REVIEW: HERE'S LILY

Here's Lily by Nancy Rue:  The Lily Series #1

Publisher:  Thomas Nelson

Pages:  136

Source:  Netgalley

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Lily is a sixth grade girl.  She has unruly red curly hair that gets her picked on all the time.  A boy named Shad teases her about everything.  One day a woman from a modeling agency comes in to talk to the girls about cleanliness and beauty and confidence.  The woman picks Lily out of all the girls to come to classes to build self esteem and confidence.  Her parents agree to it only if Lily can find God somewhere in all of it.  Lily feels so good about it that she forms a club to help other girls with low self esteem.  One night there is a fire in Lily's home.  Lily is burnt on her face and her father is burnt on his arms and hands.  How will she ever get up in front of an audience of people to walk in a fashion show with bandages on her face?  Lily puts herself into Gods hands and prays He will help her be confident and strong in front of the audience.  She steps out onto the runway to see Shad in the audience.  She is afraid of what he'll say, but instead the whole audience stands up and applauds Lily for being so brave.

I really thought this was going to be a quick book to read and review.  Boy was I shocked!  You start to feel bad for this girl right away.  I mean, not only do you have this bully Shad at school(who no one does anything about), but then she also gets picked on at home by her two brothers(who no one does anything about).  The mom and dad just don't even pay it any mind.  This really, really bothered me.  It seemed only the outsiders saw Lily for what she was, a beautiful young lady.

In the end, this was a fantastic book.  It is very highly recommended reading for girls in the 10-12 year old range.  As a mom of two boys and two girls, my 10 year old will be reading this.

4/5 bears