Split Ends (Divine and Friends) [Paperback]

Jacquelin Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2010 | Series: Divine and Friends

Divine AND FRIENDS
These girlfriends get through bad hair days together --
and anything else that life in L.A. throws at them!

Kylie Sanderson isn't looking for a handout or anyone's charity -- what she needs, as she summons up her courage outside the Crowning Glory Hair Salon, is a job. Tired of moving, currently homeless, she's learned to depend on herself, not her hard-partying and irresponsible mother, which is why she's quit school and is desperate to work. Now, thanks to the salon's owner, Kylie is the shampoo girl at Crowning Glory, and almost overnight her life turns around: she has a place to call home, a future as a stylist, and a dream of one day going to college. And when she meets diva sensation Kara Matthews and spends a luxurious weekend with the superstar's faithful and welcoming family -- including her styling daughter, Divine -- Kylie truly feels like someone should pinch her, because she must be dreaming! Then out of the blue, Kylie's mother turns up with plans to make a fresh start...but is Kylie ready to trust her and forgive the past?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jacquelin Thomas is the national bestselling and award-winning author whose many adult novels include Defining Moments, Saved in the City, Soul Journey, A Change Is Gonna Come, The Prodigal Husband, and Singsation. Her short fiction is featured in the Pocket Books anthology Have a Little Faith. A driving force in the world of Christian fiction, she is the founder and producer of the annual Faith-Based Arts Conference, an event showcasing authors in the field.

Visit her website at www.jacquelinthomas.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Original edition (March 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416598790
• ISBN-13: 978-1416598794
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,261,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jacquelin Thomas is an award winning, best selling author with twenty-nine titles in print. Her books have garnered several awards, including two EMMA awards, the Romance In Color Reviewers Award, Readers Choice Award and the Atlanta Choice Award in the Religious & Spiritual category. Jacquelin was a 2005 honoree at the Houston Black Film Festival for the movie adaptation of her novel, Hidden Blessings. She was the first recipient to receive the Writers Achievement Award at the North Carolina Book Festival in Winston-Salem.

Although Jacquelin initially published in the romance genre, she decided to follow the call on her heart to write Christian fiction because she seeks to write books that will touch your heart and uplift your spirits with tales of characters who yearn to have an intimate relationship with God. Committed to writing books that glorify God and her growing teen audience, Jacquelin published the first of her Young Adult Inspirational Fiction series titled Simply Divine in October 2006. Her second book in the series, Divine Confidential was nominated for a 2008 NAACP Image Award. She has since gone on to publish two more books in the series.

When asked why she is so passionate about writing teen novels, Thomas shares that teens are confronted with so much--sex, drugs, violence and abuse, physically and mentally. They need to not only listen to what the world says about these things but also to what the Bible says.

Jacquelin is a member of the National Writers Union, Romance Writers of America and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She is happily married to her best friend and is the proud mother of three children. Jacquelin and her family live in North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Emancipation?, April 4, 2010

By 

Angelia Menchan "acvermen.blogspot.com" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Split Ends (Divine and Friends) (Paperback)

Kylie Sanderson is homeless at sixteen. She is sick and tired of watching her mom go from man to man using her looks to provide for them. She has also had enough of how those men are starting to stare at her. One day she simply leaves home and ends up living on the streets. Her main dreams are getting emancipated, completing high school and getting a job at the upscale hair salon, Crowning Glory, which she peers into the window of each day. Split Ends by Jacquelin Thomas tells Kylie's story in a straightforward, engaging way that will have the reader `seeing' the characters.

Through a series of incidents Kylies meets, Miss Lucy, a homeless Gulf-War veteran who offers her protection against the predators on the streets and Rhyann, who gives her money for food and introduces her to Ms. Marilee, who owns the salon and who eventually hires her. Through what seems like divine intervention the teen is soon working and living an emancipated life with Miss Lucy as her unofficial guardian. However, there is one problem, she has lied about her mother's existence and when her mother comes to claim her, her life is once again turned upside. Kylie really loves her mother and would like to trust her again, but, their history is very shaky. Will the mother have changed and will Kylie be able to forgive and trust her mother again?

Ms. Thomas does a wonderful job telling the story of Kylie and how homelessness and lack of family support are affecting our communities. At the same time, she allows the story to be fun, spiritually uplifting and entertaining. I recommend Split Ends to teens and all readers who enjoy reading about realistic adventures of today's youth and the people who support them.

Split Ends was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Angelia Menchan

APOOO BookClub

3.0 out of 5 stars The Ugly Truth, January 8, 2011

By 

Nardsbaby "Connoisseur of the written word™" (Westside Chi-town, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Split Ends (Divine and Friends) (Paperback)

Kylie Sanderson has been living on the streets for a week. At 16, all she wants is to be able to be a normal teenager. Unfortunately, with a mom like Serena, it's hard to do as she's the only one concerned about her well being. Moving in the middle of the night, living with different men and facing another eviction, Kylie can't take it!

Kylie is blessed to meet two women, Miss Lucy, a homeless woman at the shelter who makes it her business to keep Kylie safe and Miss Marilee, owner of Crowning Glory, who offers Kylie a job. With all of them working together, Kylie now has a new lease on life.

Life seems to be somewhat normal as she now has a job, place to live and a family that includes Miss Lucy, Miss Marilee and her newest bff's, Rhyann, Divine, Mimi and Alyssa. When her mother finds Kylie, she fears that her mother is up to her usual tricks and does not want to be sucked into her mother's life again.

Can Kylie find a way to finally forgive and trust, not just her mother, but her friends, who have not had to deal with the circumstances that she's had?

'Split Ends' by Jacquelin Thomas tackles very relevant issues that most may not deal with or understand. Not only does the story speak about homelessness, but about teens that are homeless as well as the fact that not every homeless person has an addiction to drugs or alcohol. While I LOVED that part, the story itself just doesn't feel as authentic as the others in the series and reads more like a fairytale. It was good to glimpse the entire diva crew learning more lessons and extending their friendship circle. As always, the story has a focus on God, life and is very inspirational.