If you're a mom of a preteen or teen girl, I feel for you. Not just because of the hormones and the iphones and the facebook, although listing all that out actually makes me feel more for you...but I feel for you in that things are getting really messy at a younger age. I was in a bookstore recently and had a  moment of wandering into the Teenage Fiction area, where I was astounded to see every single book cover was a remake of a dark romance involving some sort of demonic half human, or a post-apocalyptic drama. What happened to sweet stories with happy endings and light-hearted humor?I was sweeping up cobwebs today in our guest room when I caught sight of that familiar friend sitting on the shelf. Favorite books become like friends for me, and I know it sounds trite and ridiculous but its absolutely the truth. I'm one of those people who get emotionally engaged in every story, and I try to read quickly so I don't have to live life half-inside of a book for days on end. During the … [Read more...]