5thgradereading

Written by Allia Zobel Nolan

Whatever: A 90-day Devotional for Llivin’ the True, Noble, and Totally Excellent Life! is another trustworthy book in the faithGirlz series from ZonderKIDS.

The word “whatever!” has a new meaning for tween-age girls. It usually means something like “I don’t care. Do what you want.” The author, reminds girls that the word, “whatever” was used in scripture long before it became a slang term and it had quite the opposite meaning. Geared for tween girls, this devotional is based on Philippians 4:8; “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (NIV)

This devotional is focused around the point that our thought life counts and if we want to live as Christ wants us, we must focus our thoughts on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable and excellent, just as Philippians 4:8 says. Whatever is divided into sections each focusing on these points. The author, Allia Zobel Nolan writes in a way not only easy to read, but that draws girl’s attention right from the start. She uses language tween girls understand like “ROL” (Roll on Floor Laughing) or “BFF” (Best Friends Forever) to relax girls and help them feel as they are having a conversation. She also uses examples in nearly everyday’s devotion that relate to a young girls modern life. She doesn’t shy away from difficult topics and gives gentle warnings about things like boys, alcohol, mean girls and even the snare of gossip. Nolan takes modern day situations our girls face and guides them to what God’s Word has to say about it. She tackles other topics like modesty, generosity, pride, humility, kindness, choosing good friends, media and much more. She has a wonderful way of drawing other scripture into each day and giving girls ideas to think about later in the day. She also includes prayer suggestions each day. Its obvious Nolan has a deep desire to draw young girls to the Lord and that God has gifted her with a knack for speaking their language. Don’t be fooled by the tween-language. Every devotion is full of scriptural meat!

Whatever would be a great devotional for any tween girl in her personal devotional time. While it’s written at about the 5th grade reading level, some topics might be a little too mature for girls of that age. It would be a wonderful devotion for mother and daughter to read aloud, bringing up topics that might otherwise have been overlooked or that might be difficult to address. Camp Counselors or other leaders of girls could also use Whatever in lessons or quiet time.

faithGirlz has a terrific website (http://www.faithgirlz.com) that offers similar content, but in much greater detail and lots of fun too! It would be a meaningful addition for any tween girl. Whatever: A 90-day Devotional for Llivin’ the True, Noble, and Totally Excellent Life! would make a special gift for any tween-age girl.

Bibliographic Information

• Title: Whatever: A 90-day Devotional for Llivin’ the True, Noble, and Totally Excellent Life!
• Author: Allia Zobel Nolan
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Reviewer: Pamela Wagner
• Softcover: 295 pgs
• ISBN# not listed
• Genre: Contemporary, Christian
• Lexile Score: 910