REVIEW: Faking Faith by Josie Bloss

 

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PUBLISHER:
FLUX



 

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REVIEW BOOK

I rarely read contemporary YA but this book really intrigued me, especially because of the blogging aspect to the story :) Dylan Mahoney is an outcast at school. After spending years having two close friends everything goes awry when Blake Compton comes up to Dylan at a party. Dylan is on cloud nine when the two start dating. Her friends Amanda and Kelsey however aren't that happy. Blake has a bad reputation and when her friends try to tell that to Dylan she freaks out and drives them away.

 For two month Dylan is part of the popular crowd Along with losing her virginity she gets talked into sending Dylan a topless photo of herself that soon circulates around the school ,and gets her suspended. Oh and Blake dumps her as well.

 Now when Dylan isn't being ignored she's being called demeaning names and laughed at.

Her home situation isn't much better, her parents are swamped with work and barely have time for more then general platitudes and lax monitoring of her life.

It is online that Dylan finds solace. She stumbles across a group of Christian bloggers and though at first she mocks them, over time however  she finds herself drawn to their seemingly uncomplicated, faith filled life.

Dylan is especially drawn to Abigail, one of the most popular Christian bloggers. She so much wants to be a part of these girls world that she invents her own blog and the online persona Faith.

Now Dylan's days are filled with a new purpose and a  social circle. She even finds a way to get her parents to fund a trip to meet Abigail in person. For two weeks Dylan steps into Abigail's world and finds out its not as perfect as she thought.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read but shed some important light on some teen issues like sexting and friendship. I also enjoyed how Josie portrayed the Christian families. To someone on the outside their treatment of women and ideas of a faith filled life would be laughable. Some of tthe characters behaviors were stereotypical but overall  I enjoyed both girls journeys.