Lost in Las Vegas

This book pretty much is the downfall of Taylor. It's been foreshadowed since the day we met her in the first book. Seriously, this girl is totally uninhibited and just out to have a good time. However she goes for the extreme in whatever she does and doesn't seem to care about the consequences. I really could not stand her condescending attitude towards DJ just because she doesn't want to drink or anything else Taylor does. It had nothing to do with DJ being a Christian, she just knew that it wasn't healthy and it was dangerous. Yet Taylor keeps acting like she's the cool one and DJ is a freak for not joining her. Therefore DJ feels that she has to be always on the watch for Taylor and can't enjoy everything because she's like the baby sitter. The whole story just builds up until the ending when Taylor finally realizes that she has a problem. While I enjoyed this book, at the same time there's also a bit of a fantasy with the situation. Maybe it's just me, but there would have been no way, I would have been allowed to go to Las Veags at that age, l et alone be on my own while there. It just seemed very unrealistic for a bunch of 16 year old girls to be on their own around in that city and no one really questioning them. Also DJ's grandmother is REALLY getting on my nerves. Seriously, throughout the entire series all she cares about is looks and making the right connections instead of being concerned about the girls' safety. I cannot wait until she gets a reality check. Overall though, I have enjoyed this series and this one seems to be the edgiest one of all. I think it really speaks to teens and shows what they go through. Also I really like the cover, I think it's the first time I've ever seen fishnets on a Christian fiction book! I would recommend this book and the rest of the series for older teens.

Okay, so in the fifth book of the Carter House Girls, we find that DJ is struggling with wanting to enter into a dating relationship with Conner, but doesn't want to hurt Hailey. And there's the drama that always takes place between Taylor and DJ, and the rest of the girls at Carter House. Christmas is coming up, and DJ isn't going to head home to spend the time off with her dad and his "new family". But everyone has plans, and staying home means being with DJ's fashion-crazed, calling DJ Desiree, grandmother. Then Taylor, who is spending the time off in Las Vegas, with her famous mom, who is booked to sing at an elegant hotel over Christmas, invites DJ to come to Vegas for the holiday. DJ seems to have a motto: take the "sin" part out of "Sin City". But with Taylor, it's always difficult to have fun without guys or alcohol, or something that DJ doesn't approve of. And in the end, she decides to head to Vegas for the holidays. And what could happen? Well, more than she bargained for. . . At one point or another, you begin to enjoy, and even adore, this series, because you get to know the girls. I'm to the point where I can't stop reading the Carter House Girls; I know each character too well. This is my favorite series by Mrs. Carlson. I'm able to relate with DJ and Conner, like many other girls can relate with the female and male characters. These books give good advice on events that teens face each day. And I love how Melody doesn't pound religion in our faces, she shows us the difference between religion and a relationship with Christ. Teens think that Christ is a big religion, but He isn't. . . He's a personal, one on one, relationship, and Melody shows how that can be done in real life. And she shows that it isn't as complicated as we like to make it. I'm always spiritually challenged after reading her books, which is a unique thing in this day and age.

Lost in Las Vegas by Melody Carlson is the fifth book in the Carter House series about a group of teenage girls living together in Carter House under the guidance of a former fashion model. Each girl has her own set of troubles, and the series is narrated through the eyes of DJ, the sporty non-fashion forward granddaughter of the house's owner. The other residents are Rhiannon, the quirky designer there on a scholarship, Eliza the oh-so-perfect blonde who is fully aware of her beauty and not afraid to use it, Taylor the daughter of a famous singer who is struggling with promiscuity and alcohol abuse, Kriti Eliza's best friend and near servant who will do whatever it takes to fit it, and Casey who enjoys tormenting the other girls with her Goth style. The girls clash in their belief systems, and DJ is often on the outside looking in while she tries to reconcile her faith in God with the partying lifestyles of her roommates. In this book, DJ is invited to spend Christmas in Las Vegas with Taylor and her mother. While she at first revels in having the house to herself for awhile, she quickly becomes lonely and jumps at the chance to have fun with a friend. But Taylor's version of fun is far different than DJs with fake IDs, dirty dancing with strangers, and a constant stream of alcohol. Carlson's writing style with this series is grittier than in her other works, and it fits for YA readers. I did get a little tired of DJ constantly playing cop to Taylor's bad behavior, and the sudden reversal at the end seemed a bit out of place, especially since the reader didn't get to witness the conversation that brought it about. Carlson is writing a powerful series for YA readers that speaks their language without ever talking down or proselytizing.