Melody Carlson is AWESOME! She writes from the heart, and she writes for the teens. I love her work, both her adult books and her YA novels. And, this Never Been Kissed novel is by far the best one by her yet. She takes a combination of YA issues, sexting (child pornography), suicide, trusting in God, lies,being popular, bullying and boys and raps them up into one incredible, major impacting novel that will help ANY young lady through any number of issues.

Meeting Elise was a fun experience. What happened to her-I won't go into major detail for fear of spoilers!- wasn't fun, but seeing the strong, tender hearted young woman who was dealing with MAJOR issues, issues that 16 year olds should NOT have to go through, I felt like her big sister. I prayed for her through this story and became quite up set with some of the other characters in this book. But, through Melody Carlson, she HAD to have those characters along side her or this story wouldn't be worth reading, and wouldn't have the same impact on young adults.

This is a novel that I think should have more than 5 stars for it's powerful, powerful messages. It's PERFECT for EVERY young lady in high school to show how serious the issues I mentioned really are. Reality meets fiction in this HIGHLY recommended young adult novel and if you have a teen aged girl who loves to read in your life, then please, don't hesitate to get this book for her. She will not only learn a lesson, but will fall in love with Melody Carlson's work, as Carlson puts God as the center of EVERY book but yet hits home with real life issues in teens.

I honestly feel like teenagers have a much more difficult time than they did when I was a teenager. It seems like the pressure is so much higher than it was twenty years ago and with the internet, cell phone, and text messages, that pressure can follow us everywhere we go. I just can't imagine with me being the awkward teenager I was and having to deal with all of that.

I think Elise's story in Never Been Kissed is one that is happening to teenagers every day, and it is quite sad. Elise was an easy girl for me to like. She just wanted to fit in, to make friends and just have a normal teenage life. She was a good kid who made some poor decisions and I found myself wanting to reach into the pages and shake her because I could see disaster coming and I felt so bad for her. I had a great appreciation for how despite what she was going through, Elise was able to remember her faith and finally lean on God to help her. That is an important lesson for all teenagers.

I think that Melody Carlson is a very responsible author because she not only used Never Been Kissed to deliver a powerful Christian message; she also used to deliver a public service message about the importance of safety on the internet. There are so many ways a kid can get hurt online and Melody's message will hit home with parents and teenagers. Never Been Kissed is a good story. It reads fast and should be read by every teenager.

This book was amazing!! Had a great great great message and it really teaches youth a lesson in being careful with technology! One of the best books I have ever read by Melody Carlson!

Well first of all I would like to say is MELODY CARLSON is amazing I love her book this one (never been kissed) is one of my favourites I have read it two times I an fixing be 14 and melody carlson is the only book author I read from I LOVE all her books that I have read so fair none of the are boring! They are all interesting, fun to read, they open a new kind of imagination if you havnt read or heard about her I say u need to check her out amazing!!

Never Been Kissed by Melody Carlson will be the first book to make my best fiction of 2011 list. It was a fabulous novel, very well-written, and if I could give it ten stars I honestly would. Not just because it deals with relevant and important topics for young people today, but because it exposes the danger that can come from seemingly small lies. And the pain caused from being harassed by peers.

I loved that the author brought everything full circulate and wrapped up the story with a very satisfying ending. Of course, I can't tell you what happened or it would be a spoiler. I can say that I'd love to see another story about Elise that explores her senior year in high school, since for her the eleventh grade started out as a train wreck.

I loved how the spiritual thread was neatly woven into the story, and it was not overpowering, contrived, or sappy sounding. I loved how realistic the main character's thought were, especially the ones rationalizing her behavior and contemplating ways to get away from the painful situation. The secondary characters were awesome as well. They were very well developed for such a short book.

This is one of the best YA books I've ever read. It seems like the last three YA novels written by Melody Carlson and published by Revell have been fabulous. The other titles were Anything But Normal and Just Another Girl. The author nailed teen thoughts and emotions very well in all three books. While I have to say that I truly adored the other two stories, this one is probably my favorite.

The bottom line for me - Elise was more realistically portrayed than most YA fiction. I loved that the point of view for this story was written in the first person present tense. I empathized with her as a young person and understood her feelings better as a result. Her mother's reaction was harsh, but totally believable. I could see it happening just the way it played out. Honestly, I didn't want to do anything except read this book, which for me isn't good right now due to my own deadlines. But I kept reading. It was that enthralling. I can't wait to see what Melody comes up with for Revell next. I am totally hooked.