Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

Another fun beach read about the adventures of Stephanie Plum.

These are just like candy – fun but not filling.

Nothing new in the development of Stephanie’s relationships with either Joe or Ranger. Just another silly story of her bungled attempt to solve a crime. Although this time I did sense some new maturity from Stephanie, it seems she’s finally internalized the mistakes from her past mishaps and learned some real detecting skills. She was much smarter at the end of the novel.

Although I wish there’d be some resolution to the love triangle.

Converting Kate by Beckie Weinheimer

Kate and her mother recently moved to Maine so her mom can help run her great aunt’s bed and breakfast. Kate uses this fresh start to join the cross country team and visit a non-denominational Christian Church instead of the Church of the Holy Divine, which has influenced every aspect of her life.

This YA novel covers a lot of ground including religion, friendship, sexual orientation and first love; however it’s quite realistic and believable as Kate discovers her own way in the world.

I enjoyed Kate’s character and her development from finding a friend to learning what she believes about religion. After her mom removes all of her books (due to religious beliefs) Kate memorizes passages and they’re interspersed in the second part of the narrative which is pretty cool.

Also, at the end there’s an author’s note saying that the Church of the Holy Divine is based on her experiences with a restrictive church, so that made the book more credible to me.