Believing in Hope (Yasmin Peace Series) Paperback – February 1, 2009

Granddaughter loves to read and love the book

What an awesome treat to find something special just for my African American pre teen grandaughter! Hopefully she will treasure reading and enjoy.

Pressure rises for eighth-grader Yasmin Peace in Believing in Hope by Stephanie Perry Moore (Yasmin Peace Series). Her family continues to adjust to the loss of her brother through suicide, while her divorced mother struggles to meet the financial and emotional needs of the family. In fear of another loss, Jasmine tries to help her brother, York, when he begins to hang with a dangerous crowd. In addition, her other brother, Yancy—a good student and normally trustworthy—has begun disappearing.At school, peer pressure raises its ugly head in many forms: to participate in ungodly conversations, to engage in premarital sex, to be disobedient, and attacks on her self-esteem. Yasmin leans on God to help her manage the strife in her life and find hope. A counselor begins a group to help girls navigate issues they have or will encounter, where many revelations are discovered. To her surprise, many girls who seem self-assured have their own private struggles.Will Yasmin be able to stay on God’s path or will worldly pressures and desires overpower her? Will her friends and family find the ability to pass grace and mercy to those who may have caused them harm?Believing in Hope by Stephanie Perry Moore (Yasmin Peace Series) reveals that no matter how bad things may seem, there is always hope.inspiredbooksguide.com

In this second book of the Yasmin Peace series family tensions and school unrest sore to a fever pitch. A school counselor starts a club for 8th grade girls: The LIGHT club, which deals with major issues: gangs, depression, teen suicide, self-esteem, etc. Yasmin discovers that there is hope on the other side of every obstacle--if she holds on to her faith.This series is really good and it's a good change from the princess type series the author usually writes. It's a refreshing change to see a girl who isn't upper middle class and has to struggle finicially and deal with real problems. The LIGHT club is portrayed accurately, I used to attend Kendrick Middle School, where the real LIGHT club is and I'm glad to see it portrayed in this book. Yasmine is a good role model for any teens and unlike Payton Skyy or Carmen Browne (the author's other "princess" lead characters) Yasmin doesn't seem to be to stuck on herself. So other then the cheesy way the author writes herself in the book and cheap pops her upcoming movie on the Payton Skyy series, it's very well-written.

This book explores the real issues facing families that live in the lower income places - commonly known as the projects. Sometimes we may feel that the issues facing young teens and poorer families differ from those facing the lower and upper middle class. All families, regardless of income, have real issues to deal with. The book keeps that real. It also provides the elements of faith and hope that help us all to survive difficult times. To experience the work that teachers and pastors do to assist lower income families and to face the problems of parents in prison and suicide among teens is a real eye-opener. Stepahnie Perry Moore keeps it real. I recommend this book without reservation.

My 11 year old daughter loves this Author and this next level series...condition was good.