Take Three by Karen Kingsbury

Summary: In book three of the Above the Line Series, Karen Kingsbury shares another story of trying, failing, and getting back up to try again. Andi is battling the loss of her innocence and what consequences lie ahead from bad choices. Chase and Keith must deal with fame and the trials that accompany sharing faith-inspired stories on the big screen. Karen weaves in fan favorites Ashley and the rest of the Baxter plan. Most importantly, Bailey fans finally find out if she chooses Tim or Cody. (I won't put any spoilers, but I will say that I was very happy with the result.)

My thoughts: I have read all of Karen's books, and I love this series because the characters feel like friends. I have read about their lives for three different serieses, and I feel like I know them.
Without giving away too many spoilers, I want to say how pleased I am with the way the movie production storyline is progressing! It's encouraging for characters to make the right decision. In addition, the Bailey love triangle storyline took a turn in the right direction.
I should not have read any reviews of Karen's books on Amazon because I have now noticed that every new character Karen describes has blue eyes and/or blond hair! No other eye or hair color is discussed as the blue eyes and blond hair are!
Another complaint I have is that every girl who has sex before marriage ends up pregnant. Realistically, this is not the case. Careless sex leaves emotional scars, and I would love to see Karen deal with those issues with a character instead of just having the girl end up pregnant.
Overall, I reallly enjoyed reading this book. It was my favorite one out of the three so far in the series.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. The character of Bailey is one of my favorite, and I enjoyed the contrast of Andi and Bailey, teaching an important lesson about how choices at the college age can determine someone's life path.

Listen by Rene Gutteridge

In the perfect town of Marlo, private conversations are now being made public on the internet for all to see. With the revelation of people's true feelings, neighbor is pitted against neighbor, friend against friend, and family members against one another. In the center of the drama is the Underwood family, who must deal with their personal issues, present and past, to keep the peace for the quaint town.

This is my favorite book by Rene Gutteridge. She faces the sin of gossip in a unique way. Behind its perfect acade, the town of Marlo is plagued by sin. When their thoughts are put out in the open for all to see, people begin attacking one another to save the image. The Underwood family is thrown into the mix of the mystery through the father Damien, who is contacted through his newspaper job by the person responsible for leaking the conversations; "Uncle" Frank, who is accused of setting up the website; Kay, Damien's wife who is struggling with her own past of being teased; Jenna, Damien's teenaged daughter who must deal with the torment of cruel girls; and Hunter, the son who has his own secrets.

Though not preachy by any means, this thought-provoking novel reminds us of the power of our words....even the ones we thought were private.