Redefining Beautiful

This afternoon, I enjoyed a coffee shop date with a sweet young teen to discuss this excellent book.



I volunteered for this review as a chance to explore some great reading for the girls in my Sunday School class. But I never imagined it could be this good. It's an easy read, but certainly not a "light" read. It hits straight home with a gentle honesty.....very refreshing. The author is Jenna Lucado, daughter of the famous author Max Lucado. With a perfect dad like Max Lucado, you might wonder how relevant her writing could possibly be. What could she know about 'issues'?

Plenty.

Because she's human, just like the rest of us. And she is very open about her human-ness. And her "weirdness", as she puts it. The book encourages girls to embrace their weirdness. "Weird is beautiful!" she says in chapter one. And the rest of the book walks you through discovering your beauty through the eyes of God in a very accessible way.

Kat was my coffee drinking side kick today. She had borrowed Redefining Beautiful a few days ago and met me to discuss the parts she had read so that I could share not only my own thoughts on the book, but also the thoughts of a real, living, breathing teenage girl. She loved it. She wants to borrow it as soon as I finish writing my review. And can she loan it to some friends afterwards? Kat's told me she loved that the author shares her own experiences so openly and honestly. You feel like you can relate to her. And the liked the quiz questions shared through it that made you stop and examine your own thoughts to determine what you believe and why you believe it.

I agree. The book is excellent. By chapter four, it has already discussed purging, magazine covers, cutting, and "the dad factor". None of these things is mentioned in a dark, cluttered sort of way. Not at all. They aren't dwelt on, but brought into the light and compared to what is real. I love the way the author discusses dad-issues. She explains it to so well and gets right into the heart of a teen. And remember, her dad is THE Max Lucado, and she hit a gold mine in the dad department, but as she points out, even she "made a big mistake by trying to find all my security in my dad's love and in other people's approval." Our security doesn't come from the love of others or through meeting magazine cover-standards. We can't start to feel secure until we start to focus on God. The book teaches girls to do just that and to see themselves through God's eyes.

This will definitely be passed around the youth group.

To see Jenna Lucado talking about the book, take a peek at this YouTube clip:

To see other reviews, hop on over to Mamabuzz and take a gander.

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