One of the best things about being a member of the Association of Christian Writers is the opportunity to meet other writers and discover new books.  Recently I’ve been doing a bit of light reading penned by a new friend, and here is my review:

I’ve just finished reading two of the four Livi Starling books by Karen Ingerslev. Starring an eponymous 14 year old heroine, these are Christian books for teens – and British, which is so unusual and welcome for this genre!

The books are brilliantly written. For a start, they’re hilarious. The characters are all very appealing: stylistically, the books remind me a little of the Anastasia Krupnik series that I adored as a teen.  The author is so creative that even her whimsical, fictional reality TV shows or social media sites sound more fun (and sometimes, more possible) than the real ones they are parodying.

The Christianity in the books is handled perfectly – seen from the outside by the narrator, it’s detailed but not cringeworthy, and still very recognisable to a Christian from that church culture. It helps that the main Christian family depicted are delightfully eccentric, and that the author doesn’t shy away from acknowledging how weird and funny Christians can look and how oddly they can behave!  She also depicts Christians of many different flavours and experiences, rather than sticking to the bland or perfect image that some Christian YA writers fall prey to.