Customer Reviews

Mixed Bags (Carter House Girls)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have read many books by Melody Carlson from the True Colors, Diary of a Teenage Girl, and Samantha McGregor series and I loved them all. However this book was a disappointment. The plot is rather weak; DJ's decision to become a Christian comes almost completely out of the blue without the period exploration Carlson's other characters go through. Despite this I did feel some connection to the characters and I finished the book in one sitting, so it held my attention. I would recommend this book for younger teens and as a clean alternative to the many similar books filling bookstore shelves nowadays.

Mixed Bags by Melody Carlson is the first book in the Carter House Girls series. DJ's grandmother, a former supermodel, has opened up her large Victorian home to five other girls in hopes of turning them all into debutantes. DJ is au naturel: no make-up, hair tucked up in a baseball cap, and completely ignorant of designer labels. So sharing her home and even room with girls who look like they stepped off of the pages of Vogue does a number on her self-esteem. Taylor and Eliza and beautifully dressed and self-assured. Kriti is a lovely Indian girl who wants to go far academically. Rhiannon and Casey are Grandma Carter's charity cases. Rhiannon has come to faith in spite of her mother's drug addiction. Casey's parents believe she's in need of an intervention with the safety pins through her eyebrows and Goth style make-up. Throwing all of these girls into one house ensures plenty of drama and clashing personalities. I am thoroughly impressed with Zondervan's willingness to attack real teenage issues head on. Some of these girls are sexually active, one smokes, some drink; these are not your stereotypical Christian fiction teens. They break the rules and each other without a second thought. But Carlson gives each girl a real personality with quirks and failings. We see events primarily though DJ's eyes, and she struggles with figuring out who she is and want she really wants, just like every other real world teen. This promising introduction to the series definitely leaves the reader wanting more.

Prolific author Melody Carlson has successfully jump-started another real-to-life teen series, this time featuring tomboyish DJ Lane (aka Desiree), who has to figure out how to fit in at her grandmother's boarding house for teen fashion plates. Katherine Carter, once an international fashion model herself, has now retired. To supplement her income, she has opened a home for the wealthy, fashion-oriented young teenage girls to be groomed in culture and the finer ways of life. Too bad DJ has no use for such things as designer clothes, makeup and hair highlights. She would rather be outdoors playing sports than indoors playing dress-up.

Since her mother's death, DJ tried living with her dad, his new wife and their infant twins, only to feel like she was being used as a full-time babysitter. So she jumped at the chance to live with her maternal grandmother, even though the two are as different as night and day. Still, DJ is semi-excited to find out that two old friends are coming to board at Mrs. Carter's with her.

Rhiannon, a former neighbor girl with little funds, is taken in by Mrs. Carter and is a different person from who DJ remembered. The change? God. Rhiannon's home life was no picnic and she had discovered Christ to be her source of strength and hope. Then there is Casey, her one-time best friend forever turned Goth with her spiky, jet-black hair and the electric blue center piece, assorted facial piercings and thick black eyeliner. DJ almost doesn't recognize Casey, but her looks aren't the only alterations. Attitude --- lots of angry, bitter, in-your-face attitude --- now pours out of Casey as well. Like Rhiannon, Casey has a story of hard times, and her current outward appearance is her way of protecting herself. DJ just doesn't know what to think.

Then there are the "other" boarders --- Eliza, Taylor and Kriti --- three girls with money, individual egos and minds of their own. With the six young ladies sharing bedrooms and closet space, there are soon arguments, tantrums, backbiting and power plays --- all of which DJ is no match for. Especially difficult for her is the interplay between the girls and boys in town. One particular boy, Connor, is soon caught between DJ and their blossoming friendship, and the conniving Taylor, who is set on destroying DJ's chances with Connor as well as her reputation. Are there any winners here? DJ soon realizes that she is out of her depth and makes external and internal changes that have Connor and the girls noticing.

MIXED BAGS is an excellent beginning to a fun-filled, teen angst-driven lifestyle storyline that highlights the rich and famous...with all their peculiar habits, biases and prejudices. Melody Carlson's books always promise an emotional (and educational) ride to her readers --- and the first installment of the Carter House Girls series is no exception.

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe

Melody Carlson strikes gold with Mixed Bags, her first book in the Carter House Girls teen fiction series. With a refreshing twist she weaves classic teen pressures and predicaments into a contemporary storyline. When six girls, each carrying her own "designer" bag and signature personality live under the same roof, you've got a catwalk showcasing outrageous colour and style. No carbon copies here, but there are preconceived labels that need to be torn off and investigated. All six girls represent a stereotype that resides in every high school. We have Taylor the rich, spoiled, mean diva, the trendy but good-natured Eliza, Asian princess Kriti, angry nice girl turned rebel Casey, Rhiannon the sugar-sweet, goody-good Christian, and DJ the wholesome tomboy.

Carter House, the boarding school run by DJ's fashion icon grandmother is where they meet, share, fight and grow. Stitched between lessons in social grace and eye-catching loveliness are the life-threads that clothe young ladies with character and integrity. Spun together they make more than a fashion statement. Where to draw the line, and take a stand when it comes to drinking, gossiping, envy, revenge, and sex take on real life drama with believable characters and common tempting situations.

What would appear on the surface as a superficial obsession with appearance, Mixed Bags sensitively deals with the teenage paradox of forging one's own identity while desperately longing to fit it. With romance as the key, Mixed Bags unlocks the shackles that immobilize a healthy self-image. Looking your best is not selling out. But being trapped by what you see in the mirror as the measure of your worth comes with an exorbitant price tag. The pay-off for the reader is revealed in the gorgeous truth: true beauty is a reflection of the real you.

This book begs you to keep reading at the turn of every page. The writing is captivating and the characters have depth and dimension. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to start Book 2, Stealing Bradford and check in with the custom-made girls growing up together at Carter House.

this book was interesting, until the very end. The protaganist DJ, was conflicted about a number of issues, and the issues were built up until the very end and......nothing. No ending, she became a Christian. Pllllease. What a let down. I will not be reading any more from this series. What a waste of time!!!

When I bought Mixed Bags, I paid absolutely nothing for it. Seeing that it was free for a limited time, I quickly welcomed it into my collection, not even bothering to read the book's description (Mostly because I felt that the offer would vanish right before my eyes, and I didn't want to waste any time reading said description. Did I mention it was FREE?!) Anywho, my feelings for this book are mixed. Sure, it was a good, quick read (And by "quick," I mean that you could finish it within a few hours.), but it wasn't exactly one to stand out either. To me, it was just an "okay" book, not very different from any other teen chick-lit book out there, with non-popular DJ battling popular mean-girl Taylor for the love of supposedly "cute" Conner. I guess the main thing about the book that irked me was that Conner told DJ early in the book that he liked her just the way she was, but then she IGNORED him anyway, changing her looks and interests to fit in better with her "prettier" roomates. And then she wondered why Conner was no longer interested in her. However, even though the main character aggravates me, I do think that the book holds a good message. It's definately one of those books that makes you wonder whether you're being the person you want to be, or the person others want you be. When I bought the book, I had no idea that it had a Christian theme to it. In fact, I didn't know that there was a Christian theme to it until the end of the book (Personally, I thought that the whole scene where DJ gave herself to God came out of nowhere, but I loved it just the same and thought that it was the perfect way to end the book. To make a not-so-long-story even shorter, I was pleasantly surprised with the ending.). I loved the message though. It really got me thinking about my own relationship with God. All in all, I thought Mixed Bags was a good book though, had it not been free, I probably wouldn't have bought it, being that it was so short (I just don't see a point in paying around $7.00 for something that I'll finish within a day.). But if you're looking for a short read with a good message, then this is the book for you. This is Kindle Obsession, signing off.

I'm a fan of teen fiction, but from the beginning I was a bit skeptical about this book. I like the main character, and the clash of personalities between her and the other girls in the house. Having a few of her old friends, now changed, added some color to the girls, considering the rich snobby girls were a bit boring. Just as the plot started gaining momentum, the ending was rushed and fell completely flat. Nothing was resolved, and DJ's switch to Christianity was so sudden it just felt out of place. I've got nothing against Christian lit, but that scene felt like a complete curveball. I'm definitely not interested in continuing this series. I would have liked to seen a better ending with some sort of resolution.

Mixed Bags is the first book in Melody's Carlson's new teen fiction series featuring the Carter House girls.

Katherine Carter, an internationally famous, 60's fashion model started Carter House Boarding School with the hopes to instill fashion sense, culture, etiquette and poise in her young charges, especially in her granddaughter Desiree. But Desiree Jeannette, a.k.a. D.J. wants nothing of it, after all she's an athlete. She'd rather throw a ball than dance at one.

As the other girls begin to move in, D.J. realizes that her grandmother may have more than she bargained for with these girls. There's Taylor, the manipulative, double-talking, fashion plate who sets her sights on making D. J.'s life miserable; Kriti, the exotic overachiever who has fashion sensibilities but seeks academics as her means to success; Eliza, the well-to-do Southern beauty; Rhiannon, the new Christian, whose drug-addicted mother used to be a Carter House housekeeper, and Cassie, the loner who finds it easier to act out and do wrong as doing the right thing may have harmful consequences.

When all these young ladies mix their emotional baggage together, tempers and jealousies flair and some friendships are forged. Melody Carlson has set the stage for a lot to happen at The Carter House: from the grandmother's obsession with appearances to the girls triumphs and challenges of coming of age.

I couldn't totally identify with the fashion references from this story because I never put much emphasis on labels, but I can identify with the D.J.'s struggle to find herself. I remember being a teen! I look forward to reading how the girl's different personalities force D.J. to question who she really wants to be.

When I first started this book, I was not too sure of how I would like it. But then as I left it and went to do some other things, I realized that I kept thinking about the story, and could not get it out of my head! This is the first, I think, of Melody Carlson that I've been able to read.. meaning get my hands on. It is a great little story that should be read by all mid-high school girls. It is so real to life and it does meet up with every type of girl. You can see yourself and remember you...more When I first started this book, I was not too sure of how I would like it. But then as I left it and went to do some other things, I realized that I kept thinking about the story, and could not get it out of my head! This is the first, I think, of Melody Carlson that I've been able to read.. meaning get my hands on. It is a great little story that should be read by all mid-high school girls. It is so real to life and it does meet up with every type of girl. You can see yourself and remember your painful history within each individual girl. I was shocked when it ended, because it is one of those wonderful books that has previews of the sequel in the back, so I had though there was much more. But it was really a great story!

Melody Carlson is an amazing writer. "Mixed Bags" is typical Melody. Well-written toward her teen audience, this novel not only entertains but examines issues that our daughters face today.

The highest praise I can give this book is that my fourteen year old daughter snatched it, devoured it, and is now begging me to take her to the store to buy the sequel "Stealing Bradford". I love that there is material out there like this that is creating a love of reading in my child that other material has failed to do. Thank you, Melody Carlson.