Customer Reviews

Sonshine Girls: Summer Secret

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This is a very good book for young girls to read. The books has great messages, and are said in a way that the young girls who read it will understand. The book talks about how to deal with bullies in a Christian way and how to be forgiving with friends and enemies. The book is very realistic and there were times when I couldn't put the book down and had to keep on reading. The book is very relatable to me and I really enjoyed reading it.

This is a great book. Any parent that wants to get closer to their daughters should read it with them. I am read it with my 8 year old. It has brought us closer and opened new doors for us. We talk about more now.

Coming from a person that doesn't read too much, I could NOT put this book down. I just wanted to find out the "secret." It's a great and easy ready and all the characters in the book will come to life at the beginning and you won't have to wait for the story to get started. Pefect for girls of all ages.

Charli, Anna, and Jessica are the best of friends. When a girl names Kristin moves to town, they quickly add her to their group. As soon as Kristin steps foot in the youth group class, church bully Greta makes Kristin her latest target. Just as things start going well for Kristin again, she makes an enemy in Greta's grandmother, Alma!

The four friends have a sleepover and find an old church camp picture with Alma and Kristin's grandmother in it. Turns out the two had been best of friends back then. What happened? As the girls investigate, their own friendships are put to the ultimate test. Can they survive the conflict?

This book had a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants feel, but for a younger audience. The girls are junior high age. Morris does a great job of creating unique characters. I loved how the girls interacted with one another and stayed true to their characters. This book took a good look at what it means to forgive, friends and enemies both. I recommend this one for girls ages eight and up.

SONSHINE GIRLS - Book # 1 SUMMER SECRET by Author Rene' Morris.

Summer Secret is the first in a series of books that showcase four young girls as they share their summer before entering Junior High School in the fall.

Charli, Anna, Jessica, and Kristen set up fundraisers to earn money for church camp; they have sleepovers, and deal with the awkwardness of being thirteen. The church bully continues her reign of being rude and hurtful to the girls. Anna tries to "make-over" her friends and this causes tension throughout the book. The girls also learn how to deal with everyday issues and respond in a Christian manner.

Rene' Morris's debut novel of using Christian principles to deal with issues faced by young girls will have fans waiting anxiously for the next adventure of the Sonshine Girls. Ms. Morris is definitely a new, Christian author on the rise. If you're looking for a new series for your daughter, this is it. The Sonshine Girls is similar to The Babysitter's Club but with a Christian perspective.

Summer Secret by Rene' Morris is a great tween book. First in the series of the Sonshine Girls, Kristin is the new girl in town. She becomes friends with a trio of girls. It is a great story with a brother researching religion, girls getting involved in church, and dealing with a snobby, bullying situation. Using adult guidance, the girls learn to handle the bully in a Christian way. I may have left the book sit on my stand a month, but once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed Summer Secret until the end!

When 13-year-old Kristin moves from Georgia to Texas she is thankful to quickly find a new group of friends. Charli, Jessica and Anna eagerly open the doors of their life-long friendship to include her as a fourth member. Life in Rimsfield sparkles with new promise as the girls plan for the summer youth group church camp and the upcoming school year.

It soon becomes apparent that Greta Hansley - the polished, wealthy church bully - is determined to bring Kristin down. When it becomes apparent that Kristin's grandmother Ellie (her legal guardian) is somehow connected to Greta's grandmother Alma in a shady secret that took place in Rimsfield, the conflict escalates. Neither Ellie nor Alma are willing to speak of the past and rumors fly fast and furious. How will Kristin be able to keep her cool and respond to the mounting pressures in a Christian manner?

Anna - the most fashion conscious of the group - infiltrates Greta's group of friends in an effort to root out any further information on the secret history between Ellie and Alma. Worried about the appearances of such behaviour on the new Christian walk of their friend Jessica, Charli and Kristin decide to call off the devious plan. However, Anna's undercover mission seems to become a defection as she refuses to give up her new friendships after the plan is called off. It seems that a large dose of forgiveness is the prescribed antidote to the ills of everyone involved, but will the girls (and grandmothers) be able to act with humility and grace?

In the first of a planned series, debut author René Morris guides her characters through the treacherous straits of adolescence. Providing the girls with challenges, caring friends, godly mentors, and wise parents, Morris clearly illustrates through them Christ-like responses to the turbulent times that go hand in hand with the `tween/teen years. Any young Christian girl facing changes in friendship, school or church cliques, bullying etc. will find encouragement, reassurance and potential solutions in Summer Secret.

The uncomfortable transition through puberty is developed as the friends struggle with new pressures in the areas of makeup, elaborate hairstyles and newly discovered crushes. This certainly isn't unusual, but our family normally avoids fashion and romantic references in reading material for our children - twelve or thirteen is nowhere near being ready for marriage. However, Morris keeps levels low, with awkwardness, blushes, "cute boys" and heightened awareness making up the bulk of such references. In a sex-saturated market (even for `tweens/teens) I must give her credit from refraining from more overt interactions that many titles for young readers are now including. On the wholesome scale Summer Secret still ranks high.

With four main characters and rapid scene changes between the girls to follow the changes each of them faces, Summer Secret is unable to be a character-driven novel at 148 pages. It reminds me strongly of the novels for young people that I read in elementary school: Sweet Valley High, Babysitters Club and other girl "club" series. Each character is introduced, their likes, dislikes, appearance and personality is sketched out and we're off into the adventure of puberty! As an adult I'm not fond of such set ups, but `tweens gobble these series' up like candy (and so did I at that age).

Morris excels, setting herself apart from the norm by providing a guiding set of Christian values for girls who are navigating the emotional white water that life throws at them. I wish that such a series had been available as an alternative to the fluff I was reading at this age. Morris offers guidance that rests on the rock of Jesus Christ, shining His light into these difficult years. If your daughter is binging on girly books that don't direct her to Christ, set her up with the Sonshine Girls - they'll steer her straight.

This is the first wonderful Christian fiction book in the Sonshine Girls series which is geared to tweeners and young teens. Issues that are raised include friendship, bullying, forgiveness, Chrisianity, cliques and peer pressure. There are four main characters that make up the Sonshine Girls. As I read, I could closely identify with Kristin and Charli. The author has done a fantastic job of capturing the moodiness and general camaraderie that girls often demonstrate. In the back are tips for dealing with bullies which could be helpful someone who is being bullied. The book moves right along and is a very enjoyable read.

This book is perfect for any pre-teen/teenaged girl in your life.

When Kristen moves to small town Texas, she thinks she's going to be all alone, until she stumbles across three girls. Organized Charli, Creative Jessica, and Girlie-girl Anna have been friends forever, and adding Kristen to their group seemed to just round them out. The girls form a fast friendship based around the church summer camp. Trying to get to camp is hilarious, especially with the constant challenges by town snob, Greta Hansley. Of course, the real fun begins when camp begins. There is a secret in the town, a secret that spans decades, and the girls are traveling down the road of investigation to find out exactly what happened so, so long ago. Through all of this, the girls are faced with their own personal struggles with acceptance, God, Faith, and friendship.

Ms. Morris shows young girls that by putting their faith in God, anything can happen. This is a truly fun book, and I'd recommend it to anyone with a young girl, or boy, on their list.

Being new is never easy. But sometimes it goes better than one would think. "Sonshine Girls: Summer Secret" tells of new girl Kristin and moving into her new community. She finds friends easily enough through her Church, but a Bully rears his ugly head. She soon considers what is the Christian way to deal with the bully, but soon finds that her Church has a secret of its own. A fine book for young teenage Christian readers, "Summer Secret" is a great gift for one's young daughter.