Departures: Two Rediscovered Stories of Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen (The Christy Miller Collection)

This is a really good and fun to read! I enjoyed every second of reading this it makes you say what's going to happen next?!?

This book is very good. I highly recommend it for teen girls and even pre teen. The author uses lifelike situations to help girls understand their feelings and even help them have a closer relationship with God. This author is amazing and from the very first chapter of any of her books you are hooked. Check out all her books today!

I didn't like the Christy Miller story as much. It seemed a little forced to fit the storyline from the Katie Weldon books. But the Sierra Jensen story seemed like it fit very well with all the other Sierra books. Both are fun reads though!

If you like Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen than you will like this 2 in 1 book.It really was an enjoyable read if you are like me and like reading you won't be able to stop.

My teen tells me that every girl should read these books! These books can show young girls how to deal with all kinds of situations that they will probably face in their lives, very encouraging!!

The book Departures is not a "new" book; in fact, Robin Jones Gunn titles this book Departures: Two Rediscovered Stories. Rediscovered is just what these two novellas are. This book was originally published in 1999 but shortly went out of print. I read this book when it first came out, but it was fun to reread the latest addition. I have read every book that Gunn has written, and once again she does not disappoint.These two novellas (short novels) are a fun combo that Gunn put together about two of her most popular characters from the Christy Miller Series and the Sierra Jensen Series.If you haven't read these two series by Gunn - you might not fully understand the stories. Each novella was written to stand on its own, but reading Departures will be much more enjoyable if you know about the characters ahead of time.The first story Now Boarding at Gate 10 is written about Christy Miller. She is traveling back to her hometown (Wisconsin) with her family to celebrate her Grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary. The timeline takes place between the books Sweet Dreams & A Promise is Forever. Christy is fresh off her breakup with Todd and is searching for answers about what the future might hold. While she is back, she is able to hang out with her childhood crush Mathew Kingsley. They both are questioning if there is anything "there" between them. It was neat to read about where Christy came from before the beginning of a Summer Promise (book 1).One of my favorite scenes is an interaction that Christy has between her Grandparents at their anniversary party. Christy asks them how they knew they were the ones for each other and this is their response: "It's a choice you know...You get to know someone and then you ask yourself, `Would I like to spend the rest of my life with this person?' If the answer is yes, then you wait until you have a big argument. Or until something goes wrong, or he does something you don't like. And when things are at their lowest, you ask yourself again, `Would I like to spend the rest of my life with this person?' If the answer is still yes, then you know you're in love...That's only the beginning. You make one big decision and follow it up with a lifetime of little decisions that support that first one" (67-68). In the end, Christy is at peace with whatever God has planned for her future.The second story In the Event of a Water Landing is written about Sierra Jensen. Being the adventurous spirit that Sierra is, she is off with a childhood friend to celebrate the 4th of July in Montana. This was written before the Sierra Jensen series begins, so it was a fun preface to the series. Because of some airline changes, it takes longer for the group to arrive at their destination, and along the way Sierra has to patiently help her friend Jana work through feeling "out of control." Also, because Sierra is a tomboy and slower to develop the boy crazy feelings, she is caught off guard when all Jana wants to do is find a boyfriend. Sierra has to fight off her competitive nature so she doesn't try to compete with her friend for the boys' attention.Throughout this novella, Sierra remains pretty stable. She has an awesome encounter with God while star gazing and realizes that she wants to have more insight when it comes to her relationship with the Lord: "Schoolwork had come easily for her. Whenever facts entered her brain, they seemed to stick around, and she could pull them out when necessary, like on a test. What she wanted more than knowledge was wisdom. Insight. Understanding" (151). Because I know this character well, this quote was special to me because I know that she yearns for this insight throughout the entire Sierra Jensen series.Departures is written for the young adult reader. What I like about Christy and Sierra is that both girls are so different in personality, yet are still great examples for any young girl to follow. And we learn in other books that these two characters become great lifelong friends. Both Christy and Sierra have a relationship with Christ, but "religion" isn't forced on the reader - it's just a part of who the girls are. I would recommend these books for girls ages 11+.Rediscovering Departures by Robin Jones Gunn was like meeting some old friends at a cute coffee house and hearing about some of their teenage experiences. If only these friends didn't just exist on paper.

For my first ever book review for Blogging for Books, I chose *Departures* by Robin Jones Gunn. The book is actually two short stories that go with her Christy Miller series and Sierra Jensen series. Since they are two different stories with (for the most part) different characters, I'm going to write a mini review for each story.The first story is "Now Boarding at Gate 10," starring Christy Miller. She's headed to Wisconsin on a family vacation, to celebrate her grandparents' fiftieth anniversary. What she doesn't expect is the possiblity of a romance with her junior high crush.While the story was as well-written as all twelve full-length Christy Miller books, I felt like it wasn't really that great. Except Matthew, Christy's junior high crush, and a girl who is now friends with Christy's ex-best friend, all of the characters have already been met by the readers in the Christy Miller series. The plot is easy to follow and flows nicely, and the characters are all true to form. So what's the problem? Well, partly because I know how the series ends and partly because I totally loved Todd in the previous books, I felt this story didn't fit with the rest of Christy's life. True, there are real-life experiences during which you may have a 'What if..' moment with a romantic interest. But still, I felt that the possibility of Christy and Matthew dating seemed unnecessary to Christy's life story in general. All in all, I give the story three stars out of five.The second story was "In the Event of a Water Landing," starring Sierra Miller.The story starts with Sierra, her friend Jana, Jana's brother Gregg, and Gregg's friend Tim. They're on their way to a vacation in Montana, which is delayed by an airline mix-up and a trip to a huge mall. When they do finally arrive, Sierra is confused by Jana's strange behavior and the confusing, mixed feelings both Sierra and Jana seem to be feeling about guys.Now, I was never a huge fan of the Sierra series. (Most likely that was because I was too busy worrying if Christy and Todd got back together to focus on reading the Sierra books.) However, this story is the exact opposite of "Now Boarding at Gate 10." I feel this little 'preview' of Sierra's life - which comes before the Sierra books - better helps the reader understand Sierra's thoughts and beliefs throughout the rest of the series. While the plot was nothing extraordinary, the characters were completely realistic. Sierra discovers a few things - about herself, about Jana, and about guys and relationships in general. I found that I connected much better with this mini-book on Sierra than the entire rest of the series. This story definitely gets all five stars.I received this book for free through Waterbrook Multnomah's Blogging for Books program.