Madison Chase’s holiday break is drawing to a close and she’s eager to leave the gray Washington winter and join her Aunt Sid on a warm vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Maddie is pleasantly surprised when her good friend Ryan McIntire shows up to enjoy the trip with them, and she looks forward to spending time with him. But when Ryan runs into his high school crush, the beautiful Shelby Wagner, Maddie’s jealousy threatens to spoil their sun-drenched days. Unsure of her relationship with Ryan, Maddie distracts herself by befriending a local girl, Francesca Tarrago, who is both intelligent and hardworking but lives in deep poverty. As Maddie does what she can to help Francesca, she discovers a secret that Shelby has been keeping from all of them. Can Maddie put aside her conflicted feelings and love Shelby enough to help her? This third book in the Notes from a Spinning Planet series invites young women to the romantic beaches of Mexico to explore a love deeper than simple affection and the meaning of true sacrifice.

I have to wonder–if the AIDS crisis in Papua New Guinea is so hopeless, what difference will it make whether Aunt Sid writes a good story about it or not? What difference will it make that I’m here with her? I ask God to do something miraculous for both of us in this third world country. I ask God to use me… After her life-changing journey to Ireland, twenty-year-old Maddie Chase feels ready for whatever she and her Aunt Sid will find on their trip to Papua New Guinea. But when she sets foot on the beautiful South Pacific island, she can’t help but notice the sense of hopelessness around her. Through their investigative reporting, Maddie and Aunt Sid learn that this developing country is literally dying of AIDS. As Maddie delves deeper into the culture and history of the land–and develops relationships with nationals who are eager to share their lives–she finds a tangled past that could help to explain the current health crisis. Will Maddie be able to see past the darkness to offer light to these gracious island people? Join Maddie on her latest international adventure as she learns that maybe it is possible for one person to change history.

Carlson helps you cut through the uncharted waters so you can hear what your teenage daughter's really trying to tell you through her anger, silence, and mixed messages.

When Maddie joins her journalist aunt on vacation in Mexico, she finds a rival for Ryan's affection, a friend who has a drinking problem, and most important, a new trust in God. Original.

Fifteen-year-old Maya Stark seems to have it all–fame, fortune, a Beverly Hills lifestyle, and an eighties pop star dad who’s making a comeback. But looks can be deceiving, and on the inside, Maya is miserable. Her parents are divorced, her dad is away on tour, and being biracial, she struggles with her identity. Then, to make matters worse, her mother has returned to using drugs and is quickly depleting their finances. In a plan to become emancipated from her messed-up mom, Maya takes a job on Rodeo Drive. Selling designer clothes compromises Maya’s earth-friendly “green girl” values, but she is desperate. Just when Maya thinks she’s got it all worked out, her life caves in. Her mom “embezzles” Maya’s savings and is later arrested on DUI and cocaine possession charges and is facing jail time. With nowhere to live, Maya is sent to spend the summer with her relatives. In the collision of two very different worlds, Maya must figure out where she fits in–or does she fit in at all?

If your vision asked you to risk your life to save others, would you have the courage? When Samantha McGregor tells her friend Detective Ebony Hamilton of her disturbing visions of a brutal murder at a high school, Ebony asks her to go undercover to help identify the shooter before it’s too late. The stakes are raised when Ebony discovers that the potential crime may be connected to a larger terrorism threat! Meanwhile, Samantha realizes that her mother’s new boyfriend is a little too good to be true. Her unsettling visions, combined with Ebony’s investigation of Steven’s past, reveal him to be more interested in her mother’s money than her heart. To make matters worse, Samantha has been having visions of an unknown boy who is mercilessly being bullied by his peers. Who is this teen? Can she help him? This fourth and final installment in The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor series brings Samantha her biggest challenges yet, as she works against the clock to stop a mass murder, help a troubled youth, and save her mother from making a terrible mistake!

Sixteen-year-old Maya's commitment to live her life for God wavers after she joins a Christian rock band.

For the first time that she can remember, Maya Stark is beginning to feel like a “normal” teenager. Even with her mother in jail for drug possession and her pop-star father away on his comeback tour, Maya’s new life with her uncle Allen and cousin Kim is coming together. Summer vacation’s just beginning, and with a new job, a new boyfriend, and a new car (hybrid, of course), things are finally starting to look up. But that doesn’t mean life is about to get any easier. Maya’s still devoted to living Green, and her uncle offers her a Green column in his newspaper. With the opportunity to make a difference in the town’s attitude toward the environment, Maya wonders how this fits with her newfound commitment to Christ. And if she can really consider herself a Christian when her feelings toward a fellow youth group member are anything but loving…

If your vision led you straight into the fire, would you follow it anyway? Samantha’s brother, Zach, is finally home after a ninety-day rehab for his meth addiction, and life seems to be getting back to normal. That is, until Sam starts having dreams about dangerous situations involving drugs. But her visions are so vague that she doesn’t know who needs help. Of course she’s worried about Zach staying clean, especially since he’s hanging with the wrong crowd. But the whole school seems to be buzzing about drugs, and Sam doesn’t know who’s using and who’s not. What is wrong with these people anyway? Then Sam has a vision of a burning cabin, and this time someone has been shot. Convinced that Zach is involved somehow, Sam chooses to leave Detective Ebony Hamilton out of the loop. If Zach really is involved, this will land him in jail for sure! But her own investigation is getting too hot to handle, and Sam must decide whether to risk getting Zach in trouble with the law– or ultimately risk his life.