Be Loved
by Emma Mae Jenkins
Pub Date 11 Nov 2019
New Growth Press
Christian| Teens & YA


Netgalley and New Growth Press provided me with a copy of Be Loved for review:


Young writer Emma Mae Jenkins has inspired many with her freedom to be herself-a dearly loved child of God. In her first book, Be Loved, she invites readers to join her on a journey of life-changing faith and the freedom that comes from knowing the love of God.Her first book, Be Loved, invites readers on a journey of life-changing faith and the freedom that comes from knowing God's love.



As she navigates the pressures of starting a new school, juggling sports and school work, going to prom, and even attending homecoming, she chronicles her own high school journey. Emma Mae faced each new challenge with the confidence that God was with her and was going to make her uniquely useful in the place he had prepared for her.In every new challenge, Emma Mae knew that God was with her and would make her uniquely useful in the place he had prepared for her.



Emma Mae's relationship with Jesus is the foundation of everything she does. She knows she is loved by him, so she is free to be herself and live out her faith no matter what. Emma Mae is an avid, passionate, and intimate lover of Jesus, and her love for Him overflows unashamedly into her love for others.


In knowing the Lord's presence, readers will experience the chain-breaking freedom of being unique.


I give Be Loved five out of five Stars!


Happy Reading!

Emma is such an inspiration in her Youtube videos and this book was no different. I'll admit, I had never heard of her before seeing this book online but I'm glad I gave it a chance.
Emma's passion for spreading the news of Jesus Christ was obvious. I felt such joy when reading and that's not something easy to come by.
The full-color illustrations and photos in this book are beautiful and always backed up the message well.
I'd recommend this to any teen girl looking to deepen her relationship with Christ.

Rating: 5/5

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

I loved Emma’s spirit, she is so full of Jesus and this book screams her. It is full of fun colors that will appeal to high school girls. The style of the book is not “normal”, it is definitely different but I think that is what will make girls want to pick it up and read it, because it don’t look like every other book.
Quit honestly, as an adult reading it, I felt convicted by the way Emma leads her life. She just doesn’t care what others think and we live in a world that cares way to much. She is a great example for our young girls.
If you are looking for a gift that tween or teen in your life I recommend this book!
Visit Emma on: Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter
Grab your copy at your local bookstore, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christianbook.com or your favorite retailer.
A copy of this book was given to to me. All opinions are my own.

I’ll admit right out I’m not the demographic for Be Loved. I’m almost 50 and can barely navigate YouTube let alone know who the brand celebrities are. Yet Be Loved was an inspiring book I thoroughly reading that I can’t wait to pass on to my teen daughter.

Be Loved is very visual, just perfect for teen girls. The format is like a diary with different fonts and arrows and beautiful, vibrant colors. More than that, Emma Mae Jenkins shares her story that teens can relate to. Fitting in. Image. Homecoming. The author is unapologetically Christian and she consistently shares the hope of Christ and Scripture throughout the book. It’s refreshing to see Bible verses as the first place she gots to and tells readers to, as well.

If you have a teen girl in your life, this is a must-have. With so much media out there full of toxic negativity and choices that are downright heartbreaking, this is relatable, beautiful, and exactly what this generation needs.

I received a copy of Be Loved from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated and all opinions are my own.

Emma Mae Jenkins shares about her spiritual journey through middle school and high school in an engaging and friendly manner. Her vibrant personality, commitment to the Lord, and deep love for people come through in each word, loud and clear. If I had gone to school with her, I am sure we would have been friends!

Each chapter begins with an episode from Emma Mae's life and a truth that she learned. Many scriptures are shared to back up what she says and also for memorization and meditating on. She covers subjects such as seeking God first, perfectionism, and living a holy life amid temptation.

The truths shared are relevant, scripturally sound, and presented to not make Emma Mae sound wonderful because of what she knows but to glorify God and to encourage and exhort the reader to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord.

I loved the pictures in the book, the word art, and the overall layout. It would make a fantastic gift for a young woman who seeks to walk more closely with the Lord.

This book was on my radar since Emma first announced it and one of my most anticipated books of the year! I love how each section ends with a Prayer and Scriptures to Remember which I think could be really helpful for those who are working on Scripture memorization but also enjoy the Prayer at the end of each chapter because they could be applied to anything and anyone who is reading the book. Emma writes the way she talks and I felt like a friend was talking to me as I read through the book. I also felt really inspired and renewal of my faith. I think this is beneficial for girls of all ages. It's also a really quick read.

This was a cute self help book to encourage teens to stay true to themselves. Everyone of us needs to spend time each day with our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ. We need to stand tall in moments of doubt and be courageous. Miss Jenkins encourages everyone to do that. She is not perfect and admits that in this story. She was voted HomeComing queen so she is not exactly like us as most of us were not the members of the court in high school, but she seems sincere in her desire that we all become queens, I wish she would have shared her Jesus Jams playlist in the book. She shares prayers and scriptures, but not the uplighting music that keeps her going. We all need music that inspires us each day along with prayer and feasting on the words of Christ.

This self help book is told through events Miss Jenkins experienced in High School. Each chapter ends with a prayer and some verses of scripture to help and encourage the reader to be better versions of themselves and to listen to what God wants for them.

Great read for the younger generation. I love how she goes in depth on certain topics and the use of scripture. Definitely would recommend to high school girls.

This book I about author relationship with God. This book is filled her life and how her faith in god made who is now.
I loved reading this books and it gave me an insight in a different perspective. Also it filled me with a positive vibe. This book is great read.

This book is colorful, bright, and encouraging just like the author. As a Liberty grad and seminary student, I remember seeing Emma on campus during her freshman year. I wasn’t familiar with her until she came to Liberty and began to watch her from afar. Her positivity and enthusiasm for life and contagious and genuine. Even though I’m a few years older than her, I found her presence contagious even though I just watched her interactions with others from afar. While I’m not the target audience for this book, it is a great, easy to read resource to encourage teenagers. It’s biblically sound with practical examples for teen life. I feel like it would do a little better with middle schoolers than high schoolers because there wasn’t a lot of depth when dealing with hard issues, but it does address a lot of middle and high school related issues. She provided lots of practical examples of how to show God’s love to people in daily life. I wish there had been one more chapter at the beginning like the first chapter that details how she came to be so joyous. As an older sister in Christ, I wanted to see a little more of her process of becoming so joyous and how God’s love influences her when times are hard. But regardless, it’s a great read for teenagers wanting to grow in their faith!

For years, I've heard about Emma Mae Jenkins and occasionally watched her YouTube videos. I used to think her joyful, bubbly, presence was an act and would feel uncomfortable with how forward and loving she seemed. It wasn't until I read her book, however, that I finally understood the beautiful woman of God she is!

Be Loved is an incredibly well-done book. With lots of colors and pictures, it felt like I was reading Emma's diary. Her heart for the Father poured onto each page, and I thoroughly enjoyed the scriptures and the prayer section at the end of each chapter.

After reading this book, I feel full of inspiration and encouragement. When they asked why I was so confident, I used to tell people that I was faking it until I made it; when the truth is, walking with the Lord and believing in the purpose He has put on my life is the best way to gain confidence (Proverbs 3:26). I, like Emma, moved around a lot as a kid, and I learned rather quickly to stop allowing what people thought of me dictate how I act. Standing out is not a bad thing; in fact, it attracts people towards you, giving you an incredible opportunity to talk about God and his son, Yeshua!

"A relationship with Jesus always brings us out of our comfort zone. We can't really get to know Jesus unless we are willing to leave where we are and follow him. As we follow him, we can taste and see his love and freedom in ways we never could have imagined. A relationship with him is not of this world, so it's not going to fit the mold of what culture says is normal." ~ Emma Mae Jenkins (Be Loved)

This book is perfect for teens who are navigating their way through high school, and for all the girls who don't already know how much their Father in heaven loves them! Be Loved is a book I'm going to be recommended to many people, and I know that Emma's words are going to touch a lot of people's lives! Thank you, Emma, for writing this inspiring book! You have reignited my fire, and I'm so pumped to see what the Lord is going to do in both of our lives next!

Emma Mae Jenkins is a name that was brought to my attention by Sadie Robertson. I love listening to Sadie Robertson speak so I take her recommendations highly. I was given an opportunity to read an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of Emma’s first book “Be Loved”. This book is about finding your identity in Christ, something that I have to work on every single day. She begins this story by talking about how she viewed herself: “I tried to be gracious and kind and loving toward everyone I met, but I wasn’t gracious or kind or loving toward myself.” Immediately I was drawn in because this was my issue. I am a perfectionist and Emma put into words what it means and feels like to be a perfectionist.
Note: The book is so colorful with pictures and doodles. I feel like I am reading her journal, and I’m sure that, in a way, I am.
She puts all of this so simple, and I have to say that I am jealous. Because even though I know that I don’t have to earn God’s love in my mind and my heart there are some days that I just don’t understand or comprehend that love. And to me that makes it hard to accept. Grace is beautiful. But for me, it can be really hard to come to terms with that and have faith without or beyond understanding.
It is so refreshing to see someone talk about the basics of being in a relationship with Christ. So often everything is taught about what a “Good Christian” does and more often than not it comes out looking like a checklist. Go to church. Volunteer. Youth group. Tithe. So on and so forth. I learned the Bible stories, the facts, the history, the cultures, but you don’t build relationships with facts. You build relationships with people. Emma does an amazing job outlining what a relationship with Christ looks like while understanding that every relationship is unique because people are unique. Not every walk with Christ will look like hers. I know mine doesn’t. But it doesn’t make it any less important or precious.
The layout and the wording of this book are definitely for middle and high school students, but the message is great for all ages. Even though every chapter in this has a sample prayer for you to pray and a list of scripture to hold close to your heart, it isn’t a Bible study rather than an encouragement to study the Bible. I can, however, see a bible study book coming from Emma. Emma’s story isn’t unfamiliar to many kids who have grown up in a Christian family, and so I think those will be the readers who will be drawn to this book. Overall, I will give this book 3 ½ out of 5 stars. This book is great, but simple, and has a good message. But I think that the readers who will pick this up are in a niche of the Christian book genre, which I why I didn’t give it a 4 out of 5.

A book about a girl who basically shares how to live like everyone else except the goal is to be loving, kind, and rely on the Scriptures. I do not want to crush this girl, but this book is misleading. This book has a lot of Scriptural references to meditate on. However, like many who push the imperfect Christian narrative (because we have grace), you will never see a true balance of the Scriptures that say, “Be perfect,” “work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” or that stress devout female living such as how you adorn yourself. Meanwhile, we experience her dressing up in fancy clothes, going to the hairdresser, putting makeup on... This young lady has a heart for God, which I appreciate, but she is still new and she has been taught that the Gospel is all about how to tell people how much they are loved and enjoyed by God so “enjoy life.” The first thing Jesus says to the people is REPENT. (The love of the Messiah encompasses telling sinners to repent or they will die.)

I think in this girl's church, if you said, “Repent,” it would be considered unloving or judgmental if you said it the way Jesus did, because He NEVER walked around telling people how great they were and He said the disciples would hate their lives.

While I appreciate her fervor and commitment, the ultimate commitment is to the Commandments and perfecting your faith for the Lord's return and being found without spot or blemish. This is a narrow road (few find it) and the “be you” narrative is a wide road. Please help our children to find the narrow road.

To love like Jesus is to be free from fear. When we walk as a forgiven and free child of God, people will see our courage and take note that we have been with Jesus. People will not take note that we have been with Jesus because of how much education we have or the amount of accomplishments we have - but simply by how we walk in love. They will see that we have the courage to love out of the overflow of how loved we are by Him and how much we love him.


Be Loved is a simple message of how much God Loves us but also how we have the freedom to love without fear. Sounds simple enough and I think it is but we make it difficult. The difficulty stems from our own efforts to love and our fear of failure. Emma Mae Jenkins take you into her world of High School and you relive the peer pressure to be someone else. It is only when we turn the focus on Christ, his word, that we can begin to listen to him as he directs us to love others without fear. I loved how Emma is not self-seeking in her love for others. She simply gives words of encouragement from scripture and lets the word of God soak into the hearts of those that need it.

Each chapter ends with scripture and prayer. Prayer that directs your heart from your own need for affirmation to affirming others. It takes baby steps to walk in faith facing your fear of rejection but know this, God has accepted you and because he has, we do not have to walk in that fear. What we lack in others, we have in Christ. If we lack confidence, we have confidence in Christ. If we lack righteousness, we have righteousness in Christ. We may have the head knowledge but we must live by faith in what God says is true. Don't compare your walk with others or the popularity of others but what is God calling you to. Who is he calling you to love. Believe

You will be encouraged of these truths but also be given the tools to walk in faith and not in fear! Highly recommend.

A Special Thank you to New Growth Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 4.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

This book is perfect for tweens with it's engaging layout and vibrant colors throughout. Perfect for the Christian home and church library.