Book Review: I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris Written by:  Michael C.

Hi, this is Michael C., and you’re reading my book report on the wonderful and helpful book, “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” by Joshua Harris.  The author was once your typical dating male, until one two-year relationship was getting too complicated for him, and he had to bring it to a not-so-glorious close.  He wanted something better, and this book is about how he came to realize that God has something better for you in the future, if you turn down the temptations of the present.  Harris explains why dating is like “a swerving grocery cart that won’t go where you want it to” for Christians.  He points out that modern dating is about intimacy, and not commitment, but that intimacy was meant to be a reward of commitment, so he says that if you aren’t ready to make a lifelong commitment, you aren’t ready for intimacy.  Joshua also tells us that modern dating heads toward intimacy and also that in these modern teenage dating relationships, the two people involved in the relationship are lonely looking to please themselves, yet they are calling it “true love.”  According to the Bible, love is not selfish, but if you are only looking to please yourself, that is very selfish.  Harris also tells a story of someone he knew when he was younger (he was 21 years old when he was writing the book) who had a girlfriend and claimed that he had “never loved anyone more than her.”  And in a few short years, that same guy was getting married, and it was to a different girl whom he claimed he had “never loved anyone more than her.”  Harris claims that short term dating can carry on into a person’s marriage like a habit, causing separation and possibly a divorce when something goes wrong.  But true love keeps no record of wrongs, which contradicts the theory in marriage, “if something goes wrong, file for divorce.”  He also tells stories of successful marriages, like the couple who didn’t even hold hands until they had gotten married.  They had waited for any intimate relationship, and what they got on their wedding day was more special than anything in the whole world.
      You say you don’t need the book because you don’t date?  Well, has anyone ever asked you why in the world you don’t date, but you just couldn’t come up with anything but “Well, I, uh, I...I just don’t!”  There is a chapter in the book for people like you called “You don’t date?  What are you, nuts?——What to say to people when they ask why you don’t date.”  I found that to be a very helpful chapter, because I found myself in the same situation when I was in public school being hounded by a girl crazy guy that kept saying “Hey, c’mon!  How on EARTH can you LIVE without a girl?!  C’mon, whaddya say?  Name any girl, I can hook ya up with her!  Hey man, c’mon…..”
      So basically this great book touches base with everyone from daters to non-daters.  My rating for this book on a scale of one to ten would be 11.  You can find it in any Christian bookstore or regular bookstore such as Books a Million, or you could order from a Christian company like Christian Book Distributors.  I recommend this book to everyone.

The Hardy Boys:  What Happened at Midnight By:  Franklin W. Dixon Reviewed by Peyton J.

Frank and Joe Hardy receive an unusual assignment from their detective father.  They are to “break into” the house of a Bayport neighbor, Malcome Wright, and retrieve a top secret invention that the scientist had hidden in his study before leaving Carolina.  The invention is in danger of being stolen, and the boys race against time to beat the thieves at their own game.

      The young detectives soon discover that they are involved in a mystery far greater in scope than just retrieving the invention.  The investigations put them on the trail of a dangerous criminal gang of jewel thieves and smugglers.  When Joe is kidnapped, the is incident starts Frank on a chase that  almost ends disastrously for him and his pals. 

        I like this book because there are things that make a mystery so wonderful.  It has mystery, danger, and most of all, suspense that will leave you on the edge of your seat for all hours of the day.