Starring Me by Krista McGee

I first heard of Starring Me when I received an email from Ruthie who works at Thomas Nelson. She mentioned that I might have reviewed another one of their books called "There You'll Find Me", but after searching through the my archives, I couldn't find any trace of this book. Still, I decided to read Starring Me, since it sounded like an interesting story.

It was only when I started reading that I realised I had reviewed for Thomas Nelson before. It was for First Date  and Starring Me is the second in the series.

First Date centered around Addy, a shy girl who ended up on a TV show competing for a date with the president's son. It's essentially an excellent re-telling of the story of Esther. Starring Me, on the other hand, centers around Addy's good friend Kara, a girl who loves the limelight. In order to make it as an actress, she enters another similar show in hopes of landing a spot.

Most of the characters (and all lovable ones) from First Date appear in Starring Me, which was a really nice surprise. It wasn't just a cameo, they appeared fairly often and played a big part. Still, if you haven't read first date, you don't have to worry because enough back-story is given.

Apart from conventional narration, the book also inserts the scripts that Kara acts out between the chapters. Because the audition scenes are never described in detail, these scripts allow the reader to imagine what it must have been like.

The story was excellent. Kara is a lovable girl and I was rooting for her. The book used a sub-plot from First Date (i.e. Addy praying for Kara), and showed that God wants all of us to come to know Him. Kara doesn't have a dramatic "change-around" story, but she does show how God makes a difference even in the lives of 'good' people. And while her conversion was the main part of the story, it was never preachy and came across as very natural.

So basically, if you loved First Date, you have to read Starring Me.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.