Series Synopsis:
She's the bold, free-spirited type. She's cute, she's fun, and she's following God. She's Sierra Jensen, Christy Miller's good friend, ready for her junior year of high school! All twelve books in the popular Sierra Jensen series come together in four volumes to reveal the ups and downs of Sierra's incredible God-led journey!
The Sierra Jensen series is kind of a spin-off from the Christy Miller series. Sierra is a girl that Christy met on her missions trip and she has her own series that I'm reading now. These reviews will be the same format as the Christy volumes: three books in one, three reviews in one.
Book 1: Only You, Sierra
Book Synopsis:
The Europe mission trip brought Sierra Jensen the best gift possible: two new friends, Katie and Christy. But now Sierra is headed home, and she can't help but wonder will her friendships last? And what about her new home? Her family moved while she was gone, and that means facing a new high school. And the biggest question of all: Will she ever find love? Then a chance meeting in a London airport answers that question. Paul makes her heart leap. But she'll never see him again! Or will she?
My Review:
4/5 stars. I liked this book, but not as much as the first Christy book. I like Sierra's character. She's definitely different than Christy. I don't really relate to Sierra as much - for example, how she's confrontational. I am definitely not confrontational, I'm the opposite. Her personality seemed a little different than in the book Departures that takes place a year before this series. I like how witty and sarcastic Sierra is, and how she's able to come up with clever comebacks/responses easily.
There wasn't too much of a faith element in this book. Compared to Christy in the first book, Sierra is already a strong Christian who's been saved her whole life. The main thing in this book was about praying for people, which is good, but not much else so far.
I don't really like Paul. I don't know why Sierra was obsessed with him in this book. He wasn't that bad, but something about his attitude and the way he talks rubbed me the wrong way. He just seemed kind of rude. I also don't know why Robin Jones Gunn has a thing with big age gaps in relationships. Sierra was offended when Paul, who's 19, found out that Sierra was 16 and backed off. Three years is a lot when you're a teenager, especially when one of them is over 18.
I liked Sierra's family dynamic and how they interacted with each other. It's cool that her sister is adopted, and I liked her little brothers. We only met one of Sierra's older brothers in this book, but he was nice.
Something that was kind of sad to me was their grandma having memory lapses. My grandpa had Alzheimer's, so I can understand what it's like and how hard it is to be around them when they can't remember things.
Sierra annoyed me a little bit in this book, how she purposely tried to dislike her new school. I liked it at the end when she apologized to the girls and I hope she becomes friends with them.
This was a good start to the series, and I'm interested to see where it goes next.
Book 2: In Your Dreams
Book Synopsis:
Sierra has had it! She's done everything she can to find the right job, good friends, and most important, true love. But nothing is working out. Now she has to stay home to care for her grandmother. By herself. For the whole weekend! It will be terrible. But a series of startling surprises shows Sierra just how wrong she is--and before she knows it, she's on her way to the perfect job, her first real date, and an encounter with a mysterious stranger.
My Review:
5/5 stars. I really enjoyed this book! I liked it better than the first one.
The plot was much more interesting/involved in this one. A lot more happened, yet it didn't feel rushed. We saw Sierra dealing with the Granna Mae situation, - at first by herself - Sierra trying to get a job and make friends, and Sierra going on her first "date". I loved how down-to-earth and realistic all the problems were, it was somewhat slice-of-life.
I loved the small-town setting. It was much more prevalent in this book than the first one, because we actually see more of the town. As Sierra goes to different places for job interviews, it shows more of the hominess of place where she lives. I liked how everyone knew Sierra's family when they were younger, and everyone is so warm and friendly.
This book was funnier than the first one. There were many moments that made me laugh out loud while reading. I love Sierra's witty and slightly sarcastic sense of humor, similar to my own. I think Sierra is a funnier character than Christy.
Just like with the first book, I loved the family interacting with each other. I felt like I was in the same house as Sierra and her family, doing things along with them. I liked them all interacting with Randy at the end. While I wouldn't really call hanging out with her family a date, it was a fun and cute scene.
This book was an improvement to the first one and I'm excited to keep reading the series.
Book 3: Don't You Wish
Book Synopsis:
Sierra has three wishes: visit her California friends; have her older sister, Tawni, disappear; and learn more about the mysterious stranger. When Easter break arrives, Sierra's first wish comes true! She's headed to Newport Beach for fun, sun, and surf. Unfortunately, not only does Tawni not disappear, she accompanies Sierra on her escape. What's worse, everyone has a boyfriend except Sierra. But will her wishes begin to change as she realizes God wants to mold her according to His wishes?
My Review:
4.5/5 stars. I liked this book a lot, but it wasn't quite a 5-star book, mainly because parts of the plot weren't as interesting as the rest of it. There were lots of big things that happened towards the end that make this one especially good.
The thing that makes me take off half a star is the beginning of the book, before Sierra gets to Newport Beach. It was a little slow and not as interesting compared to the rest of the book. I was reading and kept wondering when she would finally be with all her friends.
When she actually got to Newport Beach, I loved seeing all the old gang again. Christy, Todd, Katie, Doug, Tracy, Heather - who we hadn't seen in forever - and some new people were all there. I also liked the dynamic of Tawni interacting with Sierra's friends and them all welcoming the sisters into the group. I did think it seemed a little unrealistic how quickly Tawni and Jeremy were into each other, however.
There were two big developments in the lives of the original characters that happened in this book: Doug and Tracy getting engaged, and Uncle Bob getting saved. I was happy about Doug and Tracy, but the scene didn't really give me any warm and fuzzy feelings because we didn't get to see their relationship develop firsthand like with Christy and Todd. I was very glad about Uncle Bob.
Another thing I liked in this book was Sierra's attitude changing about herself and her sister. Thanks to advice from Christy, she started focusing on her own life and not being jealous of other people. She also started to see Tawni in a better light, to see all her positive qualities and be happy for her.
I liked the first volume of Sierra Jensen books a little more than the first Christy Miller volume, possibly because Sierra is older than Christy was in the first book, by just a couple years. I'm excited to continue the series.
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