Here's Lily (Lily Book 1)

Welcome to the wonderful world of Lily Robbins! In this fun, first story in a series that has sold over one million copies, you'll meet the awkward sixth-grader named Lily. After receiving a compliment about her looks from a high-powered woman in the fashion industry, Lily obsesses over becoming a model, setting her sights on winning the 'model search' fashion show. She packs away her rock and feather collection in exchange for pictures of teen models and fashion magazines. But when the unthinkable happens the night before the fashion show, Lily learns a valuable lesson about real beauty.

These two upbeat titles usher in the Young Women of Faith Library, a series that combines novels, nonfiction works and a devotional to shed a Christian light on topics dear to middle-grade girls. As its title suggests, the first book, Here's Lily, introduces the sixth-grade series heroine. Accustomed to thinking of herself as ordinary-looking, she is surprised and thrilled when Kathleen Winfrey, the owner of a modeling agency, wants to groom her for a career. Lily's parents are willing to let her take a modeling class, but they want her to ask herself "if God is in this." (He is.) The Christian spin ("I taught you to look at the special gifts and qualities God gave you," Kathleen tells Lily. "Actually, we shouldn't call it self-confidence. We ought to call it God-confidence") becomes even more explicit in The Beauty Book, which refers to the characters in the novel as it pairs Kathleen-style how-tos with religious counsel ("I can almost hear you saying, 'Does God really want to talk about my hair?' God wants to talk about anything that stands between you and him and anything that makes you the you he has in mind"). Rue tries too hard to ingratiate herself with readers, particularly with her relentless slang, but Christian girls will probably appreciate her supportiveness even as she repeatedly tells them to defer to their parents' judgment and encourages a multitude of practices "guaranteed to get you nearer and nearer to God" (e.g., "surrounding yourself with other beautiful Christians as your very best friends"). Ages 8-12. (Sept.)
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Welcome to the wonderful world of Lily Robbins! In this fun, entertaining story about growing up, you’ll meet an awkward sixth-grader named Lily. After getting a compliment about her looks from a woman in the modeling business, Lily becomes obsessed with becoming a model and sets her sights on winning the "model search" fashion show. She packs away her rock and feather collection in exchange for pictures of teen models and fashion magazines. However, when the unthinkable happens the night before the fashion show, Lily learns a valuable lesson about real beauty.