Review: First Date by Melody Carlson
Five high school friends have one thing in common as they start their sophomore year: none of them have ever been on a “real” date. With homecoming looming, they make a pact and start a secret club they call the DG (Dating Game). They’re sworn to secrecy–and to purity–but the club is their way to set each other up on their first dates so they can report back to the DG. Of course, they all make different choices about how to deal with their parents and how to act on their dates, and they discover that they all have totally different experiences. Still, the things they learn about boys and dating will stick with them throughout high school.
I don’t think this is my first Melody Carlson book and I doubt it will be my last. That said, it took me a while to get into this one. My guess is that is because it followed all of the girls rather than one or two. Each one had several chapters from their POV. While I appreciated getting to know each of the girls, I think I would have liked to get to know a couple of them better. I look forward to getting to know them better in coming books.
Though the dance didn’t quite go as they all planned – some better, some worse – each girl learns something about herself, her friends, boys, dating, life, and God’s place in all of it.
Though I am /cough/ several /cough/ years removed from high school myself, I could “see” just about all of this happening at my [much smaller?] Christian school when I was in attendance [except we didn’t have dances at all]. I’m still a few years from having a high school girl and hope that I can be the mom she needs, not the friend she thinks she wants and that she’ll come to me and my husband when the time comes to decide on things like boys and dating. And that my two other girls [and my son about girls] will as well.
Overall rating: 8 out of 10 stars