Sherry Huang: August 2008 Archives

When you're a 15-year-old girl, dealing with school, boys, and family is drama enough. When you're a 15-year-old Catholic girl and your name is Antonia Lucia Labella, you not only deal with all three, you also pray to saints and write to the Vatican about them.

In her first young adult novel, "The Possibilities of Sainthood," Donna Freitas (Editor's Note: Freitas is an Idol Chatter blogger and a regular contributor to Beliefnet) perfectly captures the hormonal and emotional thoughts of a teen girl. In-between proposing herself to be the first living saint (like the Patron Saint of the First Kiss and Kissing), Antonia dreams about receiving her first kiss from her crush Andy Rotellini while also fending off the flirtations of could-have-been-boyfriend Michael McGinnis. Of course, there are also fights with mom about the length of her Catholic uniform's hemline and battles with her manipulative and jealous cousin Veronica. Thankfully, a girl can't make it through the everyday rough-and-tumbles without an understanding best friend--Maria.

A Frontline World news documentary takes a look at the rise of Christianity in China, from formal government-approved churches to exuberant underground worship houses. Watch the clip below to see how the Chinese are finding ways to praise and worship Jesus away from the state's watchful eyes.

For more on China, visit our photo gallery: 8 Sacred Sites in Beijing