Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.
This is the third book in the Riverbend Friends Series. This book follows Izzy on her journey. I give this a 4 out of 5 stars. Jill Williamson did a great great in writing The Me You See. I would recommend anyone to read this book. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This book was easy to read. If I had read the first 2 books in the series some sections would have made more sense.

The next installment in the Riverbend Friends series gives us a look into the life of Izzy and the struggles she faces. A great read for young adult females to connect with and relate to.

The third installment in the Riverbend Friends series picks up with the story of Izzy. Izzy has a lot put on her by her parents; while they are at work, she ends up being the caregiver for her brother, Sebastian. Izzy spends any free time she has making cupcakes and posting them to her Instagram account. During winter break, she feels more alone than ever with her friends gone and all the time she must spend at home taking care of her brother. When school starts back up and Zac, a senior she has had a crush on for a long time, starts showing interest in her and texting her, she feels like things are going her way. Her friends aren’t sure about Zac and Izzy just wants to be with him and have her friends be happy for her, is that too much to ask?

This has been a great year for good, clean young adult books. The Riverbend Friends series has been a great addition for young girls to read and enjoy. The newest installment adds value to the series with a great story, that just might be my favorite of the series. Izzy’s story resonated with me more than the others; there was more tension, and the stakes were higher for her with what she had to deal with. I don’t want to spoil anything, but this story will be much more intense with heavier issues than the previous. I think that is what made it my favorite as the stakes were higher which made me more invested in what was going to happen with the characters. We still got to see the other friends and what was happening in their world which is nice to build on that with each new novel. This book is perfect for young girls aged 12 to 16 that will show them the value of friendships and trusting your gut feelings when something doesn’t feel right it probably isn’t.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

"God valued me, so I needed to set better standards for myself. Standards that showed I valued myself as much as God did. That meant not changing myself to please other people. It also meant being strong enough to speak up and say no when I needed to."

Thanks to Netgalley and Tyndale House Publishers for giving me a digital arc.

Anyway, this is the first time I read a young adult fiction centered in religion. Yes I've read a couple of devotional books meant for young adult teens like me but never a story about it.

The Me You See is the third book in the series and it centered to Isabella, a student who have the talent on baking. Her life revolves around her friends, her family and her relationship in God. One day her sister decided to invite her robotics team in their house and their she met Zac, a senior guy who is part of the robotic team and also her crush. Zac takes notice of her and things started going down from there.

The whole plot of the story talks about knowing someone before committing yourself to them. It also tells how we shouldn't rush things out. Being a believer, we tend to blind ourselves on the signs God gives us especially when it comes to someone we like. The story also tells how young girls can be easily be tempted when love is involve. Isabella jumps in into it without even having second thoughts just because she likes the guy.

While reading I cringe all the time on how I see Isabella makes certain decisions without me thinking that I might do the same when I am on her shoes.

The flow of story was amazing considering all the choices Isabella makes in the past. Her development as a character was on point and what really makes me love her as a character is her faith in what she believes in.

This may be fictional but this kind of things happens most of the time in real life and it is an eye opener to young girls. I would highly recommend this to my churchmates when this is released because it will inspires them to not rush on things and to always consult God in whatever decisions in life. That you should always look out on His signs.

Another great book in this series for teens! Each one deals with issues relevant to teens today, but in a story, which makes it easier to take.. I love all 4 of these girls in the series. I understand a bit of Izzy's story because I was a caregiver for an autistic boy, who is actually more severe than Sebastian. I like the way the school and Izzy's parents handled the problems in this story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-copy of this book. The opinions are entirely my own.

I haven’t read the other books in this series, and after reading this one, I don’t plan to. I’ve read other books by Jill Williamson so I was a bit disappointed in the writing of this one. While Izzy and her friends are in high school, the maturity level felt more along the lines of middle school students. Many of the events came across as unrealistic and super cringey. There are also a ton of current pop culture references—anything from Marvel movies to video games to Netflix shows—and unfortunately, this book won’t age well. I’m assuming the publisher isn’t intending it to, but that just makes the story feel less impactful than it could’ve been.

The one thing I can appreciate is that this book tackles important issues, such as sexting and child pornography. I was a bit surprised and taken aback that the story line went that far with such topics, since the synopsis didn’t give any hints of that at all and there aren’t any warnings at the beginning of the book. But I appreciate how Jill handles such a real and dangerous topic. The message at the end of the book is obvious but it’s important.

This book reminds me a lot of Melody Carlson’s YA books, so I would recommend it for the targeted audience: female Christian teens. Other readers might want to skip this series.

I received a complimentary e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Netgalley and Tyndale House.

What Drew Me to this Book

I was intrigued to see a new Christian book series for teen girls, but waited awhile to request the book because I saw it was part of a series. However, intrigue won out and I jumped into the series at book three. It helped that books one and two were from different perspectives, and written by another author.

It also really helped that the books were published by Focus on the Family. Focus published some of the very first teen Christian books— the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn. The Lord has spoken to me numerous times through the Christy books, so I was excited to see a new series from the publisher.

Genre Comparisons

I definitely had Christy Miller in mind when reading The Me You See. However, this book felt a lot more like a Melody Carlson novel than a Robin Jones Gunn book (In fact, it bore striking similarities to the Carlson novel Never Been Kissed, as well as a book in her Carter House Girls series).

Gunn and Carlson are two of my favorite authors and both write books for teens and adult women. However, their books differ stylistically in terms of content. While Gunn’s books engage with cultural issues from a more peripheral perspective, overflowing with sweetness and innocence, Carlson’s books tackle tough subject-matter head-on, often through the lens of the main character. Gunn’s characters are written to be role models. Carlson’s characters seem to be written to be relatable.

Williamson, like Carlson, engages directly with intense issues and pressures that today’s teens are facing. Likewise, Izzy a relatable character, but not a complete role model.

Representation

Izzy is a third-generation Mexican American, and the book is lightly seasoned with Spanish words and phrases. From what I can see, this is not an #OwnVoices book. However, I could definitely be mistaken. I don’t think most people would guess that I’m Mexican based on my name and photo. I would definitely like to see more #OwnVoices in the Christian fiction genre, but I feel that Williamson created a believable character and family.

The book also includes an autistic character, Sebastian “Bash” Valadéz. Bash maintains a strict schedule and calls everyone, including his parents, by their first and last names. Bash delivers the first line of the book and is one of the most precious characters I have ever read. As someone who is also on the Autistic Spectrum, I really enjoyed Williamson’s portrayal of Bash. He is shown to be competent and extremely lovable, as well as different.

Spiritual Themes

Izzy and her three best friends, Tessa, Amelia and Shay, are all regular church attendees, while Zac visits church only sporadically. Throughout much of the plot, church attendance seemed to be a subtle gauge of a person’s relationship with God, and I’m not comfortable with that equation.

However, toward the end of the book, there were several pages that focused on truth about God and Izzy’s identity in Him. Even so, I would have liked to see more interaction with God, rather than simply talking about Him.

Overall Impression

The book deals with some heavy content, but I do think that it addresses some important issues for today’s teens. As much as I don’t want it to be, I think this book can provide helpful insight and discernment. Plus, I still think it’s a better choice than most of the books out there.

At the same time, because of the nature content, I wouldn’t want this book to introduce innocent readers to things they aren’t familiar with. It’s a hard call, so my recommendation is Reader’s Discretion.

Man, this was a powerful read. I’ve only read #1 in this series, haven’t yet read #2, but I didn’t feel like there were any gaps in jumping to this one.

It defo dealt with some sad and heavy topics, and it’s sad that any of these are actually a thing in school—and yet they’re all too much of “a thing.” I appreciate the author’s willingness to confront them.

I also really liked how the author used those around Izzy—from a youth group leader to a deputy to, of course, her friends, and even her sister—to speak truth into her life and encourage her to do the same, even/especially when it’s hard.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I was disappointed in this book. Mainly because it wasn’t what I was expecting.
I’ve enjoyed the first two books in this series. Izzy was always my favorite of the friend group, and I still love her! She’s bubbly, funny, and really kind.
The reason for my disappointment and my rating is due to the content.
The plot is mostly focused on Izzy being in a relationship with a guy who doesn’t respect her and uses her. He’s just not a good guy at all. A guy who is mixed up in some illegal/ inappropriate stuff. I don’t even want to think about it… and that was my biggest problem. I didn’t want to think about the topics this book dealt with. Having an overactive imagination is NOT fun when reading a book that deals with inappropriate topics.

The good in this book is the message that girls shouldn’t have to change for the guy she likes and who likes her. And the faith content although it was quite scarce.

Sadly, I was disappointed this book. I love Izzy and she made me laugh a lot. But this book was a disappointment.

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

An amazing book filled with true life experiences of many teenagers. Such a powerful reminder to me of being who God has called me to be. The family and friends are so important and we need to choose them carefully

The Me You See is the third book in a faith based YA series about a group of teenage girls in River Bend; Indiana. Isabella is always involved in family responsibilities, so her phone is her entertainment and escape. She begins a relationship with high school senior Zac, which starts out simple but isn't really what it seems.

I appreciate the faith based angle and attempt to address a difficult and relevant topic. That is the only praise I will give this book. The Me You See was incredibly uncomfortable to read and I found myself cringing through the majority of it. The book summary does nothing to explain the heavy subject matter, and I was taken aback. But even more so, I was appalled at how the topic was handled. The fact that ANY blame, shame, or guilt was dealt to this girl for altered images/revenge porn being sent CLEARLY WITHOUT HER CONSENT is the entirely wrong message to send. And judging by the age level that this book is geared toward and that it appears to be attempted educational material along with a work of fiction, I would strongly caution parents to read and think about this book before handing it over to their daughters.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tyndale House Publishers for this ARC; this is my honest and voluntary review.

THE ME YOU SEE by JILL WILLIAMSON is the third book in the Riverbend Friends series, but, although it is good to read the novels in sequence and follow Izzy, Tessa, Shay and Amelia, the book can be read as a stand alone.
This is Izzy's story. Although she loves her family, her parents both work long hours, her older sister Claire is very busy on the school robotics team, and she has practically become her autistic brother Sebastian's primary caregiver.
When Zac Lloyd, the senior she has a huge crush on, takes an interest in her, she cannot believe it at first. Everything seems to be going well until her brother takes a violent dislike to Zac and calls him the "bad guy".
That is all I am going to tell you about the story excepting to say that there is a strong Christian message running through it which is mostly aimed at teenagers.
I really enjoyed The Me You See and highly recommend it as an enjoyable and thought provoking read.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Tyndale House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.