Review PLUS Giveaway!

So hey, have you read (or heard of) this crazy popular post by blogger Kate Conner that got more than 2 million views in two weeks? (If you haven’t, you can check it out here: http://kateelizabethconner.com/ten-things-i-want-to-tell-teenage-girls/. ) Now there’s something every blogger aspires to (cough, cough, I’m not jealous or anything).

I’ll admit, I hadn’t heard about it until I was asked to review her new book Enough: 10 Things We Should Tell Teenage Girls. Now that I’ve read it, I totally get what all the hype is about. Kate’s book is, in a word, awesome.

About Enough: 10 Things We Should be Telling Teenage Girls…

In a book based on her post, Kate Conner calls us to action in Enough: 10 Things We Should Tell Teenage Girls. We all have teenage girls in our lives who we love, whether it’s a sister, friend, or daughter. Kate has identified 10 things these girls need to hear today from someone who loves her. Peppered with wit and laced with grace, Kate’s list tackles relevant issues like Facebook, emotions, drama, tanning beds, modesty, and flirtation. Woven into each chapter is a powerful message of worth that transcends age, and will touch the souls of women, young and old alike: You are beautiful. You are valuable. You are enough. A former youth-worker, wife to a college minister, and a young mom in her twenties, Conner stands squarely in generational gap, the perfect place from which to bridge it. Conner offers herself as a translator, helping you to speak your teenager’s language and equipping you with a fresh perspective from which to engage your teenage girl—one that may enable her to truly hear your heart (and your wisdom) for the first time since puberty.

About Kate Conner (comments in parentheses mine)…

Kate Conner is a twenty-eight year old (hey, Kate, we’re the same age!) writer, speaker, and first-generation Southerner who spends her days learning Braille (wow, that’s really cool), counseling girls via text message, and spray painting stuff she finds at thrift stores. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Dan, with whom she is co-raising three amazing little people–Madeline, Sam, and Henry. Kate authors a self titled blog (my middle name is Elizabeth too!) where she writes about surviving parenthood (something we all need more help with), vision loss, and her twenties with her faith and sense of humor intact. She believes in music, coffee, and prose (three of my loves); and in all the world, nothing has taken hold of her like Christ (Amen, sister).

Connect with Kate Conner by visiting her website kateelizabethconner.com,  or by following her on Facebook and Twitter: @kateeconner

Why I like and recommend Enough: 10 Things We Should be Telling Teenage Girls…

A) So Kate has this amazing author voice I find so unique and just plain fun. As I was reading this book I was like, “Why didn’t this book exist when I was fifteen? I might actually have listened to my mom then!” Kate has a way of addressing teens that is real and very much in their own language. I was already laughing out loud the first few pages in. Take page five for example:

Women are beautiful and men like to look at them. The sooner we all reckon with this stone-cold reality, the sooner fifteen-year old girls will stop using stupid non sequiturs like, “It’s not my fault I have breasts. Therefore I have the right to buy a prom dress that is missing a torso.” (Just why? Are they tanning at the prom? Jazzerercising?)

See what I mean? Laugh out loud funny (but also true)!

B) I am a sucker for good chapter titles (which you will find if my book Blemished ever hits the shelves). I toil over wording and meaning and cleverness. Kate’s chapter titles in Enough are just perfect. They are humorous (“Neon Purple Leggings”), quirky (“In the Cafeteria With a Megaphone”), and straightforward (“Smoking is Not Cool”). Then there are the subtitles within those chapters. You’ll find headings like “How Not to be a Twit”, “Chronic Overcorrectors”, and “Let Them Eat Bagels”. Kate manages to remain true to herself (and her super popular blog post), while also giving readers (moms and teens alike) a book that is enjoyable and addicting. If I was a teenager, I might not even know I was reading a wake-up call. As a mom, I’m like, “Huh. I can actually say that to my daughters? Good to know.” Suddenly I’m not so afraid of those dreaded teenage years when my babies grow breasts and start asking for the keys to my car (but, that’s never gonna happen, right?).

C) The heart of the matter. Set aside Kate’s humor and stellar writing, and you still have an amazing read. Why? Because Christ is at the center of it all. Throughout Enough, she constantly draws readers back to the main point: being women/girls who please and live for our Savior. I love the way the back cover blurb on Enough describes the book:

Peppered with humor, and laced with grace…

That says it all. Kate wants girls to know that all they need is Christ. That they are “enough” just they way they are. Thanks for writing this book, Kate. It’s going on my keeper shelf.

The Giveaway…

Thanks to FlyBy Promotions I am blessed to offer a copy of Enough: 10 Things We Should Tell Teenage Girls to one lucky reader.

You know what to do! Enter via the Rafflecopter (don’t forget to leave a blog post comment!), through Thursday, August 14th. One random winner will be chosen and emailed on Friday, August 15th.

If you could tell teenage girls anything (knowing they would actually listen to you), what would you say an why?

I LOVE hearing from you! Until then, happy reading!

Sincerely,

Sara Ella

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:

I received a copy of Enough: 10 Things We Should Tell Teenage Girls from FlyBy Promotions. I was not asked to write a positive review. All views and opinions are solely and completely my own. I received no other compensation other than a copy of the book featured in this post, which is mine to keep or gift as I so choose in exchange for an honest review. This post also contains affiliate links. To learn more, please see my full policy.