Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy
Theme: Leslie openly and honestly addresses the issues teenage girls face today. She focuses on the value of inner beauty that is centered on a Christ-focused relationship. She uses many personal examples and shares about the vulnerable place young girls are faced with in regards to their bodies and how they relate to the opposite sex.
Target Age: 8th – 12th grade
Leslie begins Authentic Beauty by sharing her struggle with acceptance in both middle school and high school. She creates a bond with the reader by discussing the battle we all face in regards to our outward appearance and our need for love. All too often we fill our lives with the praise of our friends and family instead of first finding that praise with our Heavenly Father. In a world where many girls seek determinedly after their prince, we are lost if we forget that the greatest Prince we can find is Jesus Christ.
Authentic Beauty shares the honest truth with girls that our true beauty is found when we are set apart for God. This lifestyle is found when we allow our selfish pride and sin-infested heart to be cleansed lily white by our Prince. All too often the world tells us that because of mistakes we've made in the past we can never be lily white or pure again. Scripture tells us a much different story. Our purity is found in the blood of Jesus when he died for us on the cross.
Leslie also spends time focusing on how to make our inner beauty shine for Christ by spending time in his word and removing distractions from our life. She encourages her reader to stand strong and not compromise for popularity with the world. A set apart woman must choose God first above all other things. Leslie urges young ladies to wait patiently for the man God has for them. While we wait. we are not to fill our mind with dreams of what he might be, but we are to focus on Christ. Then at the appointed time our prince will be revealed.
Authentic Beauty truly communicates a desire for young women to be found beautiful in the eyes of their Savior. It is a challenge and a joy to read because it makes you long for your true Prince, Jesus Christ.
