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Summary
Summary
In the fourth book in the 'Nama Beach series from bestselling author Nancy Rue, Laura Duffy faces her toughest challenge yet when her archnemesis accuses Duffy and her guidance counselor of forcing Jesus into their public school. And just when Duffy needs her best friends the most, they seem to scatter and leave her questioning if she actually did something wrong.
For Laura Duffy, the only things that have made her junior year at Panama Beach High bearable are her group of best friends (the BFFs), and her guidance counselor, Mrs. Isaacson, the one who brought the BFFs into her life. So when Mrs. I is accused of forcing her faith on the kids she counsels and is placed on leave, and Duffy's friends begin distancing themselves to avoid being caught in the aftermath, everything falls apart. As the school administration begins an official investigation, and the girl behind it ramps up her defamation campaign against Mrs. I and the BFFs, Duffy is determined to make her voice known and proclaim the truth. Unfortunately, her actual voice no longer works. And the new guy who's entered her life seems intent on keeping Duffy's mind on anything but saving Mrs. I.
Totally Unfair:
is part of the 'Nama Beach series, which also includes New Girl in Town, False Friends and True Strangers, and Fault Lines combines contemporary plotlines and realistic issues with Christian values is perfect for fans of Melody Carlson and Robin Jones GunnAuthor Notes
Nancy Rue is an award-winning author. She majored in English at Stetson University and earned her master's degree in education at the College of William and Mary. Rue earned a degree in theatre from the University of Nevada, Reno, after eleven years of teaching English. She and husband Jim founded the Nevada Children's Theatre.
Rue is the author of adult titles the Sullivan Crisp Series and The Reluctant Prophet Series, as well as Antonia's Choice, Pascal's Wager, and Tristan's Gap. She is also the author of numerous children's and young adult novels.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Excerpts
Excerpts
chapterone I was feeling good about my sweet self. My BFFs or "Best Friends Forever"--according to my sister Bonnie who was six and knew all--were looking at me like I'd just led them to Olympic gold or something. Okay, I admit--I pretty much felt that way too. Because there they were--Celeste, Stevie, Joy Beth, and Trent--all with bags the size of carry-on luggage under their eyes and hair that hadn't been washed in two days. Who shampoos at a retreat? But their eyes were shining and their expressions were noble, almost responsible--not something I saw in any of our 16-year-old faces that often. "Can you believe every single person made the pledge?" I said. "Yeah, baby, yeah, baby, yeah, baby--yeah!" That, of course, came from Celeste, who had been straight-faced and principled as long as the rest of the youth group was there. But the minute they went off to pack for home, the freckles across her constantly sunburned face started dancing, and that real-to-the-marrow smile stretched from one dangly rhinestone earring to the other. Only Celeste would wear faux diamonds with a backward ball cap and plaid boxers. And only Celeste could get away with it. She fl ipped that blond ponytail the way she did everything else--with total comfort inside her own skin. Stevie, my other best girlfriend, just sat there and smiled. I knew she was recovering from all the high fi ves and hugs she'd received from the guys in the group before they'd dragged themselves away. Her luscious tousle of highlighted tresses and her deep brown eyes--as well as absolutely everything else about her petite, Latina-fl avored self--were impossible for guys to resist. Me, on the other hand, they had no problem resisting. "Duffy," Celeste said to me. "Read it out loud." Trent raised his chin from the top of Joy Beth's head where he'd been resting it and scrunched up his very-small-for-a-big-guy mouth. "She's already read it three times." "No stinkin' way!" Celeste said. Her Brooklyn accent was fully operational. "Where was I?" Joy Beth grunted. That was her answer to just about everything. Her swimmer's shoulders and her gray-eyed laser gaze created a presence that said it all. "You were either in the kitchen scavenging," Stevie said, "or changing the spark plugs on Pastor Ennis's car." "Did I hear my name?" said Pastor Ennis as he passed through with a package of trash bags. "She jumped my battery." He turned his head, shiny to the receding hairline, toward Celeste and added, "Do you change spark plugs?" "I can be your full-service mechanic, Pastor," Celeste said. She whipped her face toward me, her freckles still doing the cha-cha. "Just read it again, Duffy. I want to hear how awesome it sounds one more time." It really was a big deal. Our youth group had only been in existence for a couple of months. And although we'd gone from eight members to fi fteen in that time, we were still tiny compared to the megachurches in Panama Beach. But there was nothing small about our voices--as we'd shown through our rowdy-'til-dawn pillow fi ghts two nights in a row and, better yet, by the pledge. "Do it, Duff," Celeste said. I turned to the giant sticky note on which Stevie had written the pledge. She was a former cheerleader. Cheerleaders could make posters in their sleep. "Okay," I said. "Here's what we've pledged to do," and I read it to them one more time. I will be part of the solution for ending hatred in my generation. I will not harbor any kind of suspicion about people just because they are different from me. I will not tear them down. I will speak up when other people are showing their ignorance. I will be sensitive to the hearts of others--even those who seem to have no hearts at all. I will be strong in my mission to set an example of a caring person and never let my lack of understanding hurt another human being. I know I can't do this alone. I will continually ask God for his strength and wisdom, empowering my whole generation to stop the hatred. I will pray for those who hate--for only then can I truly be like God's Son. Stevie grinned at the BFFs. "And all God's people said--" "Amen!" It was a pretty impressive response. And it should have been. I was hoarse from doing it about 20 times over the weekend; we'd amened everything from tacos to "Let's hit the beach." That and all the singing-- which I loved--had practically given me laryngitis. "You really think everybody's going to stick to it?" Trent said. "You obviously don't," Stevie said. Joy Beth gave Trent a "love punch" on the arm. "He will." "I'm not talking about me," Trent insisted. "I'm talking about some of the other guys. They're saying they don't want to preach in the locker room--you know, make fools of themselves." "Who said they had to make fools of themselves?" I said. "Do they think I'm gonna do that?" "You did get your jaw broken, Duffy," Celeste said. "And your car stolen--" "They just don't want to hand out pamphlets or pray in the lunch line," Trent said. "Hello!" Celeste said. "Who said we were going to do that?" "I think it's a valid concern." Stevie was also in student government, which meant she had experience with these kinds of heated discussions. "But they don't have to do any of that. And how would we know if they did or didn't anyway? They don't even go to our school." That was true--they all attended Cove Christian School, a private academy. "The pledge just says we're going to try to be more decent than most people," Stevie said. "We can help them with that," Celeste said. "Absolutely," Stevie said. YOU two can help them, I thought. I was glad to have Celeste and Stevie around at times like this. I was Duffy the Responsible One, the Leader, the Girl Who Could Always Get You out of Trouble Because She Was So Good. But I didn't have a gift for stopping male coronary function with a toss of my hair. Let me just clarify that I wasn't drop-dead ugly or anything. I had sort-of brown, sort-of red hair that was thick, shoulder length, and didn't frizz too much (except when the Florida humidity got higher than the temperature). I wore contacts, so my brown eyes weren't hidden behind glasses, and people said I had a nice smile--although it was shiny with braces. Actually, those metal wires and brackets were going to be things of the past come Monday. I'd had a couple of boyfriends since I moved to Panama Beach last fall-- Excerpted from Totally Unfair by Nancy N. Rue, Nancy Rue All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.Table of Contents
| Chapter 1 p. 5 |
| Chapter 2 p. 13 |
| Chapter 3 p. 21 |
| Chapter 4 p. 27 |
| Chapter 5 p. 35 |
| Chapter 6 p. 45 |
| Chapter 7 p. 49 |
| Chapter 8 p. 57 |
| Chapter 9 p. 63 |
| Chapter 10 p. 73 |
| Chapter 11 p. 85 |
| Chapter 12 p. 91 |
| Chapter 13 p. 99 |
| Chapter 14 p. 107 |
| Chapter 15 p. 113 |
| Chapter 16 p. 119 |
| Chapter 17 p. 125 |
| Chapter 18 p. 133 |