Customer Reviews

Scenarios 1: Truth or Dare (Scenarios for Girls)

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When I was younger we had the "Choose your adventure" books where you would be reading the story and then periodically you would make a choice about what was happening in the book and then go to a corresponding page to see what the results of that decision were. I loved those books. My husband did too. They don't make those anymore. Now Nicole O'Dell has come along with something even better for my daughters! She is developing this series of books called "Scenarios" where she has a wonderful storyline in each book with great characters and then about 9 chapters into the book the main character is presented with a dilemma and they have to make a choice. You are then instructed to make your choice and then turn to the corresponding page. You then read the next three chapters where the consequences are played out accordingly. Then there are 3 more chapters with the alternate ending.

I love these books! In the first one there are 4 best friends starting 8th grade and having weekly Friday night sleepovers. They start playing Truth or Dare every week and eventually Lindsay is dared to do something she knows she shouldn't. One of the friends says she has to do it or she's out of their group. Does she risk her morals or her friends?

So glad to see that Nicole has started this series!

Typically, when my seven-year-old daughter asks to watch a TV show, read a book or engage in an activity outside of what I consider her age-appropriate range, I shudder slightly, offer up the chronology by which her object of desire might be more feasible, and in most instances, ardently hope she forgets.

Nicole O'Dell's new books Truth or Dare and All that Glitters---the first two texts in the Scenarios series---are a bright oasis in literature for tween girls!

In a society afloat in Bratz, Total Drama Island and tee shirts emblazoned with rude commentary, thanks to these two new books, my faith in those writing for and speaking to teens is redeemed!

In prose not contrived to sound faux "cool," but is genuinely age accessible; Nicole O'Dell's heroines confront challenging situations typical of those tough years with highly believable response and personal conflict. Best of all, there are unabashed examples of guidance and spiritually sound suggestions offered as a viable option.

My hat is off to Nicole. I can hardly wait to share the Scenarios books with my own daughter...who having seen them in my hands these past few weeks is already excited to read them when she's a bit older.

I recommend this series without hesitation...and anxiously await the next installments!

Loved the book. I am adult, and I couldn't put it down so read it through in a day! Biblically sound, would be great for a girl's group to read and discuss together. Hoping too see it in movie form - what a great "new" take on making tough decisions.

Truth or Dare is a very good book for a sixth, seventh or eighth grade girl to read. It would even be good for high school age girls.

Truth or Dare exposes the lengths some girls will go to fit in with their peer group, and how far some will go to control or manipulate that same group. I've raised two girls through the middle school period and there are some tough challenges associated with it.

We all need to be connected with others. Being in meaningful relationships confirms our worth to ourselves and gives our lives significance. If we aren't so meaningfully connected to others we may do a number of things to compensate for our sense of aloneness: violate our ethics or manipulate others to our own satisfaction. Nicole deals with both of these scenarios in Truth or Dare.

Nicole's books are interactive fiction, meaning the reader has the opportunity to decide what he/she would do. Nicole then has different conclusions, each one depending on a particular decision.

Even though we are all well past the tween stage, my family had a good discussion about the book. If you have a tween daughter you'll have some good discussions, too.

My 13 year old really enjoyed the interactive parts of the books. She found the stories to be comparable to good lessons built into real life events. On a scale of 1 to 10 she'd give them a 9, and would recommend them to friends.</

cenarios 1: Truth Or Dare is one of the coolest books I've ever read!

When I was a kid, I used to love reading `choose your own adventure' books. If you've never read one, then the concept is simple, you read a page or two of the story and are given a couple of options of what you think might happen next. You make your choice and the book directs you to the appropriate page where you can continue the adventure down the path you have chosen. Each book had numerous story paths and multiple endings.

The concept behind the `Scenarios' series is simply a more grown up version of `choose your own adventure'. In this first book in the series, Lindsay Martin is placed in a very difficult situation. Should she give in to peer pressure and do something she knows she shouldn't do or risk losing her friends whilst maintaining her integrity and the trust of her parents?

Nicole O'dell skillfully sets the scene, introducing and developing the characters sufficiently that teen girls will be able to identify with them and the situations they find themselves in. When it finally comes to decision time and both Lindsay and the reader have to decide which path she'll take, my stomach was knotted and I was thinking "Lindsay, please don't do that, that will turn out SO bad!". If I hadn't had to review the book, I actually wouldn't have read one of the possible courses of action, I really didn't want to know how bad it would get!

That, however, is the strength of the book. The author helps you connect with the characters and genuinely hurt for them if and when things go wrong. I believe that this deep connection, coupled with the well written, excellent descriptions of the consequences of each choice will help teen girls to think through the consequences of Lindsay's actions and cause them to think differently about the possible consequences of their own actions.

Scenarios 1: Truth Or Dare is well worth buying for any teenage girl!

I am a junior high teacher, and daily I see teens struggle with peer pressure. This book is an incredible tool for teaching young girls values and consequences without the "lecturing" they normally get from adults. Nicole O'Dell's writing was vivid without being overdone, and I believe, very relatable to this age demographic. Her series will be featured on my class bookshelf this upcoming school year!

When looksing at the cover of this book, I though to myself...WoW, how could this book be any different than the books that attempt to attack the problem of peer pressure and lying. But what I read inside was different. Nicole O'Dell made this book come alive with the "teenage" language used and she did this by connecting with her readers. I am extremely impressed by the interaction that readers can choose from and how people reading this book can make the right or wrong decisions in life.

I have had the pleasure of working with teenagers this summer and my girls have raved about this book. It is like there is an author out there who cares and knows life as a teenager is not easy. I am impressed at how this book allowed conversations to be started as well. Amazing book and a must read!

Truth or Dare was a great read can be used in many ways. It's also a book that's been needed for a long time. Tweens/teens will enjoy reading and deciding whether to make the right or wrong decision and to see the outcome of each. I'm sure they'll read both, I did, and will benefit from the lessons shown in both outcomes. The concept and story line follows what tweens are facing every day. The book can help prepare them in advance for the decisions they will have to make in the very near future.

The two books from the Scenarios Series are a perfect tool for parents and church youth groups to use in starting conversations with the tweens. The books will allow them to address subjects with the tween/teen without it coming across as confrontational. I really feel these books would make an excellent bases for a tween/teen Christian youth group teaching.

As a parent/grandparent, I just wish this type of book had been available as my children were growing up. It may have helped in our communication and decision making. I truly hope the books receive the interest, distribution and widespread reading audience they deserve.

Truth or Dare by Nicole O'Dell is the first Scenarios book in what is a new Christian fiction series for tween girls. It is fantastic!

What the book does is give us a scenario with a young teenage girl and then the decision she has to face to either go the good way, the way her parents and God would want her to and quite possibly the way she wants to go herself or to submit to peer pressure and go the way her friends want her to instead. The book then gives us the story from both angles and we can see the consequences of both actions. I actually read both endings because I think both are important for any young girl reading the story; there are valuable lessons to learn on both sides.

Truth or Dare is about Lindsay just starting eighth grade with her friends Macy, Sam and Kelly. The girls are best friends and inseparable. They decide it might be fun to have sleepovers at one of their houses every weekend. It is during one of these sleepovers that they begin playing the game Truth or Dare. It starts out harmless enough with some fairly cute pranks but then seems to escalate until Lindsay is faced with a dare that compromises everything she believes in.

Lindsay's friends, although a few are uncomfortable with the decision, inform Lindsay that she either completes the dare or stands to lose their friendship. What will Lindsay do? Will she compromise her faith and her parent's trust in her? Will she go along with what her friends want her to do because she's scared to lose their friendship? Will she realize that true friends should never ask you to disregard your beliefs or be someone you're not if they are indeed your friends?

It was really refreshing to read a book that shows the importance of making good decisions, listening to your parents and being proud of your faith. This series is great because it shows the outcome of both decisions. How many young people are conflicted these days? They struggle with some of the same decisions that are portrayed in this book and by reading the book, it may just make their own decision to possibly do the right thing a lot easier. The important lesson to be learned is that it's ok to be your own person and stand up for what you believe to be right!