6. Live Original by Sadie Robertson
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Sadie Robertson-star of A&E’s Duck Dynasty and daughter of Willie and Korie Robertson-shares her outlook on life as she opens up about herself and the values that make her family what it is. Sadie Robertson represents everything that a well-adjusted teenager should be, even while growing up in the spotlight on Duck Dynasty. She exhibits poise, respect for her family and friends, and a faith that influences her choices. Everyone wants to know how a family as eclectic as the Robertsons are raising such confident, fun, family-loving kids. With this book, Sadie sheds light on the values instilled by her family that make her the person she is. Sadie lives by a simple list of principles that lead her to personal and spiritual growth and allow the relationships she has with her friends and family to flourish. These values include think happy, be happy; dream big; shake the hate; do something; and many more.
My Review:
I want to start out by saying that I'm not a fan of Duck Dynasty. I've seen a few episodes and it just isn't to my liking - nothing to do with their Christian lifestyle by the way. I got to know Sadie when she danced with Mark Ballas on Season 19 of Dancing With the Stars and ended up liking her because of her personality and staying true to her values.
In a time when being a Christian/Catholic is not easy, it amazes me to know that some people stay true to their faith and values despite the adversity they face, just like Sadie does. Sadie does a good job at sharing how her faith in God helps guide her through her teenage years. The teen years can be pretty rough, especially for girls. Sadie does give some great advice for getting through those challenging times. It didn't come across as being over preachy, but in some situations, it went over the top just a little.
Some of the things mentioned were repeated in different ways throughout the book and it was just using simple and basic language. Since Sadie is only a teen, there are still lots of challenges that she has yet to face. The only thing that I didn't like was that it came across as in Sadie believing that all teens are raised like she was most of her life. And unfortunately, that's not quite true. Yes, there are a lot of devout Christian families out there, kids included, who live exceptional lives as to God's lifestyle, so to say. I have no problems with that, but at the same time, you have to take into consideration and show compassion to the way others have grown up. It does sometimes takes people a while to put God first in their life and you have to be respectful of that as well.
Sadie said over and over again how she chooses to be happy regardless of what's going on, even through the tough times. That certainly isn't easy. While I agree that choosing to be happy (or hiding the fact that you're going through a hard time) is necessary in a way, it is also okay to have those bad days. Being sad and upset (this doesn't mean anger) it's normal to show those emotions as well. She does give advice to keeping emotions in check, like anger and jealousy, because people tend to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing when they feel that way.
This is a great book for tweens and teens alike. I appreciated the scripture quotes throughout the story. It just underwhelmed me a little bit as a whole. What I liked the most about this book was that it encourages you to be you, so live original.
Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!
Meg
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