DNF – A Summer of Dandelions by Whitney Amazeen
Lots of thoughts here so buckle in!
I normally do not rate or review DNFs, but because I read 62% and had significant concerns with how biblical themes and moral issues were handled, I wanted to share why this was not a good fit for me based on the 62% that I did read…
My biggest issue was the way the Christian themes were handled. Faith felt very far in the background, while choices and behaviors that I personally do not believe line up with a Christian worldview were presented in a way that felt too casual and normal for me. Because of that, the story felt off to me the more I read.
There were several moments that especially didn’t sit right with me. Early on, the fake dating setup included the idea that they basically needed to kiss or make out(with tongue specifically) in order for people to believe the relationship, which immediately gave me pause. There were also multiple scenes involving drinking, even after it was made clear early in the book that Addison did not really drink. The way those moments were written felt careless rather than convicting.
Another major issue for me was the way Perry’s faith was portrayed. He is described as a Christian, but his attitude toward physical intimacy felt completely inconsistent with that. When the two nearly crossed lines physically, his confusion at her wanting to stop felt very off-putting to me. On top of that, Addison’s concern in that situation seemed centered more on the possibility of pregnancy affecting her goals than on the moral weight of what they were doing. That really solidified for me that this book was not going to work.
I do think difficult topics can be written about in Christian fiction, and I am not saying books need to avoid real struggles. But for me, those topics need to be handled in a way that reflects biblical conviction, and this one just did not. Instead, it felt like behavior that should have carried spiritual weight was treated way too lightly!
Bottom Line:
There were several scenes involving physical boundaries, drinking, and moral decision-making that I felt were not handled with the kind of biblical conviction I was hoping for. I know that nobody is even close to perfect and I do believe Christian fiction can address hard or messy topics, but for me, it needs to do so in a way that clearly reflects truth and conviction. This book just did not do that in a way I could connect with
Because of that, this book was not a good fit for me personally.
🤬: None
🌶️: Very descriptive kissing(they don’t end up sleeping together but leading up to that is very descriptive and leaves little to the imagination)
DNF – ⭐️
