I PROMISE
Christy and Todd: The College Years, Book Three
Robin Jones Gunn
Bethany House Publishers
Fiction
ISBN: 9780764222740
288 pages

Christy Miller is finally engaged. After meeting Todd Spencer on the beach when she was just 14 years old, Christy is now set to marry the man of her dreams. In I PROMISE, the final installment in Robin Jones Gunn’s Christy and Todd: The College Years trilogy, Christy is quickly awoken from her dreamy visions of the future to find that she must soon begin the excruciating task of planning a wedding.

Things don’t start out well, as Christy and Todd can’t even agree on a date to get married. Todd wants to wed right away, while Christy would like to have up to a year to properly plan it. When they add in Christy’s mom, her bossy aunt and an un-requested wedding planner to the equation, it seems like nothing will ever be decided upon.

It’s not just the wedding that’s worrying Christy. Now that she’s thinking of Todd as her future husband, she wonders how they will possibly live with one another. Todd is spontaneous and unprepared; Christy is a detail-maniac. It seems like all of their instincts and reactions are polar opposites. As Christy stresses over everything from the wedding to her future marriage, she gets sick and is forced to miss out on a long-planned camping trip with Todd and her friends. Luckily, the time allows her to bond with her mother like she has never done before and gives her the space to finally plan the intricate details of her wedding. Christy and Todd have come to the conclusion that it is their wedding, and it should be the way they want it. While this seems like a reasonable enough sentiment, it is much harder to communicate to demanding family members.

Christy’s friends also have some exciting things going on. Maid of Honor Katie gets a blast from her dating past, when former bad-boy Rick Doyle returns, appearing to have reformed his ways. And this time, it looks like their relationship might be serious. Sierra realizes that as great as Paul is, she needs more adventure in her life and prepares to go to Brazil. With all of her friends heading in different directions, and the big day approaching, Christy reflects on the past and envisions the future. She can only hope that everything comes together in time to say “I Promise.”

I PROMISE is the conclusion to a story that has been going on for over six years and 15 books (although I wouldn’t be surprised to see the emergence of a Christy and Todd: The Parenting Years series). Readers will breathe a sigh of relief as Christy and Todd are finally married off. The book is filled with extremely detailed accounts of weddings and wedding planning, which can be a bit daunting for some. The story, with its wedding theme, also has a very strong “save sex for marriage” message, which is present throughout the book. Those who have followed Robin Jones Gunn’s work up to this point will be delighted to have Christy and Todd be blessed with a very beautiful and fitting ending to their story after so many years.

    --- Reviewed by Jennifer Crosby

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