A walk through the teen section of
a local bookstore opened Kristin
Billerbeck’s eyes to the sexuality
and dark supernatural nature of the
books available for teen girls.
“I wanted something that would
address what it feels like to be
different in high school,” the
author says, “but a heroine
confident enough to know she was
making the right choices.”
Best known for her quirky
romantic comedies, Kristin brings
those talents to the young adult
market with her Universally Misunderstood
series for Revell
Books. Her heroine, Daisy Crispin,
feels out of place at the posh
Christian school she attends, and
homemade clothes, overprotective
parents and no social life only add
to the disconnect. “The one thing
I have in common with Daisy,”
Kristin says, “is being the poorer
girl in a school of rich kids with
designer clothes.”
In book three of
the series, Perfectly
Ridiculous, Daisy’s post-high school vacation in
Argentina changes into
a mission trip to fulfill
a scholarship requirement,
and her parents
insist on coming along.
“I have one tween
girl and three teenage
boys,” Kristin shares.
“I think the hardest
transition [to writing
for young adults] was
trying to be ‘cool’ in
fiction when my kids
think I’m the biggest nerd ever! I just didn’t want to
use words like ‘groovy’ while trying to appeal to the
younger generation.”
Whether she’s writing for teens or adults, Kristen’s
focus, however, remains the same. “The heart of my
books is building confidence in girls and women to
follow their heart and listen to God—not the crowd.
Everyone has that experience where all of your family
and friends believe one way and you know in your gut
that it’s another path you must take. I want to build
confidence in girls and women to be that warrior
for God.”
This article originally appeared in the October/November 2012 issue of FamilyFiction Edge digital magazine. Subscribe for free today!