Mixed Bags

Melody Carlson strikes gold with Mixed Bags, her first book in the Carter House Girls teen fiction series. With a refreshing twist she weaves classic teen pressures and predicaments into a contemporary storyline. When six girls, each carrying her own "designer" bag and signature personality live under the same roof, you've got a catwalk showcasing outrageous colour and style. No carbon copies here, but there are preconceived labels that need to be torn off and investigated. All six girls represent a stereotype that resides in every high school. We have Taylor the rich, spoiled, mean diva, the trendy but good-natured Eliza, Asian princess Kriti, angry nice girl turned rebel Casey, Rhiannon the sugar-sweet, goody-good Christian, and DJ the wholesome tomboy. Carter House, the boarding school run by DJ's fashion icon grandmother is where they meet, share, fight and grow. Stitched between lessons in social grace and eye-catching loveliness are the life-threads that clothe young ladies with character and integrity. Spun together they make more than a fashion statement. Where to draw the line, and take a stand when it comes to drinking, gossiping, envy, revenge, and sex take on real life drama with believable characters and common tempting situations. What would appear on the surface as a superficial obsession with appearance, Mixed Bags sensitively deals with the teenage paradox of forging one's own identity while desperately longing to fit it. With romance as the key, Mixed Bags unlocks the shackles that immobilize a healthy self-image. Looking your best is not selling out. But being trapped by what you see in the mirror as the measure of your worth comes with an exorbitant price tag. The pay-off for the reader is revealed in the gorgeous truth: true beauty is a reflection of the real you. This book begs you to keep reading at the turn of every page. The writing is captivating and the characters have depth and dimension. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to start Book 2, Stealing Bradford and check in with the custom-made girls growing up together at Carter House.

When I first started this book, I was not too sure of how I would like it. But then as I left it and went to do some other things, I realized that I kept thinking about the story, and could not get it out of my head! This is the first, I think, of Melody Carlson that I've been able to read.. meaning get my hands on. It is a great little story that should be read by all mid-high school girls. It is so real to life and it does meet up with every type of girl. You can see yourself and remember you...more When I first started this book, I was not too sure of how I would like it. But then as I left it and went to do some other things, I realized that I kept thinking about the story, and could not get it out of my head! This is the first, I think, of Melody Carlson that I've been able to read.. meaning get my hands on. It is a great little story that should be read by all mid-high school girls. It is so real to life and it does meet up with every type of girl. You can see yourself and remember your painful history within each individual girl. I was shocked when it ended, because it is one of those wonderful books that has previews of the sequel in the back, so I had though there was much more. But it was really a great story!

Mixed Bags by Melody Carlson is the first book in the Carter House Girls series. DJ's grandmother, a former supermodel, has opened up her large Victorian home to five other girls in hopes of turning them all into debutantes. DJ is au naturel: no make-up, hair tucked up in a baseball cap, and completely ignorant of designer labels. So sharing her home and even room with girls who look like they stepped off of the pages of Vogue does a number on her self-esteem. Taylor and Eliza and beautifully dressed and self-assured. Kriti is a lovely Indian girl who wants to go far academically. Rhiannon and Casey are Grandma Carter's charity cases. Rhiannon has come to faith in spite of her mother's drug addiction. Casey's parents believe she's in need of an intervention with the safety pins through her eyebrows and Goth style make-up. Throwing all of these girls into one house ensures plenty of drama and clashing personalities. I am thoroughly impressed with Zondervan's willingness to attack real teenage issues head on. Some of these girls are sexually active, one smokes, some drink; these are not your stereotypical Christian fiction teens. They break the rules and each other without a second thought. But Carlson gives each girl a real personality with quirks and failings. We see events primarily though DJ's eyes, and she struggles with figuring out who she is and want she really wants, just like every other real world teen. This promising introduction to the series definitely leaves the reader wanting more.

My eleven going on twenty one year old granddaughter read this book and found it awesome...I also read the book and found it to be a simple read. I think it is probably going to interest only the younger teens or tweens instead of the young adult reader but it was a fun book to read and held my granddaughters interest.

I've enjoyed Melody Carlson's writing for years. She writes the absolute best fiction for teen girls. Her style is awesome, real life mixed with real faith. The story: DJ joins five other teen aged girls at Carter House, a boarding house for girls owned by her grandmother. Her grandmother, Katherine Carter, is a former fashion model and is trying to raise the girls to be "perfect", fashionable young ladies. Each girl was sent to the boarding school by their parent(s) for various reasons. The girls are quite a variety, from a fashion-focused snob, to a goth/punk rock girl, to a Pollyanna type, and more. Follow this group of girls through their teen aged fights and boy trouble. I really feel like I have found a friend in DJ because she is so nice and less shallow than the other girls and because I can identify with her. Not preachy, but gets a message out there: I don't know how Melody Carlson does it, but this book is not preachy at all, and yet, it shares the gospel message. Who this book is for: I would recommend this book for older teens, some mature subjects are mentioned (such as condoms, making out, etc) which would be inappropriate for some younger teens. A small problem I found: I would've liked this book better if it would have had a better pro-abstinence until marriage message, in my opinion it didn't really show if it was important to wait for marriage or not. I kind of wish-washed back and forth and left you guessing. Kind of short? Was it just me, or did this book seem really short? I read the majority of this book in one day. A quick read, I wish this story would have been longer, but I am very happy to know that there will be sequels. My conclusion: This is a good book for older teens. Great for those who believe in God, also great witnessing tool to give to those who don't. Another great book from Melody Carlson.