Home / Kids & Teens / Teenagers

Talking Stage

by Kimani Upshur, M.Ed.

Every day. For months. Maya talks to Jonah every day — and she cannot say what they are. Not dating. Not just friends. No name, no agreement, no promise to point to: only real feelings in an undefined closeness, and one question: is this actually anything? Talking Stage is Maya's book. Across one October of Friday nights, Pastor D and the Circle — Dee, Maya, Caleb, and Hana — take the almost-relationship apart: what it is, why it hooks so hard, what the fog costs, and why a nameless thing cannot guard a heart. Its anchor is Proverbs 4:23: "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." Then the book turns practical. Maya builds a decision instead of drifting into one: the Definition Checklist, the Clarity Conversation Planner, a Decision Tree with three honest exits — and one forbidden one — and a Walk-Away-Well Plan, in case the answer requires one. Nothing is forced: Dee's steadiness, Caleb's caution, and Hana's questions all get heard. Maya asks her question out loud, in person, on the day she planned — and honors the answer she receives. This is a Christian book, and it does not hide it. As Pastor D puts it on the first Friday, Jesus Christ never kept people in an undefined closeness to him — and the Circle's honesty runs on that example all month. Talking Stage is Book 2 of Straight Up, a twelve-book series from The Made Simple Through Christ Framework by Kimani Upshur, M.Ed. (Upshur Unlimited LLC).

More Teenagers Books

Explore the full collection of books for teenagers.

Browse All Teenagers Books