“Did someone say treasure?
Life is great. Riley and Noah’s dad returns from Army deployment, and the reunited family is headed to his hometown in Nebraska for a Veteran’s Day parade. But the trip takes an unexpected turn when the kids meet an elderly woman named Miss Maisie who reveals that there’s a hidden treasure in the town. And when Grandma Suzie’s dog (and fellow detective), Ozzie, uncovers what the kids are convinced is a clue, they’re plunged into a real-life mystery and treasure hunt. The kids discover an abandoned railway depot that has connections to World War II, but soon they find themselves trapped and in danger. With the help of two new friends, Sam and Ava, they’re determined to unearth the valuables. Will they find the hidden treasure or a dead end of disappointment? The friends uncover the true treasures of kindness and generosity and learn the real-life lesson that we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
Series: Book #3 in the “Heroes on the Homefront Mysteries” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here and Book #2 Here!
Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are quoted, discussed, & remembered; Prayers & Thanking God; Church going; Talks about God, Jesus, & Him using us; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of becoming a Christian; Mentions of churches, church going, & church events; A couple mentions of Bible reading; A mention of eternity with Jesus; A mention of revival services;
*Note: A couple mentions of an alien invasion; A mention of luck.
Negative Content- A bit of eye rolling & sibling teasing; Because of the treasure hunt, Riley and her brother trespass into a building with other kids & later Riley sneaks in again (despite her brother being concerned the second time, he joins her), *Spoilers* which is when they are accidentally locked in the building and the roof collapses on Riley and her brother; They are not badly hurt, but struggled to get out and their phone are damaged; Riley feels like she’s ruined everything, that she’s disappointed her father, & that her father will never feel the same way about her again; Riley and her father have a discussion about the events and her father warns her that “if you find yourself having to sneak at something, it likely means you’re being tempted to do something you know isn’t right.”; There is no mention of punishment for Riley or her brother for trespassing, but they do apologize to the owner of the property *End of Spoilers*; All about many mentions of World War II, battles, soldiers, & injuries; Mentions of deaths & grief (including during the war & a woman for her brother); A few mentions of injuries & blood/bleeding; A couple mentions of a car accident & deaths (of Riley’s father’s parents); A couple mentions of a man having a hard time after coming back from military service about what he experienced overseas & seeing a counselor about it later; A couple mentions of Riley being concerned about something bad happening to her father when stationed overseas;
*Note: Riley struggles with jealousy over her siblings getting one-on-one time with their dad and has a “dark cloud of unhappiness” come over her a few times (at one point, she has a grumpy thought about her sister; *Spoilers* At the end, Riley apologizes to her sister for being “a jerk” and her sister shares that she thought Riley and their brother were blowing off their dad, so she spent extra time so he didn’t think they weren’t glad to see him back home *End of Spoilers*); Riley is concerned about her parents needing money after overhearing part of a conversation & tells her brother about it; A quote from Martin Luther King Jr.; Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of a solider in World War II not being sure if his unit would be welcomed at a canteen because they were all black soldiers (they were treated the same as everyone else); A couple mentions of fictional characters (The Wizard of Oz).
Sexual Content- N/A.
-Riley Abercrombie, sixth grade
1st person P.O.V. of Riley
208 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
As someone who isn’t from a military family, I can only imagine the emotions from Riley and her family as their dad comes home from being stationed overseas. I was so happy for this fictional family and seeing them together!
With this change, though, Riley has some lessons to learn about sharing her dad with others and also about doing the right thing. Towards the end, Riley makes a not great decision and while it thankfully ends okay, it’s definitely a learning point for her and other young readers! I do think there should have been a bit more discussion about the consequences of her actions with her parents, but they were relieved that both Riley and her brother were all right.
I’m unsure if there will be more books in this series and while this would be a good ending for it, I can’t help but hope there will be another book because I’ve greatly enjoyed this series. The first book is by far my favorite of the three stories, but it was overall a great series.
As a note for parents, Riley and her brother (who is a grade younger) both have their own phones and runaround town without an adult at times.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
