{"id":1192,"date":"2009-03-10T16:14:27","date_gmt":"2009-03-10T21:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/\/?p=1192"},"modified":"2009-03-10T16:14:27","modified_gmt":"2009-03-10T21:14:27","slug":"it%e2%80%99s-a-green-thing-diary-of-a-teenage-girl-by-melody-carlson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=1192","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a Green Thing: Diary of a Teenage Girl by Melody Carlson"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/strong> book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s Wild Card author is: <\/strong><\/div>\n
Melody Carlson<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

and the book:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a Green Thing: Diary of a Teenage Girl <\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Multnomah Books (February 17, 2009)<\/p>\n

\n
MY REVIEW:<\/strong><\/div>\n

It\u2019s a Green Thing: Diary of a Teenage Girl<\/a> is written in the form of a detailed diary that expresses Maya’s thoughts about her life.\u00a0 A new Christian, Maya’s struggles to follow her beliefs are dealt with honestly, especially her battles with unforgiveness. Many of the everyday issues in a teen girl’s world are viewed through Maya’s eyes, including sexual pressures and global responsibility. I would\u00a0 certainly recommend It\u2019s a Green Thing: Diary of a Teenage Girl<\/a> for most teen readers.
\n<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>Melody Carlson is an award-winning, best-selling author of nearly 200 books for teens, women, and children. Before publishing, Melody traveled around the world, volunteered in teen ministry, taught preschool, raised two sons, and worked briefly in interior design and later in international adoption. “I think real-life experiences inspire the best friction,” she says. Her wide variety of books seems to prove this theory. She and her husband enjoy an active lifestyle of hiking, camping, and biking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where she says, “A new story seems to spring from around every corner.”<\/p>\n

Visit the author’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Product Details:<\/p>\n

List Price: $12.99
\nReading level: Young Adult
\nPaperback: 256 pages
\nPublisher: Multnomah Books (February 17, 2009)
\nLanguage: English
\nISBN-10: 1601421184
\nISBN-13: 978-1601421180<\/p>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:<\/span> <\/strong>
\n<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

June 9<\/p>\n

My cousin Kim gave me a new diary yesterday. She received it for graduation, but she prefers to journal on her computer. \u201cWith a security lock, of course,\u201d she confessed. Anyway, this nicely bound book (a green product made of recycled materials) seems to be enticing me to write. Especially since I already filled up my old diary, which is safely hidden away in one of my suitcases tucked into the back of the guest room closet. Okay, as both Kim and my uncle keep telling me, \u201cIt\u2019s not the guest room, Maya. It\u2019s your room.\u201d I\u2019m trying to see it that way. But it\u2019s not easy. So much about my life is not easy\u2026but I must admit that it\u2019s getting better. And I do have hope.<\/p>\n

Anyway, since today was rather interesting and the beginning of summer vacation, I will start here. Although to get \u201chere,\u201d I need to go back to before the school year ended. I\u2019d been attending Harrison High for several weeks when Mr. Fenton challenged our art class to volunteer for a community project. We\u2019d been invited by the park district to create a mural on a downtown youth center. A lot of kids signed up, and everyone seemed supportive and interested. But today, the first day of the project, Marissa Phillips and I were the only ones to actually show. \u201cIt figures,\u201d she said as the two of us stood gazing up at the big, boring wall. The paint was splotchy looking, with random beige smears that resembled a bad case of psoriasis. Probably someone\u2019s attempt to hide the graffiti and tagging, although a few offensive words still showed through.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d I asked. \u201cThat no one else would come.\u201d \u201cWhy\u2019s that?\u201d I adjusted the twisted strap of my Osh Kosh overalls. I\u2019d gotten dressed pretty quickly this morning, barely managing to catch the downtown bus. \u201cBecause people are basically selfish.\u201d I turned and looked at her. With hands planted on her hips, Marissa stared at the ugly wall and frowned. For some reason, when I first began attending Harrison High, I felt drawn to this girl. Like we shared some commonality. And I suppose we do have some physical similarities. We\u2019re both tall and have long hair, although hers is straight and mine is curly. And because she dyes it black, her hair\u2019s a lot darker than mine. I think that\u2019s why her complexion looks so pale. Whereas mine (thanks to my dad) is the color of caf\u00e9 au lait.<\/p>\n

But our looks aside, we are similar in other ways too. Or maybe we both just have an attitude. She\u2019s not afraid to speak her mind and has opinions that not everyone shares. She\u2019s two years older than I am. In fact, she just graduated with my cousin Kim. Not that she seems older exactly. Or maybe I just feel older than sixteen. Sometimes I feel like I\u2019m in my thirties. But a hard life can do that to a person.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if that\u2019s true,\u201d I asked Marissa, \u201cif people are basically selfish, why are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n

She laughed. \u201cI thought you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKnew?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing community service.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh\u2026something that happened a couple of months ago. I guess you hadn\u2019t moved here yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got caught with alcohol in my car.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDriving under the influence?\u201d I knew Marissa was kind of a wild child, but I thought she had more sense than that.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d She shook her head firmly. \u201cI wasn\u2019t under the influence. I was underage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t really help much that my dad\u2019s a cop.\u201d She made a face as she reached into her bag and retrieved a pack of cigarettes. She shook one out, quickly lit it, then blew out an exasperated<\/p>\n

puff.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour dad\u2019s a cop?\u201d Now this caught me off guard. Of all people who might have law enforcement officials in their family, Marissa just doesn\u2019t seem to fit the profile. I can only imagine how frustrated her father must feel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah\u2026\u201d She peered back at the wall. \u201cIn fact it was his recommendation that I spend my summer vacation performing community service. If dear old Dad hadn\u2019t been in court that day, I probably would\u2019ve gotten off a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re doing community service for the whole summer?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep.\u201d She blew another puff of smoke over her shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re okay with that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was either that or give up my car and move out of the house. And I wasn\u2019t financially ready for that\u2026not just yet.\u201d She took in a slow drag, then looked curiously at me. \u201cSo what\u2019s your excuse?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor being here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean because I must be basically selfish too?\u201d She shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to do it,\u201d I admitted. \u201cI mean, when Mr. Fenton described the project, it sounded kind of fun to help someone else, and he made it seem like it would only take a week.\u201d Marissa laughed sarcastically. \u201cYeah, right. Think again.\u201d I frowned back up at the wall. \u201cWith just the two of us, this mural could end up being your entire summer of community service.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t mind so much, except that it\u2019s going to be scorching out here before long, and this wall is in the sun most of the day.\u201d She reached in her bag again, and this time pulled out her cell phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you calling?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFriends\u2026Hey, Spencer,\u201d she said warmly. \u201cWhat\u2019s up, dude?\u201d Then she winked at me. \u201cWell, Maya and I are downtown right now. We volunteered to do this mural project, and we sure could use some big, strong guys to help out.\u201d She smiled knowingly. \u201cOh yeah, for sure. Maybe you could get Jake to come and help too\u2026No, it\u2019s no big hurry. I mean, we need to kind of figure out<\/p>\n

where we\u2019re going with this mural and get the paint and stuff. Maybe not today. But how about tomorrow? First thing in the morning?\u201d She got a catty smile now. \u201cOh yeah, totally.\u201d Then she hung up.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp on the way?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like it.\u201d She slipped her phone back into her bag.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpencer is such a pushover when it comes to good-looking women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope he didn\u2019t get the wrong impression.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about Spencer, right?\u201d She laughed. \u201cOf course he has the wrong impression. It\u2019s just the way that boy\u2019s brain is wired.\u201d And I was fully aware of this. Spencer had begun hitting on me as soon as I started going to HHS a couple of months ago. I\u2019d been flattered at first, but as I got to know him better, I realized that I needed to draw some boundaries. Even so, I wasn\u2019t going to admit that Spencer wouldn\u2019t have been my first choice for help. \u201cSo\u2026do you think I should call anyone else?\u201d I offered. \u201cSure. Do you know anyone else?\u201d I kind of shrugged.<\/p>\n

The truth is, I still don\u2019t know that many people in this town. Kim and her best friend, Natalie, already have summer jobs. But I was thinking about the kids in Kim\u2019s church youth group\u2014particularly Dominic. Any excuse to spend time with Dominic seemed like a good excuse to me. But I didn\u2019t know his number, so I called Caitlin. She and her husband, Josh, are the youth leaders, and she\u2019s been sort of mentoring me since I committed my life to God a couple of weeks ago. She answered, and I quickly explained the mural project and our lack of volunteers. \u201cIt was supposed to take only a week,\u201d I said finally. \u201cBut with just Marissa and me and this great big wall, well, it\u2019s a little overwhelming. She\u2019s already called a guy to help, but\u2014\u201d \u201cWhat a cool project,\u201d Caitlin said. \u201cThat building is a real eyesore. It\u2019s great that someone wants to make it nice, and I\u2019m sure that\u2019ll be a blessing to the kids who use the center. Why don\u2019t I call around and see who might be willing to help out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019d be awesome, Caitlin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen do you want your helpers to show up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to figure some things out first. We probably won\u2019t need anyone until tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll see what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks.\u201d I hung up and smiled hopefully. But Marissa was frowning at me now. \u201cWhy are you calling in the church people?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want me to make you a list of reasons?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you willing to turn away free help?\u201d She dropped her cigarette butt to the pavement and ground it out with her heel as she shrugged. \u201cI guess not. So what\u2019s the deal, Maya? Are you one of them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you a Christian too?\u201d<\/p>\n

I took in a deep breath, then slowly nodded. \u201cActually, I am.\u201d She shook her head in a dismal way. Like this was really unfortunate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll admit it\u2019s still kind of new for me,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d Her dark eyes narrowed as she studied me closely. I started to feel like a bug beneath a magnifying glass.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d I repeated, confused. \u201cYou mean why is it new for me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Why did you do it?\u201d The way she said this made a woman walking through the parking lot glance nervously at me, like she assumed I\u2019d committed some horrendous crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecome a Christian?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d Marissa made a sour face. \u201cI mean, I can understand girls like Kim and Natalie\u2026 They\u2019re such goody two-shoes. But you, Maya? I thought you were different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I was unhappy and lonely and hopeless and depressed and just really, really lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now you\u2019re found?\u201d I could hear the teasing note in her voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cActually, I do feel kind of found.\u201d She rolled her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, Marissa, if anyone had told me just a few months ago that I was going to make a life-changing commitment like this\u2026well, I would\u2019ve reacted just like you. I would\u2019ve said they were<\/p>\n

crazy. Seriously, I never would\u2019ve believed it myself.\u201d Her countenance softened ever so slightly, and she didn\u2019t question this statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd like I said, it\u2019s still new to me. Basically, all I can say is that I was totally mixed-up and messed up and just plain lost\u2026and now I have this real sense of peace. Honestly, it\u2019s something I never had before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeace?\u201d<\/p>\n

I nodded eagerly. \u201cYes. It\u2019s hard to describe it, but it\u2019s like my life is in good hands now, like I feel hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sound like Chloe Miller now.\u201d<\/p>\n

I smiled. \u201cI\u2019ll take that as a compliment.\u201d The fact is, of all the Christians I know, which aren\u2019t that many, I can relate to Chloe best. I mean, Kim is cool and takes her faith seriously. And Caitlin is sweet and sincere and helpful. And Nat\u2026 Well, don\u2019t get me going there. But right from the start, I seemed to get Chloe. And she seemed to get me. Maybe it has to do with the whole music thing\u2014a kind of artistic, outside-the-box sort of thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what do you think we should paint on this wall?\u201d Marissa seemed eager to change the subject, and I felt relieved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thinking we should get some sketches going.\u201d I unzipped my pack and retrieved a sketch pad. \u201cWe\u2019re not supposed to do anything out here without Mrs. Albert\u2019s approval.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe superintendent. But if we can get her okay, we could probably start putting the drawing on the wall before our other volunteers show up. That way we can put them to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir.\u201d She gave me a cheesy grin. \u201cYou the boss.\u201d Before long we were sitting there on the curb, discussing ideas and playing with images. Unfortunately, Marissa\u2019s ideas leaned toward the dark side, and when I challenged a particularly frightening image, she seemed slightly offended.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what do you want to paint?\u201d she shot back. \u201cSunshine, flowers, and sweet turtledoves?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not exactly. But something more cheerful than a dragon burning a gnarled tree stump.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just trying to come up with something that graffiti artists would respect,\u201d she said defensively. \u201cSomething they wouldn\u2019t make fun of and want to deface.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good point. We don\u2019t want it to be too childish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I suppose a dragon might be scary to some of the little kids who come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat exactly is the purpose of this building?\u201d I ventured. She shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s a youth center. Duh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s a place for kids to come\u2026for what purpose?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo hang. To play. For kids who need something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

I kind of frowned at her. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, it\u2019s for kids who might be kind of underprivileged, or maybe they\u2019re unsupervised. The center has a day-care program and all kinds of classes and activities for after-school programs. Stuff like that.\u201d Now she laughed. \u201cOh yeah, I guess you wouldn\u2019t have had anything like that back in Beverly Hills, little Miss Rich Girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes I wish I hadn\u2019t told Marissa so much about myself. But at the time, when I needed a friend a couple of months ago, it seemed right. And I thought I could trust her. Not that I<\/p>\n

can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a rich girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSays you.\u201d I just rolled my eyes. The truth was, I would\u2019ve appreciated a center like this when I was a kid. Not that I plan to admit that to Marissa. But despite her misconceptions, my childhood wasn\u2019t exactly ideal or nurturing, and I certainly never felt rich. Of course, Beverly Hills isn\u2019t the sort of town where people are terribly concerned over the welfare of the younger generation. Like Marissa, people just assume that if you live there, your parents have lots<\/p>\n

of money, and you\u2019ll be just fine.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it sounds like it\u2019s a place that\u2019s meant to encourage kids, to help themgrow into better people, to give them hope,\u201d I finally said. Marissa laughed loudly. \u201cHey, maybe you should go into politics or public relations or advertising or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on. The sooner we figure this out, the sooner we can get some serious sketches going. And the sooner we can get started, the sooner we can get done, and we won\u2019t be out here<\/p>\n

baking in the sun all summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou seem to have it all figured out, boss. Go for it.\u201d Marissa pulled out another cigarette. Now I was tempted to point out the risks of emphysema and lung cancer, as well as how smoke makes your hair stink and yellows your fingernails, but I figured she was probably already aware<\/p>\n

of these facts.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine. I think we should create something that feels hopeful.\u201d I squinted up at the blotchy-looking wall again. \u201cSomething colorful and cheerful and happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we could paint a pwetty wainbow?\u201d<\/p>\n

Just before I made a smart retort, I stopped myself. \u201cHey, maybe you\u2019re right.\u201d I grabbed my sketch pad and began to draw.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019ll design it in a more modern style. Sort of cubist.\u201d She looked over my shoulder as I drew a series of sharply angled shapes, working them together to make an arch.<\/p>\n

\u201cInteresting\u2026,\u201d she finally admitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. I can kind of see it. And it would actually be fairly easy to put a team to work on it since it\u2019s mostly shapes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly. We\u2019ll draw them out, and they can paint them in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll need a lot of different colors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you can see the rainbow?\u201d I asked. \u201cI mean, since there\u2019s no color in my sketch?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. I get where you\u2019re going.\u201d She snuffed out her cigarette, then reached in her bag for a tin of colored pencils. \u201cHere, add some color.\u201d<\/p>\n

By midmorning we had a final colored sketch as well as Mrs. Albert\u2019s approval. \u201cVery nice, girls,\u201d she told us as we were ushered out of her office. \u201cAnd anything will be an improvement over what\u2019s out there now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that was flattering,\u201d Marissa said as we headed down to the storage room to meet the janitor and check out the ladders and painting supplies. \u201cAt least her expectations aren\u2019t too high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marissa laughed. \u201cYeah, I\u2019m pretty good at meeting people\u2019s low expectations.\u201d I wanted to ask her why that was, but we needed to get busy if we were going to put more volunteers to work tomorrow. And to my relief, Marissa actually knew how to work hard. By the end of the day, Marissa had gotten the paints, and I had managed to get a fair amount of the sketch onto the lower part of the wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cNice work, boss,\u201d Marissa said after we\u2019d put the supplies away and stood looking at the beginning of our mural. \u201cSame back at you.\u201d And I have to admit that I was kind of excited to see how this whole thing would turn out. And hopefully more people will show up to help tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Maya\u2019s Green Tip for the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t pour harmful wastes down public waterways. Storm drains on public streets are for rainwater to run off\u00a0 so the streets don\u2019t flood. They\u2019re not a convenient way for people to get rid of chemicals or solvents or even the
\nbucket of soapy water after you wash your car. Unless you use bio-friendly car-wash detergent, which I highly
\nrecommend. You need to respect that the water that runs off our streets eventually winds up in streams and waterways and can harm innocent fish or other marine wildlife.<\/p>\n

So don\u2019t use your street drain as a dumping spot.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1192"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1197,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192\/revisions\/1197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}