens face today. So deffinently not for younger kids. Michelle really deals with issues like that instead of just saying, "This is wrong, don't do it". She shows you the consequences, the pain that kind of stuff can cause. I loved it and can't wait for her next book.

This book is full of emotion and immediacy. It deals with difficulties facing today's teens and points them towards truth with an exciting storyline and earnest characters struggling with spiritual, emotional and social issues.

It kept me turning pages!

I wasn't sure I wanted to read a book that claimed to "push the envelope" yet in the same breath claimed to be "Christian fiction." I was disturbed by a dozen possible scenarios playing in my head--scenes of wanton rebellion and teenage angst. Yet, as I picked up Sutton's book, I steeled myself to remain objective. I determined to reserve judgment until I reached the last page--but to be honest, I formed an opinion long before I reached that point. By the end of chapter three, I had fallen in love with the character, Annie. I cared about her plight, and the turn of events that catapulted her into a life and death commitment with her Creator.

It's Not About Me takes a hard look at the tough issues facing teens and young adults today. While I did feel that some of the scenes could have been conveyed in a less controversial manner, nothing in the book was gratuitous--included merely for the sake of being edgy--and I was impressed by Sutton's courage in tackling the "taboo" topics in Christian fiction. The book is well-written, the characters strong and believable. From page one, the underlying message of personal faith and commitment to the Savior was evident. I look forward to seeing more from this budding author.

I've consistently heard Michelle Sutton's writing described as "edgy." So, I read "It's NOT About ME" with an expectation that it might be teetering on the brink of gratuitous. But what I found was not that, at all!

In her first book, Sutton introduces us to Annie, Tony, and Dan. Annie has just graduated high school and is somewhat nervously looking forward to the future. She has grown up in church, sheltered from much of the ugliness of the world. Currently, her biggest problem is how to deal with the sudden pressure for intimacy from her boyfriend, Tony.

Tony is a little late to pick her up on the night when she meets evil and tragedy face-to-face. Hurt, devastated, alone, and confused, Annie turns to Tony for comfort only to find that he isn't there. While Tony turns to alcohol to cope with his guilt, his brother, Dan steps in to give Annie the friendship and care that she desperately needs. As her friendship with Dan brings her closer to God, it threatens to destroy the relationship that she's tried so hard to build with Tony.

What I really appreciated about this book was that the characters were people that I could identify with. They seemed incredibly real to me. Annie--the sheltered girl, looking terrified into the future and wanting a man to protect her as she walks into the unknown. Tony and Dan--the pastor's sons, living life under a microscope--trying to figure out who they really are while simultaneously trying to please their parents and the rest of the world. I can understand these characters and found myself cheering for them, scolding them, and sympathizing with them as I read.

Sutton has given us an edgy book here, but not gratuitous. It's realistic and hopeful. While it shows us some of the real pain and ugliness that today's teenagers are facing, it also leads us to the remedy to that pain and ugliness--God. Overall, this is a skillful, gripping, and entertaining book. I am looking forward to the sequel!