Open Your Heart/Time Will Tell/Now Picture This (The Sierra Jensen Series 7-9) (Sierra Jensen Collection, Volume 3) (Hardcover)

by Robin Jones Gunn (Author) "SIERRA'S HEART POUNDED..." (more)
Key Phrases: Granna Mae, Highland House, Aunt Marti (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Happenstance…or God’s Great Plan?

She’s the bold, free-spirited type. She’s cute, she’s fun, and she’s following God. She’s Sierra Jensen, Christy Miller’s good friend, ready for her junior year of high school! All twelve books in the popular Sierra Jensen series come together in four volumes to reveal the ups and downs of Sierra’s incredible God-led journey!

Volume Three: An exciting trip to Europe challenges Sierra to Open Your Heart to loving others without expectations. At the start of her senior year, only Time Will Tell the truth about Sierra’s friendships. And in Now Picture This, she wonders if her relationship with Paul is as picture perfect as she thinks!

Christy Miller knows a good friend when she meets her,

and so will you—Sierra Jensen is at it again!

Open Your Heart

What an adventure! Having Christy Miller invite Sierra on an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe was amazing—but that was just the beginning. Sierra never imagined she’d meet someone like Alex, a dark-eyed Russian college student who’s a Christian. Or that they’d all come face-to-face with disaster. Through it all, one question haunts Sierra: c an she learn to love others without expecting anything in return? Will she finally be able to open her heart to others—and to God?

Time Will Tell

Sierra’s senior year of high school is here, but after the great summer she just had, how can it be anything but a letdown? Sure enough, the year tanks big-time when the school issues her buddy Randy an ultimatum. Stuck in the middle—Sierra wonders, what’s right? Her friend or the rules? She longs to talk it over with Amy, but Sierra’s best friend still isn’t talking to her. What’s worse, she hasn’t heard a word from Paul! No doubt about it, this school year is totally frustrating! Will Sierra ever understand her friendships or God’s plans for them?

Now Picture This

Why can’t everyone just leave Sierra alone? All she wants to do is find a place to read the letter she just received from Paul—to soak in every word and memorize the photo he sent her—but Thanksgiving at the Jensen house means relatives everywhere! Sierra hides out, immersed in her ideas for Paul’s birthday and Christmas gifts, especially his requested gift: a photo of her. Sierra’s determined—the photo has to be spectacular! But a small voice of doubt nags at her. What does God think of her ignoring her family and friends this way? Is her picture-perfect relationship with Paul really all she thinks it is?

Story Behind the Book

“After writing the twelve-book Christy Miller series for teens, a new character showed up on the pages of the final novel. Her name was Sierra Jensen, and she was so compelling as a teenage character that readers began asking for a series about Sierra in order to hear more about her life choices. Our family had just moved to Portland at the time, and I found it easy to picture a sixteen-year-old like Sierra shopping at the local vintage clothing stores, hanging out with friends at a garage band concert, and serving at the homeless shelter on weekends.”

—Robin Jones Gunn

About the Author
Robin Jones Gunn is a God-lover who can’t stop telling stories. And by the way, she’s still crazy about her husband after twenty-eight years and confesses their two kids turned out pretty good only because of the extravagant grace poured out on their family.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Publishers (July 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590525906
• ISBN-13: 978-1590525906
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,750 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying read!, July 6, 2006

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only You, Sierra/In Your Dreams/Don't You Wish (The Sierra Jensen Series 1-3) (Sierra Jensen Collection, Volume 1) (Hardcover)

This collection includes the first three books in the Sierra Jensen series written by Robin Jones Gunn.

Only You, Sierra introduces sixteen-year-old Sierra. Flying home from a mission trip in the UK, Sierra has met several new friends, including Katie and Christy, who readers of Robin's Christy Miller series will recognize. Normally outgoing and adventurous, Sierra is surprised to feel anxiety about her family's move to Portland, Oregon during the time she was away. A new home, new school, and potential new love interest challenge Sierra to reevaluate beliefs about herself that she has long taken for granted.

In Your Dreams finds Sierra watching over Granna Mae for a few days while her family is out of town. While it's difficult for Sierra to see her Granna's memory come and go, what seems to be a simple responsibility becomes more than Sierra bargains for when Granna Mae receives a call saying she needs immediate surgery. Meanwhile, Sierra tries to find a part-time job and wonders why, when she was the most popular girl at her old school, she is having such a difficult time making new friends in Portland.

Don't You Wish takes Sierra and her sister Tawni to spend Easter break at the beach with Christy, Katie, and their friends. When Tawni hits it off immediately with Jeremy, and even Katie pairs off with Antonio, an Italian exchange student, Sierra struggles with being jealous and feeling left out. She wants a boyfriend too. She tries to have fun and even learns to surf. But when Sierra witnesses Christy and Todd, to her the perfect couple, going through a difficult time in their relationship, she realizes everyone has struggles in their life. And she learns, as 1 Tim 6:6 states, that godliness with contentment is the greatest gain.

"Have you ever felt as if you were caught between two lives? The one you're living, and the one you wish you were living?" Sierra asks Christy.

Armchair Interviews says: Readers of all ages will understand Sierra's feelings and be ministered to by the timeless truths God reveals to her throughout this collection.

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Christian fiction for teens, August 1, 2008

By	Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Sierra Jensen has just finished the summer of a lifetime. After taking big trips to Europe and California, Sierra's return home to start her senior year of high school doesn't seem to be an exciting prospect. In TIME WILL TELL, the eighth installment in Robin Jones Gunn's Sierra Jensen series, she is faced with a number of challenges that make life far less than perfect.

Sierra learns that her once best friend Amy is upset with her and totally avoiding her. She is not even given the chance to find out what's wrong, let alone reconcile. As she fruitlessly attempts to save the friendship, her family is involved in a drama of its own. Something big is happening to her older sister Tawni, but no one will tell her what's going on.

Frustrated and lonely, Sierra seeks solace in her now growing relationship with long-time love interest Paul. He is attending school in Scotland, and the two write each other increasingly personal and romantic letters. With Paul on the other side of the world and Amy refusing to speak to her, Sierra realizes just how important good friends are.

Things begin to look up when a new friend emerges from a very unlikely place. Sierra also starts spending more time with Randy, who is having a dramatic start to senior year himself. He has defied the rules of their private school and grown his hair out long. While this may seem inconsequential, it has turned the school upside down, with student body and administration at odds with one another.

When Amy finally agrees to talk to Sierra, a family emergency abruptly ends her attempted reconciliation. With things off to a rocky start, will Sierra be able to enjoy her senior year? Will Amy give their friendship another chance? And what is the big secret her family is hiding from her?

In TIME WILL TELL, readers will be glad that the spotlight is back on Sierra Jensen after quite a bit of focusing on Gunn's other protagonist, Christy Miller. Some might find the book to be a bit overly dramatic, particularly in the amount of attention and emotion dedicated to Randy's decision about whether or not to cut his hair. This aside, the author manages to produce another well-written novel in an enjoyable series that will definitely please fans.

--- Reviewed by Jennifer Crosby

4.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying conclusion to a lovely series, July 31, 2008

By	Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Hold On Tight/Closer Than Ever/Take My Hand (The Sierra Jensen Series 10-12) (Sierra Jensen Collection, Volume 4) (Hardcover)

Sierra Jensen is thrilled when her entire family gathers to celebrate her older sister's engagement. However, as excited as she is for Tawni, Sierra's mind is preoccupied with other things.

In TAKE MY HAND, the final book in Robin Jones Gunn's Sierra Jensen series, Tawni's engagement party will allow Sierra to finally see long-fantasized-about Paul after over a year apart. Tawni is conveniently engaged to Paul's older brother, and Sierra is more than hoping that she and Paul will be able to sneak away from their families long enough to do some much needed catching up. As the big day approaches, Sierra becomes more and more nervous and decides to let Tawni, a professional model, give her a makeover. With different clothes, tons of makeup and a crazy new hairstyle, Sierra barely recognizes herself. And, more importantly, neither does Paul!

This certainly gets things off to a rocky start, and as the night progresses, the reunion continues to be much less romantic than planned. Paul's undivided attention goes to Sierra's elderly grandmother, and Sierra is left alone with a headache from her new hairdo. However, later that night, Sierra's dreams are more than realized when they are finally left alone together. Holding hands on the beach while Paul reads her poetry, Sierra is sure that she is with "the one." Everything seems to be going perfectly, until Paul abruptly ends things and makes a comment that hurts and angers Sierra.

Very confused, Sierra moves into college unsure of where things stand with Paul. His words have left her with a lot of questions about his past, especially after she sees his ex-girlfriend with a child who bears a striking resemblance to him. Sierra must face the double challenge of beginning life away from home on her own, and deciding what the future holds for her and Paul, now that he is finally a reality and not just a far-away dream.

TAKE MY HAND provides a satisfying and exciting conclusion to the story of Sierra and Paul. Readers may have begun to wonder if the long-talked-about but rarely seen Paul did in fact exist. Most of the attention here is focused on wrapping up this storyline, which was the undercurrent to the entire series. However, the book leaves many questions unanswered. The fate of Sierra's other friends, also integral to the series, is barely touched upon, as is Sierra's new life at college. This perhaps does leave ample room for Gunn to expand the story in the future. Nonetheless, fans will certainly be pleased with this final chapter of an enjoyable series.

--- Reviewed by Jennifer Crosby