Official Review: Just As I Am ( Just As I am series #1)

[4everyoung]

“Just As I Am” by Virginia Smith is a Christian fiction story but has the ability to connect with those who don’t “fit” into what a Christian is supposed to look like. Mayla Strong is one such person with her purple hair and piercings she answers the call one Sunday at her mama’s church. But for Mayla it is not as easy as she had hoped. When she starts telling her friends and co- workers what had taken place over her weekend, she is met with mixed emotions. A lot of them in fact. But regardless of what she experiences she is determined to live as Jesus would live. As Mayla begins her journey as a Christian woman, she begins questioning her lifestyle and works to make changes where necessary.

Questions like does she go to a party, or not? How does she explain her new way of life when she really doesn't fully understand it herself yet. But when she encounters a young man in the hospital who is dying her perspective changes for the better.

It is hard to explain how great this book is without giving off spoiler alerts, but I will say it is a good book and you are soon rooting for Mayla as she continues her journey in her new life as a Christian.

AS I read the book I fell in love with Mayla because in a way she was a lot like I was when I first became a Christian as I tried to learn who I was in Christ as well as make lifestyle changes. The farther I got into the book the more I wondered how she would handle her friends and coworkers who were against her new way of life. I was not disappointed.
I also enjoyed how this book was written in the first person which helped draw me into the story even more. While I have not read the other two books in the series, I hope to soon do that and offer my review of those as well. I really enjoyed this book and being able to read it again was one of the highlights of my day today.

[shockernot_mc]

Your description of the Just As I Am makes me think it might be like a modern interpretation of Pilgrim's Progress... I would like to read it because it does sound interesting.