#bookreview ~ Good Christian Girls by Elizabeth Bradshaw @boldstrokebooks @NetGalley #NGEW2024 #BookRec #BookPromo

Good Christian Girls by Elizabeth Bradshaw
Published by Bold Strokes Books on February 13, 2024
Genres: Coming Of Age, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
Pages: 284
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley, Publisher


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Lacey Heller is sure that nothing interesting could possibly happen at Camp Lavender, because it never does. Her parents have been running this Christian camp for girls ever since she can remember. Little does Lacey know that Jo Delgado is coming to camp this summer—and she’s going to change everything.

After the incident , Jo’s aunt sends her to Camp Lavender instead of the science camp she desperately wants to attend. Her aunt hopes that Camp Lavender will put Jo on the “right path,” influenced by nice girls like Lacey. The best Jo can hope for is to run a successful experiment so that she doesn’t waste her whole summer.

Lacey is a good Christian girl…or at least she thought she was. But Jo changes all that. There’s something different about Jo—and that something could get Lacey into big trouble.

Lacey and Jo must help each other untangle who they are from who everyone says they're supposed to be.

My Thoughts

Lacey Heller goes to a Christian summer camp for girls, and she is sure that this camp will be boring because nothing interesting ever happens there. Jo Delgado is sent to the camp under duress after a mysterious incident that turns her expectations upside down. The first problem between Lacey and Jo is differences in understanding – Lacey wants to be a good girl and princess and hates science, but Jo is interested in science. However, they begin to develop a relationship as they realize they both have problems with who they should be.

This is a classic story of coming-of-age where familiar clichés are presented when opposites attract and form unlikely friendships. The characters of Lacey and Jo offer readers a chance to interrogate the themes of identity, expectations, and being oneself. However, the story and character development should be so attractive that readers must read it. The writing style is barely an art but rather a craft.

For readers looking for a light and easy-to-read book, this novel will satisfy them; however, for those interested in a more profound reflection on coming-of-age issues, this book will not be sufficient. In the end, the book deals with known ground in a rather ordinary way.

Thank you to Bold Strokes Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2024 NGEW Reading Challenge