Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker

Here’s a little bit about this book from Ms. Walker’s website:

Does falling in love mean falling out of faith?

“Lacey Anne Byer is a perennial good girl and lifelong member of the House of Enlightenment, the Evangelical church in her small town. With her driver’s license in hand and the chance to try out for a lead role in Hell House, her church’s annual haunted house of sin, Lacey’s junior year is looking promising. But when a cute new stranger comes to town, something begins to stir inside her. Ty Davis doesn’t know the sweet, shy Lacey Anne Byer everyone else does. With Ty, Lacey could reinvent herself. As her feelings for Ty make Lacey test her boundaries, events surrounding Hell House make her question her religion.”

My Take

I didn’t know if I was going to like this book.  I don’t generally do well with anything that’s one extreme or another.  However, I did find that I really did enjoy this book.  It was nice to see a different kind of character represented as well.  Not much swearing and not much sex in this book and it was nice to see a more innocent side of teens and in today’s world to boot.  Ms. Walker’s characters are very endearing.  A group of friends whose bonds are as strong as steel, but willing to add another to their ranks was wonderful.  It was also nice to see parents who were present, not clueless and not portrayed as the villains.  Are Lacey's values strong enough to withstand a challenge?  Will her family understand if Lacey's values aren't the same as theirs?  The love story between Lacey and Ty was great and built slowly, which I liked.  He respected her and was not the typical bad boy.  I thought Ms. Walker's characters were unique and I liked them all.  This book is yet another in the Contemps Challenge.  I’m giving it 4 ½ sweet innocent kisses!

Evil? by Timothy Carter

Here's a very brief blurb about Evil? from Mr. Carter's site:  Stuart didn’t think what he’d done in the shower was evil. It was his own body, and he can touch himself wherever he wants, right? The people at his church disagree, however, and Stuart suddenly finds himself an outcast and on the run from people who want to punish him for his sin. Has the entire town gone crazy? Or is something supernatural going on...?

I won a copy of this book from Nerds Heart YA (http://nerdsheartya.wordpress.com/) *my dang computer is giving me fits about posting a link* and want to thank the author for signing the inside and sending it off to me.  I'm going to check out other works of his as well.

Stuart's day starts out rough when he gets discovered by his younger brother "pleasuring himself" in the shower.  He had no idea how quickly things could get so much worse in his little Canadian town.
 
Stuart is such an awesome character.  His hobby is conjuring demons to question them regarding the realities surrounding his religious upbringing.  Not your average hobby.  One would think the townsfolk would be more concerned with the fact that Stuart is gay, than with his masturbation habit.  Throw a couple of fallen angels into the mix and this story is rockin'. 
 
I read this in one day.  Stuart made me laugh, I loved his wry sense of humor.  I would recommend especially to boys ages 14 and up.  4 big kisses!