That was then-- - Melody Carlson

This Is Now


It’s Kim’s senior year and, while everyone’s looking forward to graduation, she’s got so much going on she can barely make it through the day. Natalie, pregnant with Benjamin O’Conner’s baby, believes it’s God’s will for them to marry, and Ben sees it as his Christian responsibility to do so. Major red flag? He doesn’t love her. Then–surprise! Kim’s birth mother in Korea sends her an intriguing letter, making Kim question her reluctance to get to know another “mom.” And what about Maya? Is God calling Kim and her father to open their hearts and home to Kim’s biracial cousin whose mother was just sentenced to five years in state prison? Kim has been through so much already, but that was then … Does she have enough faith for now?

Saturday, November 11


I’ve talked to Nat twice this week. But only on the phone. Both times she just glossed over what happened last weekend. She told me everything was “fine.” But without any details. It was the kind of reassurance that isn’t reassuring at all. I know she’s covering something up.


That was then...Kim Peterson has had a lot going on the past few years: writing a teen advice column, finding a new faith, dating and breaking up for the first time, losing her mom to cancer...Kim has learned to turn it all over to God day by day, relying on Him like she never has before.


Now Kim’s best friend, Nat, is pregnant and soon to be married to Ben O’Conner, Caitlin’s younger brother. Nat is starry-eyed, believing that once she and Ben are married, God will bless them and everything will work out because they’re doing the right thing. Kim’s not so sure. Is marriage the only solution for two seventeen-year-olds with a baby on the way? Why won’t they consider adoption? Kim knows about that firsthand–and is about to find out even more…


Reader’s guide included


Story Behind the Book

“In book four, Kim’s life is still shadowed by the loss of her mother, but her faith is deepening. My best friend lost her mother to cancer in high school, and I was very involved in counseling, encouraging, and praying with my friend as she worked through her grief. That experience helped me write Kim’s story from an insider’s perspective.” – Melody Carlson