Diary of a Teenage Girl: Becoming Me

Title: DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL: Becoming Me
Author: Melody Carlson
Publisher: Multnomah Books
August 2000
ISBN: 978-1-57673-733-4
Genre: Inspirational/young adult

Caitlin O’Conner is a sixteen year old Junior in highschool. Her best friend is Beanie, and other than her dad being really strict, and hanging out at work a lot more than usual, everything is fine. But then she becomes friends with a cheerleader, Jenny, and starts being included in the in-crowd. That totally destroys her friendship with Beanie, but things in the in-crowd aren’t all that great either.

Caitlin finds that she has to behave a certain way or she’d be kicked out, and since now that she’s in she wants to stay in, she tries to toe the line. But then some of the popular boys start noticing her, life at home starts falling apart, and well, for that matter, so does everything else…

All I can say is – oh the drama! My word, it makes me glad I’m not a teenager anymore! And that my sixteen daughter is homeschooled. I really don’t think I could handle this in person even second hand. Caitlyn is a very self-centered young lady, but she does grow and mature a whole lot in this book, which is good. And there are a LOT of valuable lessons included in it, such as teenage sex, drinking, etc.

I recommend this book to teenagers (and their parents and suggest they talk about it afterwards, such as why… and why not… topics. Ms. Carlson is really a very talented author and she can really write the ups and downs of being a teenager super well. $12.99. 250 pages.