Here's Lily!

September 4, 2000
These two upbeat titles usher in the Young Women of Faith Library, a series that combines novels, nonfiction works and a devotional to shed a Christian light on topics dear to middle-grade girls. As its title suggests, the first book, Here's Lily, introduces the sixth-grade series heroine. Accustomed to thinking of herself as ordinary-looking, she is surprised and thrilled when Kathleen Winfrey, the owner of a modeling agency, wants to groom her for a career. Lily's parents are willing to let her take a modeling class, but they want her to ask herself "if God is in this." (He is.) The Christian spin ("I taught you to look at the special gifts and qualities God gave you," Kathleen tells Lily. "Actually, we shouldn't call it self-confidence. We ought to call it God-confidence") becomes even more explicit in The Beauty Book, which refers to the characters in the novel as it pairs Kathleen-style how-tos with religious counsel ("I can almost hear you saying, `Does God really want to talk about my hair?' God wants to talk about anything that stands between you and him and anything that makes you the you he has in mind"). Rue tries too hard to ingratiate herself with readers, particularly with her relentless slang, but Christian girls will probably appreciate her supportiveness even as she repeatedly tells them to defer to their parents' judgment and encourages a multitude of practices "guaranteed to get you nearer and nearer to God" (e.g., "surrounding yourself with other beautiful Christians as your very best friends"). Ages 8-12.