Today I’m going to review In Between by Jenny B. Jones. This is not a cover I created, even though it is absolutely scrumptious. It is a book I read this week and really enjoyed. I would categorize it as Young Adult Christian Fiction. It’s not really a romance or a mystery, but there is a smidgen of each in this book.

Our main character is Katie Parker, a soon to be foster kid whose mom is in prison and whose dad is AWOL. She’s learned to use sarcasm to get her through the tough spots. She’s conflicted about who she is and what her purpose is (aren’t we all??). After landing in the Scott home in In Between, Texas, she discovers that foster dad James is the pastor of the community church. Foster mom Millie works for the church as well and this environment introduces Katie to God for the first time in her life. Prayers before meals and church attendance are new encounters and Katie learns to navigate through those waters.

After a run in with the law, Katie is forced to dump her trouble making friends and makes a pledge to be a better person. Tutor Frances helps Katie with Algebra and life as she makes new friends at In Between High, home of the chihuahuas. Part of her punishment includes spending time with Millie’s mother, aka Mad Maxine and helping restore the vandalized art deco theater, Valiant.

Her adventure leads her through a faith building process, some matchmaking between Maxine and Sam, and discoveries about Amy, the absent Scott daughter. The action is quick and the story plays out as you would expect.

I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads, mostly because I couldn’t think of anything I didn’t like about this story. It was cute and fast paced, everything I think a YA novel should be. The author used a lot of teen-age phrasing but I liked the quirky nature it built for Katie’s personality. It is obviously setting the stage for the other stories in the series, and there are 3 more books in this series on Amazon. I received the book free through a BookBub campaign. You can find this book here on Amazon.