Meant to Be: Kim: Book 2 (Diary of a Teenage Girl)

Kim, the main character has a lot on her plate to deal with, but I'm impressed at her maturity. I also liked the fact that she sees her own mistakes, the cute little quirks about writing her column, and I was quite surprised by the twist near the end. I wasn't expecting that so soon, but it made me cry. I think this book would be a good book for any teen because it shows teens being teens, and their (human side)--that we are all capable of making mistakes, but we learn from them. Kim is a good role model. I'm forty-nine years old, and I enjoyed this book so much, I ordered the other two.

It's challenging to find good, clean books for junior high and high school students these days, so we are always elated when we come across an author & series of books we can confidently trust for our daughters. And this is among that short list.

Kim Peterson doesn't know what to pray for. Should she be praying that her mom is healed of the cancer invading her body? Should she be praying for her best friend Natalie -- who has suddenly dropped off the deep end? Should she be praying for her boyfriend Matthew to become a Christian? Or should she focus on the piles of letters from the teenagers in her town dealing with their own problems? It's overwhelming. Kim feels more stressed out than ever before, and it's only a matter of time until everything caves in. Where will she turn then? Melody Carlson continues her long-standing DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL series with MEANT TO BE, the second book following the life of Kim Peterson. The story continues right after the last few pages of JUST ASK, as Kim tries to deal with her mom's cancer and the other fifty problems that seem to plague her life. Carlson weaves the plotlines together well, mixing in her signature emotional punch that will leave readers thinking about family and friend relationships in their own lives. Kim is definitely a well-defined character dealing with very different struggles from Caitlin or Chloe, the previous two girls spearheading the series. Both characters make cameo appearances here, but Kim is very much the center of the story. The tension of trying to live a "normal" life while wondering if she's ever going to see her mother again fills every page. Kim has a journey to travel, and it takes her to some dark places where she must find hope in the only place she can: God. For fans of previous entries in the series, MEANT TO BE is another welcome addition. New readers would be fine to jump in with Kim's story, but really should go back to JUST ASK in order to follow the details. And Kim's journey is far from over. The last pages leave the story open, and readers will be grabbing for the next installment.

Kim Peterson is a Korean, adopted teenager dealing with hardships. She is a Christian and putting her faith in God to help her for each and every problem. Her friend Nat is always telling her to be careful because Kim is dating a non-Christian boy and Nat thinks this relationship will pull her away from God. Later on, Nat seems to have ignored her own "Be Careful" advice when she starts dating a Christian boy, Benjamin (Caitlin O' Conner's little brother). Not only that but Kim's mom (the one who adopted her) has stage four ovarian cancer which is terminal. Kim is praying very hard for her mother but so are a lot of other people who are close to her or not. Will Kim's mom hang in there? Will Nat get into something beyond her control? I like how this book has action every turn of the way and it was interesting. I did happen to dislike how the ending turned out because it was not what I expected. I also disliked how Nat's situation turned out. I really liked this book and I wanted to keep reading more and more. This is the second book of the series but I haven't read the first book yet. I can't wait until the other books come out. This book just introduces Christianity. Girls involved in a related religion will probably enjoy it best because it talks about Christian faith inside of others but anyone could read it, religious or not.

Was a good book with good perspective into what it's like for a teenage girl. Will read again before my teenage years are over.

This, so far is one of my favorite books. I highly suggest you read it. This book is part of a series but at the time, I didn't know it so I ended up reading w/out the other three books. It was still absolutley WONDERFUL!!!