Title: The Jewelry Box
Author: Shelly Johnson-Choong
Publisher Granite Publishing and Distribution LLC
Genre: Young Adult Ficion
Year Published: 2004
Number of Pages: 134
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 1-932280-40-5 (previously published by Covenant Communications, Inc.) ISBN: 1-55503-659-7
Price: $10.95

Reviewed by Marilee McQuarrie

"The Jewelry Box" is the story of a 17 year old girl, Jessa Meyers, whose family moves from Las Vegas to a small community on the Oregon Coast only 3 months before the end of her senior year in high school. We can imagine the difficulties this causes for her, especially when there is also a boyfriend, Nelson, who she misses.

Her Las Vegas friends are all planning to reunite at BYU-Idaho for the summer but until then she needs to fit in with the crowd at her new school. She has a beautiful wood jewelry box that Nelson gave her sitting on her dresser and is the focal point of her new bedroom.

The first day in the new town is a Sunday and the family goes to church together. After Sacrament meeting, Jessa is immediately greeted by Catlyn McGregor and is whisked off to Sunday School, then to Young Women’s class, where Catlyn does the introductions. On the way to class Jessa sees a young man, Micah Stevenson, who Catlyn warns not to have anything to do with because he is into drugs and alcohol.

The next day at school Jessa meets Micah when she is lost on her way to class. At lunch she meets Jeremy Michaels to whom Catlyn is very attracted. Catlyn keeps pushing Jessa toward Jeremy but only so that she, Catlyn, can tag along. Jessa is confused by this behavior because it is so clear to her that Catlyn likes Jeremy and wants to be with him.

Micah helps Jessa several times throughout that first week and she even finds him helping with the resource class. Jessa wonders about this young man who seems so kind and caring but who has been labeled as no good. Her parents wisely counsel her that she needs to not compromise her own standards and that there is a difference between compassion and love. She is also taught that things aren’t always what they appear to be.

Meanwhile Jessa is forming a friendship with Robyn Leigh, another girl from church. Prom is coming up and Robyn tells Jessa that she won’t be going because she isn’t the prom type. Jessa is asked at lunch in front of the whole school by Jeremy to be his date for prom. Jessa reluctantly says yes and it turns out to be a night that she will never forget. She is expected to make certain compromises to her standards.

This is where I will stop so as not to spoil the rest of the story. This book will appeal to young women readers. I enjoyed it because it exemplifies the scripture in 1 Samuel 16:7 "... for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart." There are 2 jewelry boxes in the story. The one that Nelson gave Jessa for Christmas that was beautiful but, like his "love" for her, very shallow, and the other is the one that Micah gives her that is made of glass, made by him and represents true friendship.