The Christy Miller Series by Robin Jones Gunn

When we meet Christy Miller in Summer Promise, she is a 14-year-old from Wisconsin who has promised her parents that she won’t do anything that she will later regret while visiting her aunt and uncle in California. She meets new friends on the beach, hears the Gospel through these friends, and eventually becomes a Christian. The series then focuses on Christy’s growing relationship with the Lord and her typical teenage confusion about friendships and boys.

In A Whisper and a Wish, Christy’s family sells their farm in Wisconsin and moves to Escondido, California. Christy meets new friends and learns the importance of finding friends who build you up, not tear you down.

Christy returns to her aunt and uncle’s house to celebrate Christmas in Yours Forever. This book centers on Christy’s friendship with Todd (a boy she met in the first book) and how everyone needs a second chance.

This review covers the first three books in the series.

Reading Level: Ages 14-18
Read-aloud Age: 14+

Because this is a Christian book series, it does not contain much of the explicit content that we see in secular young adult books. Nonetheless, the series addresses topics that teenagers face in their everyday lives, including drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, and teen pregnancy. Every time that these actions are presented, the book clearly labels them as sin.

The books are relatable for many teen girls, and I appreciate that Christy desires to honor God as she faces various challenges. I also appreciate the clear Gospel conversations in these books. Personally, I would allow my daughter to read this series, but I would have regular conversations with her regarding the topics mentioned below. I enjoyed the Christy Miller series when I was in high school, and I think it still has merit for teenage Christian girls today. I would encourage parents to discuss these topics with their daughters to ensure that they have a strong biblical foundation before they read the books.

Please note, some of the information below might be considered spoilers.

Language:
This series does not include any curse words. Christy and her friends call each other (or themselves) turkey, nerd-ball, gweek, jerk, dumb, stupid, and brat.
In the third book, Christy calls her brother “hamster,” and he calls her “beetle,” but they eventually agree that they are each other’s favorite “hamster” and “beetle.”

Sexual Content:
The whole series has typical, mild teenage flirting.
In Summer Promise, Alissa and Shawn spend a lot of time alone together, and the unspoken implication is that they are having sex. Christy finds birth control in Alissa’s belongings, but she does not know what it is (page 122).

In Yours Forever, Christy receives a letter from Alissa telling Christy that she is pregnant. She explains that she considered an abortion, but after a conversation with a Christian counselor, decided to keep the baby and potentially give it up for adoption.
In the same book, Christy’s friend Rick kisses her at a Christmas party. This confuses Christy because they are not dating, but he says that he wanted to kiss her as a Christmas gift (page 346). He kisses her again, and she feels that he is moving too quickly (page 347).

Throughout the series, Christy is romantically interested in a boy named Todd. They hug and occasionally kiss. At the end of the third book, they decide that it’s okay to like each other but not define their relationship as boyfriend/girlfriend. They choose to remain good friends and see what happens in time.

Questionable Behaviors:
In the first book, Christy attends a party where teenagers are drinking beer and doing drugs. Christy does not partake at this party, but she admits that she had tried beer before at a friend’s house and did not like it.
Christy also meets a girl named Alissa whose mother is an alcoholic. She says that her mom hit her, threw a bottle of vodka at her, and threatened to kill her.

When the first book begins, the author intends to convey two things: that Christy is self-conscious about her appearance and that her Aunt Marti is superficial. The book was originally written in the late 1980s, and some of the language may come across as inappropriate today. For example, the book gives specifics about Christy’s size, saying, “her 5-foot-5-inch, 110-pound frame.” Her aunt calls her a late bloomer at this size. When other teens call Christy a green bean, her aunt says, “They’re saying you’re thin. That’s almost a compliment.” Despite this “compliment,” Aunt Marti wants to give Christy a makeover, including new clothes, hair, and makeup (pages 10-11). Aunt Marti also warns Christy about “how many grams of fat are in that one waffle” (page 17).

In A Whisper and A Wish, a girl named Brittany has bulimia, and this becomes part of the main plot. She urges Christy to take laxatives. Brittany sneaks out to buy prescription diet pills and laxatives, which she hides in Christy’s purse. The book gives specifics about a girl who died from an eating disorder, weighing 82 pounds and holding a box of laxatives when she died.

In A Whisper and a Wish, Christy attends a slumber party. The girls share their most embarrassing moments, most of which involve clothes being forgotten or falling off (page 217). The girls plan to freeze each other’s underwear and bras, and they go on an adventure to “TP” a boy’s house.

Other Things to Know:
In the first book, Christy’s new friend Todd presents the Gospel at Shawn’s funeral, which leads to Christy’s conversion. Regarding salvation, this book uses the phrase “ask Christ to come into your heart” multiple times.
Christy’s aunt and uncle are not Christians, so they give her some self-centered advice throughout the first book. As Christy matures in the Lord, she realizes that the advice was not what God would desire for her.

After the party in Summer Promise, one of the stoned teenagers dies from crashing into the jetty while trying to swim (page 71). Later in the book, Alissa admits that she had tried to kill herself the previous December (page 124).

This review was written by Good Book Mom contributor, Kathryn. To find out more about Kathryn, click HERE.

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