Always Upbeat/All That by Stephanie Perry Moore (Review)

About the Author - From Stephanie Perry Moore's Website

Stephanie Perry Moore is a Christian fiction novelist that is truly from the South. She was born in South Carolina, raised in Virginia, educated in Alabama, and now resides in Georgia. She has penned over 35 inspirational titles set in this part of the country.

She is the trailblazing author of the Payton Skky series, the first African-American Christian teen series. Her other young adult titles are the Laurel Shadrach series, the Carmen Browne series, the Perry Skky Jr. series and Faith Thomas ‘NovelZine’ series. The sassy, urban collegiate Beta Gamma Pi series and the hip, teen Yasmin Peace series were released in 2009-10. Her newest series is the adorable Morgan Love series. She and her husband will release the Alec London series for kids in the fall of 2011.

Her heart beats for adults as well. For this market she has penned Flame, an Essence best seller-A Lova’ Like No Otha’, Chasing Faith, and her newest release, Wearing My Halo Tilted.
She also was the General Editor for Nia Publishing. She produced the Women of Color Cookbook, the Men of Color Study Bible, the Wisdom and Grace Bible for Young Women of Color, the Strength and Honor Bible for Young Men of Color, the Women of Color Devotional Bible and the African-American Family Bible. She was the Co-Editor for the BibleZine, REAL, published by Thomas Nelson and is currently working on a new African-American women’s bible project.

She is a motivational speaker and community activist. She is working on several film projects. Among them she has a development deal with Turner Entertainment Networks and she is the Executive Producer/Creator for a web show called Locker Jam.

She lives in the greater Atlanta area with her husband, Derrick, a former NFL player and current sports chaplain for Georgia Tech Athletics. They have three children; Dustyn (16), Sydni (14) and Sheldyn (12).

She considers it an honor and a calling to write for the Lord.

About the Novel - From Publisher's Website

" Always Upbeat (Cheer Drama): Savvy Charli Black seems to have the perfect life. Pampered and confident, she has her junior year at Lockwood High all mapped out. Date the hottest baller in school, check. Become captain of the varsity cheerleading squad, check. Her crew rules the school. But just as everything falls into place, her world begins to spin with one betrayal after another.

All That (Baller Swag): Cocky quarterback Blake Strong’s number one goal is to stay in the game, lead his boys to victory, and score a spot at his dream school. But his overbearing father wants Blake in the Southeastern Conference. Their difficult relationship hangs by a thread when the Strong family gets unsettling news. Will they reconnect and realize that there’s more to life than football?"

My Take

Such a unique urban fictional tale, two of Lockwood Lions most influential teens, Charli, Captain of the Cheerleading Squad and Blake, Quarterback of the Football team.  What makes this book unique and interesting is that its a flip book! Two different perspectives of the same duo "Charli-Cheer Drama" and "Blake- Baller Swag", we follow their stories in anticipation of understanding one another, learning what the other doesn't know or doesn't see and hoping that the two will overcome teenage drama and unite together as the dynamic duo we want them to so desperately be...

I actually was read the book, when I received the book, I handed it over to my teen, (she's a little on the younger side and some of the details, incidents and concepts, were a bit much for her, so I definitely do not recommend this book to the younger teens at all. High School Age and Young Adults would much better relate to this book). What I did love and appreciate about the book is that it posed real life issues that not just"high profile" students face, but teenagers as a whole, it expressed concepts that even some young teens don't really share with their parents, so it made it an interesting read. We all learn to adapt, deal and cope with issues, life, drama, relationships in different ways, so being able to get an inside look at Charli & Blake's perspective, really helped me to understand what was going on with the both of them and why things were happening...But there were times when I found myself saying, "why aren't you both just talking to one another?" Wouldn't that just make things all too easy! What a concept!

All in all, my daughter enjoyed the book, it was sort of a bonding experience for the both of us. She did mention being apprehensive to read the book, because it featured a teenage cheerleader, and well, that's just not her thing, she's more on the athletic side of the spectrum, but said that she was uniquely pleased after reading Charli's first chapter, and intrigued to read and learn more. She found herself reading ahead, discussing each chapter with me and going back to read some more, even though some of the concepts/ideas were a little over her head. For a book to grasp that much of her time and attention, I'd say that it was very enjoyable.

The book is available for purchase on Amazon.

Until Next Time,