A Whisper and A Wish
Series: Christy Miller 2
Reviewed date: 2010 May 4
145 pages
A Whisper and a Wish is the second book in the Christy Miller series, by Robin Jones Gunn. It's a Christian book series about a teenage girl, California, the beach, Christian growth, and the exaggerated problems of a typical high school kid. All in all a decent book. It shows a young girl approaching life from a Christian perspective, trying to make wise choices. The theme of the book seems to be: choose friends wisely. Good friends lift you up and are a positive influence. Bad friends pull you down and entice you to sin. We see this played out in various ways in Christy's life.
Fifteen-year-old Christy Miller is a new Christian when her family uproots from Wisconsin and moves to Escondido, California. It's traumatic and exciting for Christy, but just traumatic for her parents: they're moving because of dire financial straits.
While her parents struggle to make ends meet, Christy gets thrown into a brand new high school. To her surprise, she quickly finds herself good friends with the popular girls. They invite her over to a slumber party, where (fortunately) the worst mischief they get into is TPing a cute boy's house. Christy even finds a great church and some good Christian friends. Everything is looking good.
Christy does get into trouble when she acts impulsively. For example, going out to lunch with friends after church, instead of going home like her parents expect her to. This is before the age of cellphones, so her parents were worried sick for several hours. Getting a ride home with a boy doesn't make matters any better.
Worse than that, Christy gets arrested for shoplifting when her friend Brittany stuffs prescription diet pills and laxatives into her purse. It turns out that Brittany is bulimic. The police believe Christy, and eventually Brittany gets called in for questioning. Christy is let off with a warning, and Brittany will get the professional help she needs. We presume that Brittany will get better with counseling. On the other hand, as we learn when the police officer relates the story of his late sister, people with bulimia can die even with the very best of treatment.
The book ends on a positive note. Christy grows in her faith and continues to pray for God's help in making wise decisions. As the book closes, the cutest boy in school, Rick, asks her to homecoming. Christy responds wisely: sorry, but she can't date until she's sixteen. Rick says that for someone like her, he can wait.
A Whisper and a Wish is a good book for teenage girls. It may seem like it's all about boys and romances, but when you look closer, it's really about the importance of godly wisdom. Christy fails when she acts impulsively or chooses ungody friends. She succeeds when she uses discernment, obeys her parents, and listens to God-loving friends. I recommend it.