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Growing Pains: Kendras Diaries

by K.P. Smith (Goodreads Author)

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 25 ratings · 21 reviews

Growing Pains; Kendras Dairies is the first book in the series chronicling the journey of Kendra Foster from adolescence to adulthood.I aspire to encourage, entertain, and inspire young adults. Life has its ups and downs, its bumps and its bruises. But with perseverance, determination, and faith you can be all you were born to be.Never Give Up

Paperback, 268 pages

Published May 25th 2011 by Doin It Publishing

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Apr 12, 2012 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: coming-of-age, cultural, current_issues, relationships, young-adult

Kendra knows her family’s short of money but she wants new clothes for church. She wishes her parents would replace a sofa because it’s getting too old. And she eats three donuts at once! Okay, she’s not the sort of teenager I knew growing up, and if this is what girls are like I’m glad I only have boys. But… Kendra really does grow on you.

Kendra’s diaries by K.P. Smith gives a fascinating insight into life in New Orleans, where black’s a shade and some shades might be too dark, where going to t...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Danielle Thorne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kendra is a middle school aged young girl, preparing herself for the rigors and expectations of high school. Her brush with failure her first time trying out for cheerleading is easy to relate to; her later attempts to tackle the sport once more are admirable and set the course of this story's theme about never giving up. Kendra never despairs long, and she faces her obstacles with courage and determination.

Like any young teen, Kendra must deal with family problems beyond her understanding while...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Sandra "Jeanz" rated it 4 of 5 stars

I initially had doubts as to whether I would enjoy this book....but I really did enjoy it. I think it is suitable for 12 years upwards really. I could identify with the childhood/adolescence of Kendra, I was that kid who couldn't do dance classes because her dad thought them a waste of money, so I understood where Kendra was coming from. I remember lying in bed listening to parents arguing, having the friend whose parents relationship with each other and their daughter appeared perfect. This boo...more I initially had doubts as to whether I would enjoy this book....but I really did enjoy it. I think it is suitable for 12 years upwards really. I could identify with the childhood/adolescence of Kendra, I was that kid who couldn't do dance classes because her dad thought them a waste of money, so I understood where Kendra was coming from. I remember lying in bed listening to parents arguing, having the friend whose parents relationship with each other and their daughter appeared perfect. This book deals with some pretty heavily emotional stuff, from divorce and death to getting a part in the school play and having a boy ask you out or not ask you out as the case may be. I think although the cover is kind of colourful and depicts how Kendra feels it doesn't do the book full justice, as the book also has happy things within it not just problems.
I also could identify the fact kendra's grandparent not liking Kendras dad , and how that affects the whole family. The book touches on lots of different relationships, the one with Kendra and her mum, where her mum confides things to Kendra she perhaps should not have as she later regrets it. I enjoyed reading of the relationship between Kendra and her younger sister Patrice, at time Kendra is more in the mothering mode than her mother to Patrice. Kendr's rlationship with her dad is awkward as they only ever talk sport (I remember my own dads disappointment at me being a girl and not wanting to watch the rugby/football etc)You also see the relationship with Kendra and Katrina and how they grow apart and then back together only for an unexpected twist to separate them again. there is also the whole which school will I get into scenario, though the system is slightly different over here in the UK the dilemmas attached to changing school are still similar. I found this book really thought provoking and think it would be useful in schools for the 11 and 12 year olds to read to help prepare them for what may happen in life. The book also touched on predjudice, not a simple black and white one, the kind that goes on within the blacks and whites, the shades of black etc.
I just want to thank K P Smith for sending me this book to read and I apologise fr how long it took me to get round to it due to illnesses etc. I found this book cathartic and a really relaxing read. There was something happening most of the time as several characters stories were being played out all at the same time. A very thought provoking book! I would also like to add the ending left it so there could be another book and I have to say I would really want to read it too.(less)

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Feb 25, 2012 Vicky rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: girls from the age 12 up

Shelves: read-in-2012, young-adult, ebooks, for-review

How would you feel if you had to put on a brave face each morning you leave the house and pretend you're okay? If you couldn't tell what's going on, not even to your best friend - and at the same time, your family was falling to pieces? Yes, that's right - that's what Kendra has to face each day of her life.

Meet Kendra Foster. She is smack in the middle of growing up. Oh boy! Just like anyone in the "maze" of growing up, there are challenges along the way. She is facing problems at home and with...more How would you feel if you had to put on a brave face each morning you leave the house and pretend you're okay? If you couldn't tell what's going on, not even to your best friend - and at the same time, your family was falling to pieces? Yes, that's right - that's what Kendra has to face each day of her life.

Meet Kendra Foster. She is smack in the middle of growing up. Oh boy! Just like anyone in the "maze" of growing up, there are challenges along the way. She is facing problems at home and with her family. She thought making cheerleader would be the "best thing in the world". But she learned quickly there are two sides to every coin. As if she doesn't have enough to deal with, high school is quickly approaching and her dreams of attending The Academy seems more impossible with each passing day. Every time she thinks she has an answer, they change the question. But never count her out. Her story is one of determination, perseverance and strength.

All in All, Kendra's Diaries was a good read. There were many things I really enjoyed about it and a few things I think could have been a little bit better. I like the fact that it has an optimistic message and it will definitely make you stop and think: if she can do it and move on, then why couldn't I?

Another thing I liked about it is the fact that it's very realistic. It could happen to anyone, which makes the characters (and the plot itself) easily relatable. Smith's story focuses on Kendra, a 13 year old girl from New Orleans. She's just an ordinary teenager with ordinary friends, whose biggest dreams is to get into the cheerleader team. But as her family is starting to fall apart and she can't ignore the fact that her parents are arguing non stop anymore, she realizes that there are more important things in life than this. Kendra is a fun character who is just like any of us. She has to learn how to make decisions and how to learn from her mistakes and she faces everyday problems just like us.

What didn't really work for me was how the author handled emotional scenes. Kendra goes through a lot during the novel (and I don't want to spoil anything for you) but I felt like these scenes should have been more developed, more elaborate. We are given the facts - her dad has left the family, for example - but I had a hard time connecting to her emotionally. I didn't feel her pain.. well, not as much as I should have. It's almost as if she accepted it and moved on. No drama, no tears. Just like that. This is the main reason why the book becomes a bit predictable and repetitive after a while, if you ask me.

Other than that, it's an enjoyable coming of age novel for girls from the younger audience. Girls from the age of 12 upwards will no doubt find this story fantastic and easily relatable, since they're going through the same problems themselves. On the whole, Growing Pains: Kendra's Diaries is a nice summer read for anyone from the younger audience.(less)

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Jun 13, 2012 Mandy (I read Indie) Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kendra's Diaries is a great book about a young girl growing up without a lot of money, trying to become a cheerleader before she goes off to high school, and learning what it’s like to have a crush on that one special boy. But it’s also so much more than that. Kendra is also learning the hard way about what it’s like to grow up in a broken family. Will Kendra be able to overcome her fear, her dysfunctional family, and get into the high school of her dreams? With a lot of hard work and faith…Kend...more

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Mar 08, 2012 Annie Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Right off the bat, I love that the author starts painting this very real picture of children growing up with fighting parents. It immediately sucks the reader into their world and makes the characters start off as real people rather than two dimensional drawings.

The battle that the character has with her spirituality is something that anyone who has grown up in a tumultuous home can immediately identify with. The insecurities, changing body and changing life of the main character is something th...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

The main protagonist is Kendra, who lives with her Mum, Dad and younger sister Patrice. They are a small family that struggles to make ends meet which is often the cause of arguments in her household. Kendra's best friend is Katrina and together they battle their way through school worrying about typical things, boys, high school, exams, and in Kendra's case upcoming cheer leading tryouts. After Kendra's Mum takes a job her Dad disapproves of the arguments become worse and Kendra is finding it h...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Dream 4 More Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-reviews, btr-interview, young-adult

Title: Growing Pains: Kendra’s Diaries
Author: KP Smith
Publisher: Doin It Publishing
Release date (or anticipated release): 2011
ISBN: 9780615390307
Specs: paperback and ePub/mobi versions are available
Website (optional): www.kendrasdiaries.com or http://doinitpublishing.com/
Category: Young Adult (YA)

Review Summary:
Kendra, the oldest sister, has to share with her younger sister, Patrice, about her parents’ verbal attacks and daily scrabbles usually around managing their finances and providing for th...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Cheryl rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-signed-copy, 2011, week-with-an-author, black-diamond-s-book-reviews, 5-diamonds

Kendra is dealing with several struggles in her life. As an 8th grader, she has a big transition coming up. She has to go to a different school for high school. She wants to go to The Academy, but it’s expensive. The only way she would be able to go is if she gets a scholarship. She also is going to try out for cheerleader. In 6th grade she had something really embarrassing happen at tryouts and chickened out in 7th grade. She was hoping that this would be her year. Her mom had some excellent ad...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Stacie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews

Growing Pains: Kendra's Diaries by K.P. Smith chronicles the life of a 13-year-old girl named Kendra Foster. Kendra faces numerous struggles and triumphs just as many girls her age do; she has a crush on a boy, learns what it means to be a true friend, experiences loss, figures out the importance of acceptance, deals with disappointment, and discovers what family is all about.

Growing Pains: Kendra's Diaries allows readers to following Kendra through all of her ups and downs while giving the read...more

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Dec 16, 2011 KatieBookQueen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Growing Pains: Kendras Diaries introduces us to 13 year old 8th grader, Kendra.
The story is very real life and contains a lot of realistic situations for teenagers to find themselves in such as family break-ups, friendship dramas and, of course, school.
I found the story very identifiable. It’s a great coming of age read for girls who are going through the changes of school and friendships. As a teenager, you’re at that age when you realise that life isn’t as simple as you’d like to think so gir...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Precious rated it 3 of 5 stars

Originally posted at Fragments of Life.

Kendra was a typical teen with an average not-so-perfect life. She had things to be confident about and things to complain about. She was conscious about her looks. But unlike most typical tweens, Kendra was not boy crazy. She was more hardwired to pursue her dream. I liked this about her. She kept trying again and again. She lifted herself up and gave cheerleading another go.

I liked how the author weaved different kinds of relationships in the novel: Kendr...more Originally posted at Fragments of Life.

Kendra was a typical teen with an average not-so-perfect life. She had things to be confident about and things to complain about. She was conscious about her looks. But unlike most typical tweens, Kendra was not boy crazy. She was more hardwired to pursue her dream. I liked this about her. She kept trying again and again. She lifted herself up and gave cheerleading another go.

I liked how the author weaved different kinds of relationships in the novel: Kendra’s relationship with her mom – how her mom somewhat burdened her daughter instead of fostering a close relationship with her; Kendra’s relationship with her dad – they were not close and it was strained because Kendra and her dad never talk about real, deep father-daughter stuff; and Kendra’s relationship with her younger sister, Patrice, – how Kendra anchored her sister, gave her comfort and gave her a sanctuary. The issues, the weight, complications and consequences of these relationships added pressure to Kendra.

From time to time, I want to get hooked on reality with realistic fiction like this. The years have passed but I think that girls still deal with the same problems especially nowadays when a perfect family life is rare. They would be able to relate what Kendra was going through. The only thing that I didn’t like about Growing Pains was how the dramatic, life-altering scenes were carried out. I felt that the scenes would’ve been better if they were done a bit differently – with more drama, more length, more focus on Kendra’s feelings and how they flickered from one to another, more focus on how her world shifted a little bit when something big happened. I wanted to see Kendra pause. I wanted to see more of Kendra’s soft, vulnerable and thoughtful side during these scenes.

Overall, Growing Pains is about a girl’s journey through everything that the world threw at her, towards maturity and towards her dreams. Growing Pains would appeal to preteens (tweens) and young teens but I think adults will appreciate this as well.(less)

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Feb 05, 2012 Angela Fristoe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-books

There were certain elements of this book that I really loved and others that drove me nuts! So, let me start off with the things I loved :)

Kendra. She is flawed, she is real, she is African-American and she is facing real problems that many other young girls face. Kendra's one of those characters that isn't overly perfect and can be related to easily. I love that she is an African-American living in New Orleans, because it is representative of the population there and, although she could easily...more There were certain elements of this book that I really loved and others that drove me nuts! So, let me start off with the things I loved :)

Kendra. She is flawed, she is real, she is African-American and she is facing real problems that many other young girls face. Kendra's one of those characters that isn't overly perfect and can be related to easily. I love that she is an African-American living in New Orleans, because it is representative of the population there and, although she could easily have been written as white, it is a nice change in a market flooded with white protagonists. (As a teacher this is a very frustrating fact). I especially love that she is a normal 13-year-old girl that isn't obsessed with one boy, and constantly going on about how he is her life.

The other characters in the book are also believable and again the situations were believable and relateable for a younger teen audience. Kendra goes through a number of experiences that most girls will. Preparing to enter high school, first crush, fighting with her best friend, first kiss, jealousy, arguing parents. Her life is very normal. And that leads to my first issue.

Normal can be, well, boring. There was no sense of urgency in this novel. Things happened and Kendra learned to move on. We didn't necessarily see or feel her confusion or despair when her dad walked out on them, and the love interest is only mildly developed. As much as I am for non-obsessive teen love, preteen and younger teens tend toward the obsessive, especially with first love. I think more narration about her feels would have given more importance to the issues she was facing.

Setting was another area I thought the author should have given more consideration to. New Orleans is a city full of life and culture. Sadly there wasn't really any details that made New Orleans different from any other city in the US. But more important was the time frame. It took me until I was almost half way through the book to realize this story was taking place during the 1980's. Later on there were references to 80's specific people or items that made it clear, but then it felt more like a trip down memory lane for the author. Will today's teens really want to read two pages of comparisons between the the love lives of Kendra and her friend being compared to those on Dallas?

The dialogue was the final area I felt that needed strengthening. Listen to any teen, even way back in the 80's and they spoke casually, using contractions and slang. Everything the characters said sounded very formal. And from my experiences living in the South for over ten years, people down there are anything but formal in their speech. I just wanted to shake these characters and tell them to speak normally. This is Smith's debut novel, and I think that as the series continues Smith will find a more natural voice for her characters.

Check out more of my reviews on my blog Turning the Pages (less)

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Apr 13, 2012 Adrienna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-reviews, young-adult, dream4more-reviews

This is an easy read, so cute is what I keep saying. K.P. Smith discussed some real issues and moral lessons were taught in this YA novel, in a cute and humorous way! She also dealt with the dynamics of family and financial secrets, how children are not to be in their parents' business (grown folks biz), and learn to enjoy their lives while they are young.

Kendra Foster, wants to be a cheerleader and been through tryouts for two years straight. She makes the spot on the squad. She also wants to...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Lisa M. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: highly-recommended-reading

Every teenager struggles to adulthood. But young adults dealing with difficult family situations like low incomes and fracturing marriages just add to the angst in this authentic story. The author has the ability to describe but not drag out a scene. The dialogue and inner dialogue are believable and engaging. It is a timeless story about coming of age.

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Oct 22, 2011 Tima rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is about an 13 year old girl and her life in 8th grade. She lives in New Orleans and goes to private school. Her life is no different then the average 8th grader. It has the fighting family members, stresses of work and school and the sometimes pain of a younger sibling. It also has watching football with dad, shopping with mom and hanging out with friends.

The story had some sad moments, but on the whole is a positive look at a young girl's life. It's definitely something I would let m...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Glenda Alexander rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wonderful Book! Great for sharing!

This is a wonderful book you will want to share with all the "young ladies" in your life.

It would be a wonderful gift for grandparents to give their granddaughters and thoughtful aunts to give their nieces. Also a great birthday gift for best friends.

It shares the feelings that so many young ladies have and lets them know they are not alone in their feelings it's just many will not or do not talk about them.

I encourage parents and grandparents to read this boo...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Melissa Simmons rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-author-for-review

The story was not bad, just a little rough in places, mostly the dialogue needed a little help. I did enjoy Kendra's character, though. Her spirit carries her through the challenges in her life. I have to say it would probably be a highly enjoyable read for maybe an 11-13 year old. (Full review to follow)

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Jul 23, 2011 Lanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

i thnk it is good so far. I read this book from my aunt. Thanks Nany Shaun

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Jun 14, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

So far have only read the first chapter but am enjoying this Goodreads win.
Really good story. Did bring back some memories of the pop culture of the era along with the angst. Well written and fun. Good summer read.

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Jun 28, 2011 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was great not over kill on the detail but just engouh to real you in. Enjoyed it very much

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Shelves: free-kindle-finds, kindle

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Jan 13, 2012 Stormi (Lightning Book Promotions) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sep 08, 2011 Angela marked it as to-read

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