“Karis Reed went to a guy’s house without her mother’s permission and she wrote about it in her journal. Janice Reed found out about her daughter’s little visit and she was not pleased. She did not hesitate to ground Karis for being with this guy in his home without adult supervision. Karis felt the punishment she received was unfair, so she decided she was going to do what her mother told her not to. She soon dealt with feelings of guilt, followed by one problem after the next.
Karis thought she was always being punished because of the mistakes her mother had made as a teenager, as if her disobedience had nothing to do with it. For a good while there it was obvious she had no clue how to take responsibility for her actions. Instead of seeing her part, the problems in her life were always someone else’s fault. Yes, there were times when her parents blamed her for things she did not do and that was unfair, but she brought it on herself with all of the scheming and dishonesty. It became difficult for her parents to believe her even when she was telling the truth.
Karis kept a journal and that helped her to cope with life’s situations; especially when she had no friends to reach out to. But when she learned to take her issues to God and to pray for others she began to care about making better choices, honoring her mother and becoming a person of integrity.
Trouble in My Way is Stimpson’s first young adult novel. She did a really good job! I loved the story, mostly because it made me laugh.
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