When
Mayla Strong, a young woman with purple hair and facial piercings, walked into a small southern church, her intention was
only to “sit in the back and catch a quick nap” in order to please her Christian mother. However, God had a different
plan. Touched by the sermon, Mayla finds herself responding to the altar call, accepting Christ, and getting baptized, there
and then.
Now what? Well, that’s where the fun starts.
Mayla wants to find her place in the church – yes, with that purple hair, nose ring, and all. Needless to say, not everyone
is ready to accept that. Mayla’s partying friends are not very happy about her becoming a Christian, either. Most of
them are wary, expecting her to withdraw or start looking down at them; some are openly hostile.
Mayla is faced with a difficult task of learning
how to be a Christian and at the same time proving herself both to the church folks and to her old friends. She needs to show
them that the change in her is real, and much deeper than wearing or not wearing facial jewelry.
Just As I Am is a wonderfully written
story. It is honest, believable, hilariously funny in some places and moving to tears in others. Virginia Smith is not afraid
to have several gay characters in her book; I suppose I must warn you about that in case if you plan to give it to your children.
However, there is nothing inappropriate in the way those characters are portrayed, so if you have discussed the issue with
your kids I would think it's okay to let them read it. After all, we don't live on some Christian island. It is better for
them to learn about such things from a good Christian novel than from the world.
