Rating: 
Summary: Timely and realistically written for young adults!
Review: Yolanda Callegari Brooks' debut novel is timely and realistically written for young adults. Her coming-of-age story about first love intertwined with family values is a delightful read for any age. Matriarch Olivia Shepherd has successfully raised her seven daughters after the tragic death of their father, her first love. Her one worry lies within her youngest daughter, Amani. All of her other daughters chose to have sex outside of marriage. Amani has now reached an age where life-altering decisions can be made in the heat of the moment. Seventeen year-old Amani falls in love for the first time with Marley "Miracle Man" Jamison, a star college basketball player. Both Christians, the young couple struggles with their fiery emotions and vows to practice abstinence. When Marley has a change of heart, he begins to pressure Amani to give in to temptation. Yolanda delivers a novel that tackles a subject prevalent in every young person's life. Parents and teens should grab this book to read. It is definitely an excellent starting point for a parent to approach and for family members to discuss sex and other pressures young adults eventually face.
Rating: 
Summary: A must read!
Review: Yolanda Callegari Brooks' modern day love story is brought to life by her beautifully poetic and descriptive prose. From the first pages to the last, the author skillfully drew me into the world of Amani and Marley with satisfying plot twists and a realistic mixture of peer pressure, family drama and the conflicts brought on when celibacy and Christianity meets young love and sexual awakening. Ms. Brooks' coming of age novel thoroughly explores each character as she cleverly brings to life the wide-ranging emotions of the diverse and multi-dimensional characters in First Love. I was hooked from the beginning and the ending was thoroughly satisfying. I can't wait for the next installment. This is a must read! I guarantee that you too will be left wanting more of Amani Shepard and more from Yolanda Callegari Brooks.
Rating:
Summary: FIRST LOVE: A story for all ages
Review: Yolanda did a great job of capturing and keeping my attention with the storyline. Her well written story can transcend all ages and racial backgrounds. I really enjoyed the way Yolanda displayed the personalities of Amani and Marley. I felt like I knew them. This novel took me back to my younger days because the characters and their issues were so realistic. This is definitly a book for all ages. Drama and humor with a christian undertone makes for great reading! I'm looking forward to Yolanda's next novel.
Rating:
Summary: I will SAVE myself for marriage
Review: Yolanda,
Your book was very inspirational. It changed the way I now look at life. For starters, I now want to save my self. I also don't look at little boys the same. You've got my friend Ericka out reading. She is happy now because she doesn't have to take reading next year. I'm happy for her. Now she just won't stop reading. She's reading other books too.
Ever since that book. I will never look at boys the same again. I mean now I learned that you can get pregnant, just by the first time. I've also learned that boys are not all the things that you would want them to be.
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