Simply Divine by Jacquelin Thomas

2006, Pocket Books

Main Character:  Divine Matthews-Harrison

Divine is a middle-schooler embroiled in the life of her pop-star mother.  She knows all about her father’s addictions and infedelities.  She’s been trained on how to appear for the press when in public.  She lives on the surface.  Suddenly, her world crumbles when her father is accused of murder.  No attempt is made to keep any of the details away from Divine.   When her mother has to enter re-hab to escape a long-term jail sentence, Divine is sent to live with her relatives in Georgia.  Her uncle is a preacher and it is through his voice that we hear the main message of this book, that of forgiveness.  This is done quite skillfully in a manner which doesn’t come off as ‘preachy’.  Divine learns to fit in amazingly well with the strict, no bling life style.  While she finds religion and becomes less materialistic, she never seems to recover her innocence.

A contemporary read for young teen girls looking for something more wholesome.

themes:  talents; family; forgiveness; vocabulary