Ever met a person who seemed too perfect? What did you think of her? She probably isn’t your best friend because nobody wants to hang out with someone who has absolutely no flaws. (Unless we’re talking about Jesus.)
Nobody wants to read about characters with perfect virtue either. As an author, I only use such a character if I want you to hate her. For this reason, contemporary Christian YA fiction is a challenge to write. Readers of this genre—myself included—expect a godly story about believable characters, but in order for those characters to be believable, they have to be flawed.
And let’s face it, some of our flaws can be pretty ugly.
Foul language, impure thoughts, and killer grudges? Yeah, Christians struggle with those too. Christians are not exempt from lust, vanity and hate. So how can an author portray a character with real-life flaws without crossing into PG-13 (or worse) territory?
I believe author Jenny B. Jones has found that balance in the four books of hers that I’ve read.
Hi, I’m Lauren Thell, author of Christian YA fiction and blogger for teens who are ready to exceed the world’s expectations!
In This Article
Meet Jenny B. Jones
Jenny B. Jones (not to be confused with the children’s book series Junie B. Jones) is an author of romance, mystery,y and YA fiction. Her writing is witty, similar to mainstream YA author Kasie West’s, and she incorporates Biblical elements and Christian worldviews without making them feel stiff as a priest’s collar.
When it comes to Christian YA fiction, I like to see characters who acknowledge prayer, church, and Scripture as important tools to the Christian faith—even if they struggle to use them appropriately. Jenny weaves these elements into her characters’ lives in a way that fits and doesn’t make them seem like they’ve been “stuffed” into the story just to make it Christian.
Note that not all her books are YA, and not all are marketed as Christian. Even so, they fall easily into the category of “clean fiction” and would appeal to a broad audience that includes Christians.
The four I highlight below are both Christian and YA fiction.
There You’ll Find Me
Finley Sinclair arrives in Ireland with, to put it in cliche terms, a whole load of heavy baggage. She lost her brother in an act of terrorism, then spent a year going wild in an attempt to drown the pain. Now she has a chance at closure and an audition to prepare for.
Until Hollywood heartthrob Beckett Rush becomes the rock in her shoe that gives this story lots of twists. And Beckett has a few secrets of his own.
This book was made into a movie, Finding You, in 2020, and while it was cute, the book was way better in my opinion. (As are most books compared to their movie counterparts.) I definitely felt more connection to the book characters than the movie characters.
The Charmed Life Series
This series features Bella Kirkwood, a shopaholic diva who’s been transplanted from the heart of New York City to the heart of Oklahoma. I’m sure you can speculate why that would be a problem, but some of the troubles she gets into as a result will have you shaking your head. Bella has numerous flaws and she almost never does what I think she should do. And yet, I found myself sympathizing with her and rooting for her.
It helps that her editor and male counterpart Luke Sullivan has an arrogance that is both annoying and hot. (Bella would agree with me on that statement.)
The Charmed Life series includes three books: So Not Happening, I’m So Sure and So Over My Head. Don’t stop after the first book or you’ll never get a chance to meet quirky biker girl/pastor’s daughter Ruthie McGee!
You don’t have to have all the answers.
but, hey, why not?
Bring me your questions about faith, life, God, the Bible… and I’ll help you find the answers.
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