Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Day 4

Today's meme focuses on forgotten treasures, books that we wished would get more attention from other book bloggers. Well since I review a lot of Christian fiction on my blog as well as YA, I'm going to focus today on......Christian YA! Do you know that when you go to a bookstore like Barnes and Nobles or Booksamillion, Christian YA is NOT shelved with general market YA? Nope, it's shoved in the back corner, either at the very end of the Teen non fiction in B&N or stuffed with Teen Religious Non Fiction in Booksamillion. I mean, how in the world are teen readers supposed to find these books if they are not specifically searching for them?

I read A LOT of YA book blogs, and it's VERY rare that I see any Christian YA books reviewed on them. I don't know if the publishers or authors are not approaching these bloggers or if the bloggers themselves don't want to review them because they are Christian. Either way, I really wish they would because the books are awesome. And even though I am speaking as someone of the faith, I honestly do not find any of the books below to be preachy in any sort of form. Also if you ARE a Christian fiction reader and are looking for more multicultural aspects in your reading, for some weird reason YA is much more prevalent to show this than adult books are.

So without further adieu....here are some Christian YA books that I wish more bloggers were aware of:

It's All About Us series by Shelley Adina (Faithwords)

Description of It's All About Us (Book 1): Tall, blonde Lissa Mansfield is used to being one of the "in" crowd--but being accepted by the popular girls at posh Spencer Academy boarding school in San Francisco is turning out to be harder than she thought. And then there's her New-York-loudmouth roommate, Gillian Chang, who's not just happy to be a Christian herself--she's determined to out Lissa, too! If Lissa can just keep her faith under wraps long enough to hook Callum McCloud, the hottest guy in school, she'll be golden.

But when Callum pressures her to go all the way with him, Lissa has to decide for herself how far is too far. How can she see that line when he's so gorgeous and popular and she's so dazzled? And besides, she's too busy shopping for a Valentino and booking the hottest celeb for the Benefactors Ball. Who knew finding a place at Spencer Academy would be so complicated?

Read my review here.

Perfectly Dateless by Kristin Billerbeck (Revell)

Description: Daisy Crispin has 242 days to find the right date for the prom. There's only one problem--her parents won't let her date or even talk to a guy on the phone. Oh, and she's totally invisible at school, has to wear lame homemade clothes, and has no social skills. Okay, so maybe there's more than one problem. Can she talk her parents into letting her go to the prom? Or will they succeed at their obvious attempt to completely ruin her life?

Read my review here.

The Sweet Seasons series by Debbie Viguie (Zondervan)

Description of The Summer of Cotton Candy (Book 1): Most people think The Zone is an amusement park, but Candy Thompson knows it's really a slave labor camp. What else would you call a summer job that requires a teen to set aside her whole social life for the privilege of standing out in the hot sun selling cotton candy? There is an upside. Particularly the mysterious gentleman in the Lone Ranger costume. Who is that masked man? But someone else is just as interested. And romantic competition isn't the only problem. Besides being hard work, her job is eating up major time. How is Candace supposed to stay involved with her church? Worse yet, will she lose her best friend, Tamara, who resents how Candy's job limits their time together?

Read my review here.

Hot by Laura L. Smith (NavPress)

Description: Lindsey feels alone, like no one truly understands her. That is, until she meets Noah, who possesses a calm self-confidence that Lindsey craves. But what price will she pay to escape to the comfort of Noah's soft words and strong arms?

Read my review here.

Beautiful by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma (Thomas Nelson)

Description: Since childhood, 17-year-old Ellie Summerfield has fought to overcome her grandfather's painful words by becoming driven, determined, and successful---even to the detriment of others. But when tragedy strikes, she's confronted with her deepest fears. What is her life really worth? Experience one girl's journey to rebuild herself and discover true beauty.

Read my review here.

My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay (Moody)

Description: Cori signs up to take a mission trip to Indonesia during the summer after her senior year of high school. Inspired by happy visions of building churches and seeing beautiful beaches, she gladly escapes her complicated love life back home. Five weeks after their arrival, a sectarian and religious conflict that has been simmering for years flames to life with deadly results on the nearby island of Ambon. Within days, the church building the team had constructed is in ashes, its pastor and fifty villagers are dead, and the six terrified teenagers are stranded in the mountainous jungle with only the pastor's teenage son to guide them to safety. Ultimately, Cori's emotional quest to rediscover hope proves just as arduous as the physical journey home.

Read my review here.

Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House)

Description: Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon be married. She dreams of a handsome and charming prince, but when the first suitor arrives, she finds him stodgy and boring. Prince Aethelbald from the mysterious land of Farthestshore has traveled far to prove his love--and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be approaching Parumvir. Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer--and ignores his warnings. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir, and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in grave danger. Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.

Read my review here.

On the Runaway series by Melody Carlson (Zondervan)

Description of Premiere (Book 1): A recipe for success or a design for disaster? Although they're sisters, Paige and Erin Forrester are like oil and water, night and day, denim and silk. Paige is an outgoing fashionista who loves to be the center of attention, while Erin is more comfortable sporting vintage garb and recording the action around her. When a near disaster turns into the opportunity of a lifetime, these two very-different sisters are given the chance to star in their own fashion-TV show. A guest spot on a hot teen-reality series and their first big red-carpet assignment give this unlikely partnership plenty of room for success-and even more for failure.

Read my review here.

The Miracle Girls series by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt (Faithwords)

Description of A Little Help From My Friends (Book 3): Zoe is used to being overlooked. As the youngest and shyest Miracle Girl, she was happy to fade into the background last year. But when she sheds her baby fat and shoots up four inches the summer before her junior year, everything changes. Now she's turning heads at school, and this new attention is beginning to strain her relationship with her sweet, serious boyfriend, Marcus. Pressure builds when Zoe's assigned partner for history class is Dean Foster--a handsome New York transplant who isn't afraid to show her how he feels. ...

Read my review here.

The Charmed Life series by Jenny B. Jones (Thomas Nelson)

Description of So Not Happening (Book 1): Young New York socialite, Isabella Kirkwood, whose life revolves around an unlimited expense account with Daddy's MasterCard, Broadway just down the street, attends a private school, and has an A -list of friends, has her whole life pulled out from under her!Daddy's found another woman, Mom met some factory worker from Oklahoma on the internet and now they're packing up to move there to join him! To top off the nightmare, he has two bratty sons and she's now supposed to live on a farm. How will she ever survive this nightmare? Is Oklahoma really where God wants her to be?

Read my review here.