Today, I’m really excited to share with you Chasing Secrets, the newest release by Kim Moss. I had the privilege of reading an earlier version, and I’m reading the final version right now, and it’s even tighter and more amazing.

But first, some introductions:

About the Author:

Kim Moss is a wife, mother, teacher, and author ….and now a blogger! She lives in Dallas, Texas with  a very amazing husband and two young “super hero” boys who inspire her daily.  She’s been writing ever since she could hold a pencil.  She actually wrote her first YA novel on a yellow legal pad in junior high school, and she hasn’t stopped writing since!  She is a teacher by day, and a novelist by night. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family in the great outdoors.

About the Book

Some say he’s a dead end. To her, he’s an escape. An detour from decisions and doubts.

If she takes his hand, there may be no turning back.
What Bailey thought would be her perfect senior year has turned into the perfect mess. Nothing has gone according to plan. Her relationship with her new stepmom is strained. Her long-distance relationship has her tied to the phone, and the new guy in school is taking over her job as senior editor of the newspaper. To top it all off, the one person she knows she should probably stay away from is the one she can’t stop thinking about.
Just like the wheels on his motorcycle, Liam Garrett’s life is spinning out of control. Ever since his dad went to prison, he’s been lost. A loner by nature, Liam has a hard time making friends at his new school. His job as co-editor of the yearbook places him at odds with the one person he feels connected to. And when a fatal hit-and-run rocks this small town, Liam feels more alone than ever, stuck in the prison of his own secrets.
A chance meetings one morning sets these two on an unexpected path, chasing secrets that could change everything. Without her compass, will Bailey be able to navigate this uncharted territory, or will she get lost in it?

This is actually book 3 in the Bailey Baxter series. You can read more about books 1 and 2 here and read my review here.

The Bailey Baxter series, Leaving Nelson, My Summer Storm, and Chasing Secrets are all available on Amazon.

My Recommendation

Those who know me know that I don’t read or like many contemporary books, especially contemporary teen books. Often, contemporary teen books try so hard to be modern and hip, even Christian teen books, that I couldn’t even connect with them when I was a teenager.

The Bailey Baxter series by Kim Moss is one of the few contemporary Christian YA stories that I really love. It manages to portray the life of a conservative Christian teenager without feeling stodgy, stifling, or sanitized. The characters and their lives feel real because the characters are living the struggle that many Christian teenagers face. It isn’t perfect. The characters aren’t perfect. Their lives aren’t perfect.

Chasing Secrets picks up right where My Summer Storm left off. Bailey and Bryce are in their senior year of high school and they are trying to make a long distance relationship work. Bailey is also adjusting to the changes in her own family now that Sarah is her stepmom instead of her teacher and confidant. Bailey had finally moved on after her mother’s death, and now it seems like Sarah is replacing her. And then there’s the new kid Liam who is taking Bailey’s place in school on the yearbook committee.

Of all the series so far, this one is by far the most intense. Bailey faces some tough situations in the book, and sometimes her decisions make her already tough situation even tougher. But they are realistic decisions, and the decisions I can imagine making as a high school senior in her situation.

There is kind of a love triangle thing going on, but it isn’t the form where a girl is intentionally leading on two guys because she can’t make a choice. The love triangle comes from a hurting girl trying to find someone to comfort her. We’ve all pushed people away when we’re hurting. We’ve all done stupid things when facing grief. And that’s exactly what Bailey does. She isn’t mature enough to handle her grief while maintaining a long distance relationship, and it causes her to look elsewhere for comfort.

Like the other books in the series, the Christian aspect is there, but done with a light touch. It doesn’t get overwhelming and certainly not preachy. It feels very authentic to how faith looks like in the real world, and that’s something that’s difficult to pull off in fiction.

I loved this latest additional to the Bailey Baxter series, and, thanks to the semi-cliffhanger at the end, I’m dying to read book 4!

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

What about you? Do you ever read contemporary Christian YA? Why or why not?