The Fruit of My Lipstick (All about Us Series #2) [NOOK Book]

stupid bible crap.

the title sounds like a rip off gossip girl, and the girls are NO FUN. AT ALL. no scandal, no nothing. very boring.

There is never a reason to change who you are to please a guy

Gillian Chang is an awesome person. She is brilliant in schoolwork, gifted in music, and totally in love with God. People love her for her outgoing and tell-it-like-it-is personality. When Lucas Hayes, the smartest guy in the school, takes an interest in her, Gillian is love struck. But the more time she spends with Lucas, the more she realizes that she doesn't measure up. Determined to be everything Lucas needs in a girlfriend, Gillian starts to make changes. When her friends call her on it, she is livid. Why can't they see that Lucas is right? He only wants what's best for her, and there is a lot to improve.

This is the second book in the All About Us series about girls who are attending an expensive boarding school. So far, these girls have everything money can buy and wear clothing that I could never afford for myself, like, ever. The books are still a lot of fun. I like how Shelley Adina wrote the character of Lucas Hayes. I was enamored with him myself at first. But when he started putting Gillian down in these slight ways-ways that she wasn't quite certain he meant derogatorily, but hurt her feelings-I got really worried. It was so hard for Gillian to see Lucas without bias. She wanted him to be the guy of her dreams. She wanted the relationship to be a fairy tale. But when three of her friends took her aside and told her they thought something was wrong, Gillian freaked, even to the point of accusing her friends of being wrong. Shelley Adina shows us that there is never a reason to change who you are to please a guy. The right guy will love you for who you are. But will Gillian realize that or end up in a world of hurt?

Enthusiasm and insecurities

The titles in this series are great! The story is told in a lively voice full of the enthusiasms and insecurities of a modern teen. Only the first couple pages fall into the explaining trap of first-person fiction when the narrator tells us who everyone is instead of showing the relationships in dialog and action as she does so well in the rest of the book. Instant messaging effectively carries the mystery of who is selling exam answers. Gillian herself is American-born Chinese and her friends present a nice racial and cultural mix despite the posh, boarding school setting. The plot centers around the abuse of a jerk-of-a-boyfriend, who makes sly racial and gender comments as well as being obviously threatened by Gillian's brains. Gillian's response exposes some of the excuses women use to put up with such behavior. At one point I thought the story was going in the direction of an eating disorder, but that thread was not developed as it could have been given the low self-image Gillian was moving toward under the boyfriend's influence. Gillian's Christian life and prayers are integral to who she is and how she handles her problems. Only occasionally do the prayers fall into churchy language, e.g. page 112. The discussion with Shani about where she is spiritually in the last chapter had little to do with the story and felt tacked on for the benefit of the reader (or to appeal to a Christian publisher.) I did not find it credible that the whole junior class could be given straight Fs on their transcript if the cheater was not exposed. I can't imagine that would be legal. My low rating really reflects my lack of enthusiasm for high school fiction as a genre more than the quality of the writing. The book definitely deserves the notice it should get as a finalist for the YA Christy Award.

Fun YA Lit with serious topics

Once again, I had a blast reading the second book in the "It's All About Us" series. This is one of the most fun YA books I've read. Shelley Adina writes very well in a teen voice and really makes you feel like a bunch of 16-17 year olds are writing this book. It's a very fast read but so enjoyable that you'll want to reread it again (or at least get the other books in the series). This is one of the very few Christian fiction book that I have read that features an Asian American lead character. Especially one that is not an immigrant or an adoptee. I know it's a topic I always bring up with there's an AA character but it's something that needs to be the rule and not the exception. The book is great at showing how an Asian American tries to fit in between two cultures. You can see Gillian struggle to fit in the two worlds with her parents and with her life at school. Her mother reminded me very much of my own mother. I could practically hear my own mother's voice every time Gillian's mother appeared.

This book features a storyline that is very relevant with teen girls and dating. Abusive relationships need to be talked about to girls. They need to know that it's not always physical abuse that one needs to be on the lookout for. Verbal and emotional abuse need to be avoided as well. Lucas was a jerk. He started off being nice, but once he had Gillian wrapped around his finger, he just went off the deep end. It pained me to see him treat her like this and her either not noticing or just shrugging it off. Girls do NOT deserve that type of treatment, no matter what they've done! The scene that really got me was that he wanted to take her to Angel Island. For the majority of the readers of this book, this would have meant nothing of importance. However as a history major, I've studied about Angel Island and would have been horrified as a Chinese American if a guy I liked decided to take me there for a romantic date. This guy seriously had major issues and I was so happy with the ending of the book.

There is also a mystery involving a student selling exam answers to the popular kids. While I guessed who the perpetrator was, I was happy to read how things turned out. However I was NOT happy at how the school handled the situation with Gillian. Very unprofessional of them to condemn someone with all the required evidence. You'd think a boarding school wouldn't want bad publicity!

I really enjoyed this book and was sad to see it end. This whole series has been wonderful and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next addition. If you're a fan of Gossip Girl and want something a bit tamer, this book comes HIGHLY recommended.

Join Gillian and Friends Back at Spencer Academy!

Christmas break is over and we are back at Spencer Academy with Lissa, Gillian, Carly, and Shani. Since Lissa was able to tell her story about Callum in It's All About Us (and Carly will share her story in book 3 - Be Strong and Curvaceous) it is Gillian's turn to come clean about her infatuation with Lucas Hayes - the smartest guy at Spencer Academy.

Lucas is working towards the Physics Olympiad when he and Gillian hook up. Gillian has never had a boyfriend before and is pretty quick to get swept up in the moment. While she likes Lucas, and always looks forward to seeing him, she doesn't always feel quite happy after her time spent with him - but it is nothing that she can put her finger on, so she just chalks it up to not having anything to compare it to. At the same time, though, she needs to concentrate on her own grads or her Type A dad will be coming down on her pretty hard!

Most of the other juniors are studying hard also, except for those that have been buying exam sheets from Source10. Nobody knows who this person is - but the whole junior class is going to be punished with F's if they are not caught!

First, one of Gillian's friends is suspended for the deed - then Gillian herself is put on house arrest as a suspect! They give their problems to God and pray that the truth will come out - but will it happen in time to save the semester? And where will this leave Gillian in her relationship with Carly, Lissa and Shani - not to mention Lucas!

I enjoyed this book as much as I did the 1st and 3rd books in the series. I like the way they gradually lead you into Christianity without being preachy. I think this series would definitely be good for those teens/young adults struggling with their faith.

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

THE FRUIT OF MY LIPSTICK introduces the reader to Gillian Chang. For those that have read IT'S ALL ABOUT US, you will recall that Gillian is the outspoken Christian roommate of Lissa Mansfield. This is Gillian's story.

Gillian is by far the most verbal of her group of friends. She speaks honestly and openly about matters that are dear to her. That would be her family, her studies, her friends, and her faith. But when Lucas Hayes, most likely the smartest boy at Spencer Academy, starts paying more attention to Gillian, all common sense leaves her head.

Before long, Gillian is sacrificing time with her family and friends to drop everything and spend time with Lucas. She cancels Chinese New Year's plans with her aunt and uncle who have come to the city to see relatives and graciously included Gillian in their plans. She avoids attending Church with her roommate, Lissa.

As the semester winds down, the junior class is notified that someone has managed to steal exam answers and is selling them for profit. If the culprit doesn't confess, the entire junior class will receive Fs for the term. Gillian gets called in to the headmistress's office due to her high grades. Gillian can't possibly be guilty. But she worries about her grades and starts to accuse her close friends.

It's only as things with Lucas turn ugly and the spotlight is placed on Gillian, does she remember her faith and ask for guidance from God. With God and her friends standing beside her, Gillian remembers who she is and what is worth fighting for.

THE FRUIT OF MY LIPSTICK is the second novel in the ALL ABOUT US series. The spiritual tone of this novel was less obvious as that found in IT'S ALL ABOUT US. However, the positive reinforcement of Gillian's faith in God and friends still shines through. I enjoyed being able to read about Gillian in this volume after meeting her in the first book.

I have to admit, though, having just finished the first novel before picking this one up, I had a hard time at first remembering that the first-person character in this novel was not Lissa, but Gillian. Besides that one small detail, this is another fine addition to the rich girls at boarding school genre. The Christian tone is a nice change from the others found in this same genre.

And in case you're wondering where the title comes from, check out Hebrews 13:15-16.

Tweens and Teens¿

Gillian was in her second semester at Spencer Academy boarding school in San Francisco. The New Yorker looked forward to being on her own far from her family in New York. Shelley Adina explores the challenges to being true to yourself, God, and friends. Gillian is involved in her first girl/boy relationship. Girls 17 and under will enjoy The Fruit of My Lipstick. The characters are delightful. I like the way Adina demonstrates faith in action.

Book with a Message

Normally, all that Gillian Chang has to worry about is making sure her grades are absolutely perfect. This generally isn¿t a problem because Gillian is extremely intelligent, but pressure from her strict parents can get a little tough at times. The last thing Gillian wants to worry about is a guy, particularly after the fiasco Gillian¿s best friend Lissa got involved with last term. But then again, love, or at least like, is not something Gillian can prepare for¿especially when she finds herself falling for the only other person who¿s possibly smarter than she is, Lucas Hayes. But is Lucas really the golden boy Gillian thinks he is? Only time will tell, and Gillian is going to have to believe in herself, her friends, and her faith is she¿s going to survive this term at Spencer Academy. The Fruit of My Lipstick was a well-written story about friendship and dealing with boys, with a little bit of religion mixed in. Some readers may be wary of reading this series because of the inclusion of religion, but in reality, the Christian faith is more of a healthy influence on Gillian and her friends¿ morals. I definitely would not consider this book or its prequel It¿s All About Us preachy in any way. The storyline and the characters in this novel are very believable, which makes it easy to relate to Gillian and her friends¿ various situations or at least sympathize with them. The plot was a little slow towards the beginning, but it picked up towards the middle with the addition of a school scandal. The Fruit of My Lipstick is a fun yet sincere novel with a positive message that all teen girls can relate to and enjoy. The Fruit of My Lipstick is the second novel in Adina¿s It¿s All About Us series, but the story can stand alone. I look forward to the third installment in this series, Be Strong and Curvaceous, and I recommend both It¿s All About Us and The Fruit of My Lipstick to anyone looking for a much more mild form of Gossip Girl with actual depth and meaning.

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