Review: God does not see the outward appearance of man
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 13, 2014
I read this book in one day, I couldn't put it down.  I cried through a good portion of it, the imagery hitting a little too close to home for comfort. That is how Staci writes, characters that you can either relate to or that resemble you so much that you can't help but become engrossed in the story.Rebecca is the invisible girl, the one who can be standing right there and you never even see.  She is the type of girl who can spill hot chocolate down your front and you forget what she looks like.  She believes that her only problem in life is her looks, if she was only beautiful, she would be happy, she would fit in.  Through the trials of this story we learn that almost everyone has insecurities and everyone has their own demons that cut us down to size, no matter what God made us look like on the outside. This book is a great way to learn a lesson in judgment, namely to not judge people based on outward appearance, but look to the heart, that is where the true person is.  This book does that in a completely non-judgmental way, which is just perfect.As I said, this book hit me where I live.  I was an invisible girl. I spent my childhood being the girl that was forgotten, that only a select few people were willing to be seen with. I used to dream about being beautiful, what it would be like to go out and have fun, or even just be included.  I had to beg for dances at school, I wanted so much to be pretty, to be liked, and like Rebecca in the story, I was SURE that if I was pretty, it would magically happen.  If I was pretty, they would stop teasing me, if I was pretty, they might invite me along. If I was pretty, they might like me. It took me until my Jr year in high school to learn that "fitting in" was not going to happen, and happiness had to come from somewhere other than others.  I threw myself into my local youth group and enjoyed two years of peace.  Then I went to college and everyone had boyfriends, I fell back into that old struggle. One day after being literally shoved off the path by some football players, who seemingly did not even notice, I gave my situation to God. My tears and my hurt were very real. I was done looking, done trying to fit in, done trying to be something I would never be, pretty.  Literally a month later, the most amazing man walked into my dorm room with a friend of mine, he has had my heart ever since. He not only sees me as pretty, but beautiful. The Word says we must die to the world to live, and that is what this book is telling you through a very bitter-sweet love story that touched my heart.