Customer Reviews

The Pledge (Kimani Tru)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Courtland Murphy had a few things to celebrate; the most important things are she can still wear her purity necklace and she is dating basketball star, Allen Benson. Courtland is a member of Worth-the-Wait; a club encouraging young people to practice abstinence until they are married. She made a pledge to herself, but dating Allen caused her to reconsider her vow. The Pledge by Chandra Sparks Taylor delves into the life of a seventeen year-old young lady trying to be like every other ordinary teenager while still staying true to herself.

Peer pressure was difficult enough without feeling the pressure from the most gorgeous guy in the school. Courtland wanted to keep Allen as her boyfriend, doing anything he told her to do. There was a side to Allen that always had Courtland battling conflicting thoughts. Would Courtland finally give into Allen or would he agree Courtland was worth the wait?

The Pledge had valuable lessons teenagers should know. We, as parents often times focus on abstinence, forgetting about the other things which can possibly be harmful to them and others. If explaining to your child the reason behind the importance of loving their self first before anyone else is difficult, Ms. Taylor provides a way. I recommend The Pledge to parents and teenagers. There is a lesson to be learned.

Jennifer Coissiere
APOOO BookClub

Sixteen year old Courtland Murphy is the co-captain of the cheerleaders and is looking forward to her junior year of high school. A few years ago, she didn't have what it took to turn heads, but now she's topping all of the right charts. Allen Benson, high school basketball sensation and cutie, is all over her. Although her parents have made it clear that she can't date until she is 17, she and Allen become study partners.

A proud member of Worth the Wait, a club that made a pact to remain virgins until marriage, Courtland realizes that it was so much easier to ebb those thoughts while she was single. Unfortunately, now she's been kissed, teased and tempted. Will her love for Allen outweigh the promise she made to herself?

The Pledge is a prevailing teen novel that doles out priceless lessons on belief, esteem, reputations, mistreatment, alcoholism and sex. As a parent, I was so extremely pleased that author Chandra Sparks Taylor tackled virginity and how widespread HIV is, especially amongst young women in the African American community. The Pledge is undeniably a book worthy of recommendations.

Reviewed by Nardsbaby
for Urban Reviews

The book was pretty good but then in my opion the author complicated things but adding random problems. Of course a book has to have problems but the author added too many problems and just ended it kinda dumb because her solution for all those earlier problems was to just add MORE PROBLEMS! The book just had too much drama for one book. The problems were random to begin with. Save your money, the book is good but not good enough for the price. sorry

The Regal Teen Book Club selected "The Pledge" for it's March 2010 book of the month. They loved it! It was a drama filled page turner that they could not put down. The novel covers a multitude of issues teens face each day. Family drama, best friend drama, dating deception and physical violence just to name a few. It's hard to believe Ms. Sparks was able to pile all this into this novel but she manages to do it very well. The discussion questions are awesome and really promote a great book discussion. Below is feedback from a teen book club member.

"I really enjoyed reading the book. It was a great lesson for me. This book really showed me how high I should set my standards when it comes to certain things. As far as what beliefs I shall uphold as a young lady. The meeting really stood out the most for me. It was really open and I felt like I could relate to all the things being said. It really helped to get a different view from the others like the boys. It showed me how they look at things differently when it comes to "going out" and being in a relationship. Thank you for this experience and choosing this book. I could not put it down!"

- Cecily
The Regal Teen Book Club, Texas

*The views expressed in this review are purely for informational purposes, provided by The Regal Sisterhood Book Club - Dallas. We don't claim to be professional reviewers, nor do we feel the need to be published authors, in order to express our opinions. We are merely readers who recognize quality literary material. Our comments are not meant to offend or ostracize anyone. We wish all authors the best success in their chosen field.

I really liked this book. The chapters were not all that long. It was cool how she was the cheer leader capton and he was the basketball capton. But I did not like how he hit her! Other than that it was a good book. If you are into teenage romance or anything like this book it would be a great book for you!