Liked

Whose approval should you look for, should you live for? Why does the like button on Facebook, for example, put teenage girls under so much pressure? How can they escape this vicious circle of leading a fake online life in order to get as many likes as possible and feel popular? Kari Kampakis delivers a beautiful and tender guideline on how to be true to yourself and God, and not to make wrong decisions based on other’s opinions. She offers valuable insight into how to live in and make meaning of a largely mean world by using the Christian faith as a solid foundation for orientation.

I honestly loved reading every single chapter in this book. The author uses real stories to embed her suggestions into a context that teenage girls can relate to, and thus achieves a compelling voice that speaks to the target group just as much as to each and every mother’s heart. She provides questions for discussions at each chapter’s end and makes sure that the girls contemplate about the true meaning of identity, confidence, kindness, commitment, etc.

An eye-opening must-read for young girls who are seeking a purposeful way of using social media, want to mature spiritually, and also increase their confidence. A book parents should put on their reading lists as well, as it offers meaningful discussion starters in the family setting on what really is important in life, and how the Bible can help you understand what it means and feels like to be truly liked and truly loved. Bravo!

I cannot wait to share the review of this book on my blog in November in order to help give it the publicity it so well deserves. This book is going to be the perfect Christmas gift for many teenage girls, mothers and social workers that I know.

This is an encouraging book for girls with a Christian spin on it. Kari Kampakis talks to young girls about social media and the effect that it can and will have on their lives. She uses Bible verses to back up what she's saying, and gives advice on how to live a Christian life. She wants girls to feel loved and known. This book is filled with messages of empowerment and strength.

Who doesn’t want to be liked? But for some, the desire to be liked or “liked” becomes an obsession…or even an idol. Social media has only compounded this desire and given even more outlets for exercising it. How many social media platforms are there now? I can’t keep up! This book addresses that desire in tween and teen girls, but truthfully, the lessons are true for anyone, whether in social media or in real life.

Kari Kampakis obviously understands tween/teen girls, and this shows clearly in her concise, clever, and straight-to-the-heart writing. I love how the she diagnoses that in striving so hard for approval, girls “often fail to feel loved and known.” Wow. So true. This book includes so many great chapters, some of which include the understanding of and importance of seeking God’s approval (instead of human approval), how to develop a true identity, how to use social media wisely, how to build a positive reputation online and in real life, discernment about real and online friends, how to handle volatile emotions and rejection, and how to “make an eternal difference, not a temporary splash.” There wasn’t one part of this book that didn’t make me want to cheer.

I highly recommend this book for moms to read with their daughters, for small groups, for just about anyone, really, even though it’s aimed at tween/teen girls. We all need help navigating society, and this book presents Biblical guidelines for doing so.

I gratefully received this eARC from the author, publisher, and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.