About the Book

Book: Secrets

Author: Beckie Lindsey

Genre: Young Adult

Release Date: February, 2018

Every girl has a secret she hopes the light will never find–but the demons already have.

Four girls. Four sets of secrets. Four searching for answers.

Mackenzie is the shy, awkward new girl at school, depressed and desperate for a real friend. When she stumbles upon the deepest secret of a sarcastic, angry-at-the-world track star, Krystal, they become instant enemies-especially about the flirtatious baseball player, Bryce.

Tammi, a gloomy singer/musician who couldn’t care less about what others think of her, meets Sadie, a dancer and a people-pleaser with a cotton candy disposition. They have nothing in common until their lives begin to collide in more ways than one.

As the girls’ worlds begin to converge, their secrets rather than their similarities draw them together. Meanwhile, all that’s kept hidden has left them vulnerable to a battle in an invisible realm where demonic creatures fight to keep the girls chained to their pasts while angels of light work to free them.

Can good ever come from evil? Can beauty ever arise from ashes?

Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Beckie Lindsey is an award-winning poet, author, blogger, and the editor of Southern California Christian Voice, a division of One Christian Voice, a national news syndicating agency. She is a major coffeeholic and enjoys a good book with a cat on her lap. She also loves to hike and hang out with family and friends. Beckie and her husband, Scott have three adult children, two adorable cats and live in California.

My Review

Secrets is The Screwtape Letters meets Mean Girls. It shares with raw honesty the intensity of spiritual battle that is happening daily all around us. No one, not even pastors or ministry leaders are safe from the attacks of demons. But there are also angels who surround us and fight on the Lord’s command. However, sometimes God allows painful things in our lives. Why? Because as it says in chapter 13: “Certain events must happen in order to draw the people to the only power that will save them.” Our salvation is more important than our temporary pain, no matter how great that might be. It’s difficult for us to understand sometimes, but in light of eternity our time on this earth is faster than the blink of an eye.

While some parts of the story can be difficult to read (see below for trigger warnings), the stories of the four girls in this story and their families are sadly a reality for many. As a youth leader myself, I can share with certainty that there are very real, dark battles that teens are facing in the world today. Often, in a room of 30 teens there are at least two or three others that can relate personally to the same trials. But instead of uniting and coming alongside each other in their pain, they often resort to mean words and and hurtful actions. It’s both sad and frustrating to witness. But understanding that the battle we fight is a spiritual one and not merely physical–it’s life-changing. My hope would be that teens reading this book would be able to see that and have it radically change how they view their hurdles.

The author has masterfully weaved the characters’ individual battles together in such a way that they gain fellowship with one another simultaneously as they give up their battles to the Lord. There is very authentic, deep, bottom of the soul pain that has to be released in order for healing to occur. But what is great, is that the Lord doesn’t leave us to fight those battles on our own. We have the help of our Heavenly Father and His angels, but he has also given us one another in fellowship. That’s the journey of discovery these characters are on.

This is an absolutely amazing story and is well worth the read, however it can also be a triggering read for many. The author herself shares a trigger warning at the beginning of the book for content pertaining to sexual abuse/incest, but that should also extend to depression, anxiety, thoughts of suicide, bulimia, and alcohol abuse. The author hasn’t shied away from these topics for a very real purpose. I would definitely encourage parents to read this along with their teens both 1) so they can be aware of what their children are facing in today’s world and 2) so they can help their child process anything that might be relevant to them from the story.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through Celebrate Lit Tours. I was not required to share a positive review. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.

Rating: 

Content Warnings:

(Please see last paragraph of review).

Guest Post from Beckie

Why I write YA and the BFA series

By Beckie Lindsey

I believe a teenager still exists inside each of us.

We hear a familiar tune from our “glory days” and are instantly tapping our toes. Mentally, we’re back in high school —poofy bangs, scrunchie, neon off-the-shoulder sweatshirt — and all. Oh, wait. That’s me back in the ‘80s!

Ah, yes. There is something wonderfully awful about those coming-of-age years.

From the first kiss to the first breakup, there are memories we cherish and some we don’t care to ever revisit. Being a teen can be exciting, confusing, painful, joyous, or even all of those things at once!

No matter how different your teenage experience was from mine, one thing is true for us all: these years have an enormous impact on who we become as adults. We can all sympathize with the plight of puberty and the longing for independence and acceptance. Yeah, there’s still a teenager in all of us!

These are the reasons I write YA.

My hope is to use the power of storytelling to move past barriers and open hearts to accept how much God loves and desires a personal relationship with us.

At every age, we all need the grace and love of Jesus.

In the Beauties from Ashes (BFA) series, I write about relatable characters with difficult issues and traumatic pasts to enlighten readers about the unseen spiritual battle referred to in Scripture. Each character has a secret that has left them vulnerable to the battle in an invisible realm where demonic creatures fight to keep them chained to their pasts and angels of light work to free them.

The characters and their issues are complex, just like real life. In fact, some of the topics are often considered too taboo to talk about openly. But what is left in the dark, festers and grows. It is only in the light that we can be free. In the BFA series, readers experience the character’s quest for truth, love, grace, and freedom while hopefully finding the same for themselves.

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Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, November 13

Inklings and notions, November 14

Genesis 5020, November 15

Multifarious, November 16

Blogging With Carol, November 16

Carpe Diem, November 17

A Baker’s Perspective, November 18

Godly Book Reviews, November 19

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 19

Robin Is Bookish, November 20

Remembrancy, November 20

The Becca Files, November 21

Christian Centered book Reviews, November 21

Ashley’s Bookshelf, November 22

Stephanie’s Life of Perseverance, November 22

Wonders of Anomalies Book Reviews, November 23

amandainpa, November 23

Bibliophile Reviews, November 24

Janices book reviews, November 25

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 26

Bigreadersite, November 26

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Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Beckie is giving away a grand prize of a $30 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d56f/secrets-celebration-tour-giveaway