Stealing Bradford (Carter House Girls, Book 2) | 
 enlarge | Author: Melody Carlson
Publisher: Zondervan
Category: Book
List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $4.53
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Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 258702
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 0310714893
EAN: 9780310714897
ASIN: 0310714893
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: Brand new book, may contain a publishers closeout mark across the edge of the page. ships next business day. We are a Christian family owned ministry. If it doesn't glorify Jesus Christ, we don't sell it! We value each and every order we get because we know each item can change a life and a changed life can change the world!
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Product Description
The Carter House girls are divided when two of them go after the same guy. Rhiannon and Taylor are at serious odds, and before it’s over several girls get hurt.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A series that only gets better July 24, 2008
STEALING BRADFORD is the fast-paced follow-up to Melody Carlson's MIXED BAGS, the first book in the Carter House Girls series, and it doesn't lose a beat or its momentum.
Beginning the morning after the party where she was dissed by boyfriend Connor, and then does some real soul-searching and invites Christ into her heart and life, DJ wakes up anxious for her first day at Crescent Cove High School. Getting ready, she deals with a jumbled-up mess of emotions and confusion about what just transpired between her and Connor the previous evening. Why did he reject her? Didn't he care? Is he interested in the high-strung, flirtatious Taylor now? Suddenly, DJ remembers Rhiannon's words to pray when you're in trouble and don't know what to do. So she does --- in the car on the way to school --- and can't believe that, despite the troublesome circumstances, she has peace inside her heart.
Too bad the entire first day of school isn't such smooth sailing for her. DJ sees Connor, who abruptly excuses himself from her company. Lunch brings extra tension to the situation when DJ feels his rejection more keenly than ever and runs out of the cafeteria. As she retreats the emotional scene, DJ prays some more and tries to settle down. Ironically, God gives her plenty of opportunity for distraction from her own problems by offering her immediate challenges to love her friends (and enemies) in numerous practical ways.
First, roomie Casey, with her Goth/Punk look, is receiving the wrong kind of attention at school. Not only does she get pushed into a locker, she is about to get beaten up while trying to sneak a smoke. DJ thinks fast and saves Casey from a real physical assault that finally begins to thaw the ice between the two former best friends. Feeling somewhat better after making a small impact on Casey, DJ is then thrown into the middle of another relational battleground --- this time between the snooty Taylor and DJ's Christian friend Rhiannon, and Rhiannon's boyfriend, Bradford.
DJ must draw her own battle lines and try to get others to see past their own personal perspectives while she tries to figure out what she believes is right in this tangled trio of lost and newfound love. She does the noble thing and changes rooms at Carter House, saving Rhiannon from having to room with Taylor after Bradford breaks up with Rhiannon. In typical DJ style, she confronts Taylor and the two hash it out. Trying to see both sides is almost a full-time job for DJ, and she is relieved when she and Connor do their own "hashing it out" and work out their differences. Still, others at Carter House are not so forgiving. And when Taylor's MySpace page gets sabotaged with soft porn, she disappears. Now DJ and the girls must figure out where Taylor is, who is to blame, and what to do next.
With its believable dialogue and highly comical teen situations, Carlson's readers will eager await book three in the Carter House Girls series.
--- Reviewed by Michele Howe
 Fair trial precedes good judgment...even when it comes to Stealing Bradford July 2, 2008
Exactly how does someone steal a boyfriend? Doesn't the guy have complete control over who gets his heart no matter how alluring the temptation? That's precisely Taylor's point. The classic mean girl with an attitude kick starts a series of lessons we can all learn. I confess I jumped to the same conclusion as DJ when Bradford showed up to watch a movie at Carter House. Falsely accused, Taylor had it right. Things aren't always what they seem, and it's wrong and dangerous to make prejudiced assumptions. To DJ's credit, as she steps forward to walk out her faith, did seek out the truth and have the humility to apologize.
Friendship and compassion take on deeper dimensions as Stealing Bradford invites the Carter Girls to look beyond the surface and embrace the true beauty hidden behind the mask. Both Goth Girl Casey and Terrible Taylor find safety and support as they open up and reveal the aching heart they've been covering. Tucked beneath the layers of protective competition, stay-away-from-me facade, and putting your best face forward are lessons only life can teach. The girls learn through bittersweet experience that manipulating a situation can backfire, mercy and forgiveness make friendship grow, fair trial precedes good judgment, you never know the pain someone is hiding, revenge is not sweet, and taking things to God takes the pressure off of you.
When some trashy but phony pictures of Taylor flash across the internet, things take a dramatic twist and the moment of truth surfaces for the girls as they team up to find the disappearing diva en route to who knows where on her motorcycle in the rain...
Stealing Bradford leaves you hanging onto a thread of hope while dangling at the edge of a cliff squinting to catch the slightest glimpse of what will happen next. To find out, stay tuned for Book 3, Homecoming Queen coming Sept 19.
2nd books in series more YA drama June 17, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Stealing Bradford by Melody Carlson is the second book in the Carter House Girls series. The personalities of the girls have been well established in the first book, now we get to see how they react to high school. Rhiannon and long time boyfriend Bradford seem perfect for each other until Taylor sets her sights on him, setting up the title of the book. When they split up, all of the other girls of Carter House set their sights on bringing Taylor down. Taylor is an over-the-top witch with a b, but as DJ spends more time with her, her vulnerability begins to show through, and it forces DJ to step forward in her faith. DJ's growing faith is refreshing and makes a nice addition to the series. Because she didn't grow up in a Christian home, everything about Christianity is new to her, and some of the toughest lessons for teens (or anyone): judge not, lest ye be judged, and love your neighbors and your enemies are struggles for her. My one disappointment for this book was the ending. Having recently read I Heart Bloomberg, I was surprised to find that Carlson had used an almost identical plot device in that book. While the two books have different audiences, it's not a good practice for an author.
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