It is Mac’s turn to tell the story as she invites all the girls to spend Christmas with her Dad in Scotland at their castle. Mac soon discovers though it is difficult to balance her new friends with her old friends as she jumps back and forth between her two lives. Her new friends are Christians, are polite, work hard, have fun, and are there for each other. While her old friends seem put out that Mac isn’t spending all her time with them, treat her new friends rudely, and perhaps aren’t the people Mac thought.

Besides dealing with being torn between two worlds Mac is also trying to get her parents to realize that their divorce was a mistake, plan a huge party, and get Alasdair’s eye. But nothing can prepare her for the shocking news about the fate of her family’s castle. And after she makes a horrible mistake Mac puts her friend Shani in the spotlight for the tabloids. Pulling together with her other friends Carly, Lissa, and Gillian, Shani demonstrates to Mac what being a Christian means and for the first time Mac beings to take her religion to the next level. After everything is said and done one thing is for sure this is a holiday none of them will forget.

I have not read the previous stories in this series; but I was not lost. The story feels honest and I can see how it could connect with young adult readers. Mac has her flaws. She is cocky, self centered, and often doesn’t think about how someone else will feel before acting; yet in some ways this makes her character real. She is still a teen and learning as she goes. Throughout the story she does suffer the consequences of some of her actions while others go unnoticed.

Her other friends are obviously Christian so I do not know how strongly that comes through in the other books. In this one it is brought up randomly here and there as Mac takes note of certain actions her friends take or comments they make. It is not until closer to the end of the story that Mac really starts putting any thought into the subject. By the end you get the feeling that she is going to start really thinking more about how she handles religion.

Now if you just jump into the series like I did you may be a slight bit confused on one small detail. It seems in a previous book something happened with Mac, Carly, and her half brother. The details about the event are never fully given as it is casually mentioned in passing; but it is mentioned numerous times. I would suggest starting at the beginning with “It’s All About Us” (Tiding Of Great Boys is the 5th book in the series).

A few things that keep this book from getting a higher grade. First is that while there are events and issues that many teens can relate too (not lying, sticking together, friendship, and love) there are some that I’m not so sure many adults let alone teens can relate too. Things like tabloids, movie premieres, dealing with royal families & princes, castles, flying to other countries, etc. Second issue I have is how much name dropping there is with brands of purses, dresses, shoes, etc. There is just so much emphasis put on material items and money, granted by the end of the story there is less so as many feel the impact of the economy; but it just seemed oddly placed and almost like bragging that the author knew the names of these things.

But even with those few issues I can see younger teen to pre-teen girls getting wrapped into the series. Based off of this book the religious tones are light enough for those that may not be religious to still enjoy the story but present enough for those that are religious to feel a connection. Wasn’t too bad of a read for me and it is meant for those much younger than I.