"A Lighthouse Legacy" by Jo James

About this book:

  “Gift shop owner Sarah Morgan is helping Justine Hendricks, a young scholar, with a research project―but then a nineteenth-century logbook and diary entrusted to the student disappear! Since Justine is part of a group volunteering at the lighthouse, there are plenty of possible suspects around her who could be responsible for the theft. To make matters worse, rumors are swirling that the lighthouse is haunted―a thing Sarah does not believe for a moment.
    Soon Sarah and Justine are drawn into the compelling story of a nineteenth-century woman who may well have been Michigan's first official female lighthouse keeper. Sarah will need all her sleuthing skills if she is to uncover the surprising connections between the modern-day theft, the strange happenings at the lighthouse, and this dauntless woman from the past.”


Series: Book #5 in the “Gift Shop Mysteries” series. Click on the numbers to be taken to the prior books’ reviews: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, and Book #4.


Spiritual Content- James 1:2-3 at the beginning & later quoted in the book; A few Scriptures are quoted & mentioned; Prayers & Thanking God; Church going & a sermon; Going to Bible study; Sarah asks her pastor his opinion on why people believe in ghosts (he gives some thoughts and says that sometimes “people search for answers in unusual places”due to pain and suffering not making sense from our human perspective); Sarah feels calm when near nature and thinks of her pastor previously saying that “that God’s presence didn’t exist just within the walls of the church but in living beings all around them”; Mentions of God, Jesus, & His timing; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, services, pastors, & sermons; Mentions of Bibles, Bible studies, & devotionals; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A mention of Heaven; A mention of Christians; A mention of a hymn; 
             *Note: Two new side characters are “ghost hunters”, run a social media platform about paranormal places, and the wife has the “‘gift’” to sense the “energy surrounding people and places” (which she says is not talking to ghosts, but picking on the “vibes” around certain humans, objects, or landmarks); Sarah and the other characters do not believe ghosts are real and often say so; Sarah strongly believes that there are reasonable explanations found in God’s laws of nature for all of the possible “ghosts” or “haunted” places; Mentions of “ghosts”, places being “haunted”, & people believing in both; Mentions of luck & someone crossing their fingers; A mention of Mother Nature; A mention of a food pairing being a “match made in heaven” (which Sarah says “Amen” about in agreement); A mention of food smelling “divine”.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’; Some eye rolling; Trespassing; Many mentions of stolen items, stealing, crimes, thieves, & a theft; Mentions of deaths (including by drowning) & grief (including for a wife & a husband); Mentions of a missing person; Mentions of break-ins, vandalism, & trespassing; Mentions of arrests & jails; Mentions of injuries & pain; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A mention of a fire; A mention of a divorce; A mention of the lottery; A mention of hunting; 
             *Note: Mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters (Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Walt Whitman, ‘Hamlet’, & Sherlock Holmes); Mentions of car brands; A mention of a painting (Mona Lisa); A mention of a baseball team; A mention of Halloween. 
 
 
Sexual Content- A few kisses from a married couple in the historical chapters (no details); Some embraces, touches, butterflies/flutters, nearness, & noticing (most in the historical time period; barely-above-not-detailed); A few winks & blushes; Sarah says she doesn’t have time for a romance right now, but does have flutters and feels delight when around Flint (this is a potential budding romance); In the historical time period, someone accuses an unmarried couple of “parading around as husband and wife” (by living in close quarters without being married), but the woman says “nothing of the sort” has happened between them; Mentions of flirting, blushes, & crushes; Mentions of dates, dating, & boyfriends/girlfriends; A few mentions of married couples sharing kisses; A bit of love, falling in love, & the emotions (in the historical time period). 
 
-Sarah Morgan
                                P.O.V. mostly of Sarah 
                                        6 chapters set in 1849, 1850, & 1855
                                                        257 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Before starting this book, I decided that I wanted to go into it blindly by not reading the back cover blurb—I knew the mystery would center around a lighthouse because of the title and cover, but that was it! Which turned out to be kind of fun and I think I’ll be doing that again for this series. 

 

Once into the book, I wasn’t super sure about the “haunting”, “energies”, and “paranormal” parts of this book as I strongly do not believe in that kind of thing, but thankfully, the main character shares that same opinion! Basically her, all her friends, and the majority of side characters do not believe in ghosts, which was refreshing to see. A new side character that is introduced in this book (that I doubt we’ll see again in this series) says she has the ability to sense “energies” off of items (which I concur with another character about being a bunch of hogwash) and while Sarah disagrees with this being a thing, she is still kind and respectful to the woman. Usually, I do not like anything that hints to ghosts or whatnot being real, but I’m glad how the author handled it in this book and thought it was overall done well because it’s disapproved that any ghosts were involved in the mystery despite some silly rumors saying otherwise. (Which is what I wanted and expected from a Christian publisher!)

 

Speaking of this author, I’ve not read anything by her before, but I hope (and assume) she’ll be writing another book or two for this series. Even though the mystery wasn’t the most compelling or engaging for me personally, I found myself reading this book faster than all the previous ones in the series and enjoying the writing style. While it’s still a 3 star rating for me, I would say it’s my favorite of the series so far.

 

 

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.

"The Sisters of Sea View" by Julie Klassen

About this book:

  “Some guests have come for a holiday, others for hidden reasons of their own . . .
    When their father's death leaves them impoverished, Sarah Summers and her genteel sisters fear they will be forced to sell the house and separate to earn livelihoods as governesses or companions. Determined to stay together, Sarah convinces them to open their seaside home to guests to make ends meet and provide for their ailing mother. Instead of the elderly invalids they expect to receive, however, they find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen. Sarah is soon torn between a growing attraction to a mysterious Scottish widower and duty to her family.
    Viola Summers wears a veil to cover her scar. When forced to choose between helping in her family's new guest house and earning money to hire a maid to do her share, she chooses the latter. She reluctantly agrees to read to some of Sidmouth's many invalids, preferring the company of a few elders with failing eyesight to the fashionable guests staying in their home. But when her first client turns out to be a wounded officer in his thirties, Viola soon wishes she had chosen differently. Her new situation exposes her scars--both visible and those hidden deep within--and her cloistered heart will never be the same.”


Series: Book #1 in the “On Devonshire Shores” series.


Spiritual Content- Psalm 90:14 at the beginning & Two chapters start with a Scripture; A handful of Scriptures are read, quoted, & mentioned; Prayers & Thanking God; A few talks about God, His will, & trusting Him; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Viola wonders why she was born with a cleft lip (and whether it was her mother’s fault, God’s, or her own); Viola admits that while she believes in God, she “doesn’t like all His ways”; Viola questions someone on why does “God protect some people and not others” & the person responds that she doesn’t know and that she “wishes He promised us all peace and safety, but He does not”; Sarah struggles trusting God with control of her life and family; Mentions of God, His will, & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, answered prayers, & thanking God; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, church events, pastors/vicars/reverends, & different denominations; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A couple mentions of godsends; A mention of miracles; 

             *Note: Phrases like “heavens” (x8), “good heavens” (x8), “thank heavens” (x1), and “for heaven’s sake” (x1) are said or exclaimed; Some people or things are described as “devilish” and “the devils”; Mentions of superstitions & curses (regarding what others have said about Viola’s cleft lip); Mentions of mythical creatures (changelings, sirens, nymphs); Mentions of lucky, being lucky, & thanking lucky stars (the latter is refuted by a side character); A few mentions of mythology gods/goddess.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’ and six forms of ‘stupid’; “ass” is used twice when describing a donkey; Regency exclamations such as ‘botheration’, ‘dash it’, ‘losh’, ‘lawks’, ‘the devil’, ‘what the blazes’, ‘what the devil’, ‘balderdash’, ‘dashed’, ‘fiddle’ & ‘thunder and turf’ are said up to three times each; Some eye rolling & sarcasm; Eavesdropping (including being hurt by what was overheard); Some sister bickering, squabbles, & hurtful words; Nearly drowning, Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Grief (for a father & for a fiancé); Many mentions of injuries, scars, pain, blood/bleeding, & surgeries (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wars, battles, & deaths; Mentions of deaths (including from a possible suicide, an apoplexy, illnesses, & surgery), a body, & grief (including for wives, husbands, a daughter, & a brother); Mentions of a fire, an explosion, someone being shot, someone being attacked and left for dead, & related injuries; Mentions of a drowning & near drownings; Mentions of stealing, stolen items, thieves/criminals, & crimes; Mentions of alcohol/wine, drinking, drunks, & taverns; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of an abusive husband & his drinking and gambling tendencies; A few mentions of gambling; A few mentions of bullies & being bullied (including Viola being bullied as a child); A few mentions of young boys being chased by vicious dogs; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of tattoos; A couple mentions of pipes & smoking; A mention of hunting; 
             *Note: Each chapter starts with a quote from a famous author (such as Jane Austen, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, & Lord Byron) or from a historical notice/ad (there are also two chapters that starts with a Scripture); Viola was born with a cleft lip and wears a veil often so others will not stare at her or make comments about her scar (this is a frequent part of her chapters due to mentions of her shame, her “deformity”, and “ugly” lip); Viola has signs of PTSD from past surgeries and a cruel surgeon (up to semi-detailed on her fear and remembering those events); Sarah cares take of her mother (who is poor in health) and is concerned about her health (including a time where her mother doesn’t answer and Sarah fears for the worst); Mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters (Frances Burney, Robert Southey, Walter Scott, John Bunyan, Jane Austen); Mentions of prejudice & shunning (due to someone’s skin color or scars); Mentions of depression (due to sicknesses and miscarriages) & a possible suicide; A few mentions of a husband feeling guilty about his wife’s possible suicide; A couple mentions of miscarriages; A couple mentions of a woman being unable to fully love her daughter due to being reminded of her cruel husband; The word ‘gay’ is used in its old meaning of ‘happy/carefree’.
 
 
Sexual Content- Fingers-to-lips touches (up to semi-detailed), a hand kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and three semi-detailed kisses; Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Staring at lips (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Hand holding, Tingles, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (x3, up to semi-detailed); Remembering touches & nearness (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Staring (including at muscles, bare chests, and arm/chest hair & men who are partially dressed, x3, up to semi-detailed); Remembering seeing men’s bare chests & in the state of partial undress (barely-above-not-detailed); Two of the sisters see men undressing to go swimming (they close their eyes when the men start to take off their trousers); A misunderstanding/comment about an unmarried woman sneaking into a man’s room; Mentions of kisses, almost kisses, & seeing a couple kissing; Mentions of elopements, couples going to an inn alone, & reputations being ruined; Mentions of flirts, flirting, blushes, & winks; A few mentions of married couples having separate bedchamber; A few mentions of chaperones; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of some men trying to sneak a peek of scantily clad women at a bathing machine; A mention of a man one day asking a woman to share his “life and bed” (through marriage); Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Because of her cleft lip, Viola doesn’t believe she should have children (adding that physicians do not know a great deal about it, but most people blame the mother assuming she “must have had impure thoughts or seen a hare or someone with a cleft lip”; Someone argues this with her because God must allow it for a reason, but she doesn’t think there’s any good reason); A young teen girl starts her menstrual cycle and believes she is going to die due to not knowing what is happening (a female main character explains it to her and gathers what she needs; Mentions of the blood and bleeding “down there”); *Slight Spoilers, but about a woman being deemed ruined* The Summers’ girls have an older sister named Claire who was sent to Scotland to be a companion for a great aunt; However, later, it is revealed that she tried to elope with a man and when the marriage did not happen, her reputation would be ruined so the father sent her to Scotland and said she was dead to him (forbidding any contact with her) *End of Spoilers*; A few mentions of men swimming with no clothes or “au naturel”; A mention of woman not being able to have children at “any age” (unlike a man who can).
 
-Sarah Sumers, age 26
-Emily Summers, age 21
-Viola Summers, age 21
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                          Set in 1819
                                                        448 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I was in the mood for a slower paced book and decided to pick this one up—it has been sitting on my TBR for probably years, but never read due to the length (450+ pages!) and the fact I knew it would be a bit slow and long like most of this author’s books I’ve read.

 

I went back and forth between which sister was my favorite as I read. I’ll end the book saying it was Viola, but the other Summers girls were good to read about as well. I did make the mistake of reading the back covers of the next books in the series, though, about halfway through which ruined some elements of the three potential romances that happen in this book. So, don’t be like me and avoid those blurbs until it’s time to read those books! My other favorite character was Mr. Hornbeam because he was a kind dear (and not one of the potential suitors).

 

I enjoyed quite a few parts of this story, particularly all the historical information and details. That said, I would hesitate to recommend this book to teens because there are three potential romantic relationships in this one book and there’s a decent amount of noticing muscles/bare chests and men’s physical appearances that I didn’t care for. I would say ages 16/17+ for sure, personally, because of these parts. Definitely more romance content, emotions, and noticing physical appearances than the one Jane Austen book I’ve read (so far).

 

 

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.

"Deadly Charade" by Lynette Eason & Kelly Underwood

About this book:

  “Special Agent Kira Miller's new career at the FBI has started--in translations. It's not the opportunity she was hoping for to show off her skills, until she detects a lead in the paperwork. Now assigned an undercover role, she's in her element as she gathers intel on an art smuggling ring. She's daunted not by the mission but by her cover--posing as a married woman to the fake husband she met less than twenty-four hours ago. 
    Special Agent Bryce Lambert's assignment to charade as a newlywed couple with Kira has the two of them moving next door to the prime suspects, and a relationship is the last thing he wants, fake or real. With secret auctions, hidden treasures, and a legend of art thought to be lost forever, there's plenty to keep them busy--if only they can play the part their lives and careers depend upon while keeping their own hearts in check.”


Series: Book #1 in the “FBI New Recruits” series.


Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God, Jesus, faith, trusting Him, showing grace, & letting go of bitterness; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; While Kira grew up going to church with her adoptive parents, she doesn’t go anymore and thinks God has been “silent” when she needed Him; She starts to pray as the book continues for God to help her if He is real; Bryce has a faith and share about God with Kira; *Spoilers* Towards the end, Kira realizes it’s time for her to put her trust in God and prays to God about the mission and her doubts *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of God, Jesus, His love, grace, forgiveness, & faiths; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, & a sermon; A few mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of being blessed; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck & being lucky; A mention of a place feeling like a haunted house; A mention of ghost stories.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stinking’, two ‘dumb’s, and two ‘stupid’s; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Eavesdropping; Fighting, Car crashes (including air bags deploying and passing out), Being ran off the road, Being trapped in a car after an accident, Being attacked and hit, Being kicked, Being grabbed and abducted, Being stuffed in a trunk, Being drugged, Being held at gunpoint (multiple times), Being shot at and Being shot, Gunfire, a flash-bang, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Being knocked unconscious, & Passing out (semi-detailed); A perilous situation involving a dilapidated bridge over a large abyss (semi-detailed); Seeing deaths/murders happen & Finding and seeing other murdered bodies (multiple; up to semi-detailed); Seeing people shot (up to semi-detailed); Kira and Bryce are given cocktails at a dinner party (Kira takes a sip to confirm what it is, but Bryce avoids alcohol due to having an alcoholic family member and does not drink it; Side characters also drink at the dinner and have many drinks); All about & many mentions of stolen art, smuggling rings, illegal auctions, stealing, thieves, criminals, & crimes; Many mentions of murders, murderers, bodies, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of wars (World War II & Civil War), Nazis, & possible future wars; Mentions of deaths (a car accident, heart attack) & grief; Mentions of weapons, being held at gunpoint, & gunfire; Mentions of car accidents; Mentions of terrorists, mafias, mobsters, & assassins; Mentions of kidnappings/abductions (including a child); Mentions of blackmail & threats (including threatening death/murder); Mentions of money laundering; Mentions of jail & arrests; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of divorces; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, bars, drunks, & an alcoholic; Mentions of an addiction to painkillers, being high often, & rehab; Mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of fires; A few mentions of break-ins & burglars; A few mentions of drug dealers & smuggling drugs; A few mentions of gambling & an addiction to it; A few mentions of cigars & cigarettes; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A mention of autopsies; A mention of possible poison; A mention of parents fighting; 
             *Note: Kira lived in a Russian orphanage for some of her childhood until she was adopted by an American family (because of this, she can “adapt to any situation” and make herself appear how others want, but feels like that anyone in her life could leave her if things gets tough; She knows this is not true and her parents have loved her unconditionally, but still struggles with this thought as she remembers overhearing as a child in the orphanage that no one would want her; After being adopted, Kira struggled with the notion that she had to be just how her adoptive parents wanted or she would be returned to Russia even though they never set any expectations or implied this would happen); Bryce comes from a broken home and was never good enough for his deadbeat father and has his father’s voice in his head telling him he won’t amount to anything; *Spoilers* His mother left when he was young and his father is an alcoholic who is addicted to gambling; His father kicked him out seventeen and while Bryce has tried to help him throughout the years, his father has resented him and they do not get along; Bryce’s father also betrayed Bryce by draining his savings account; Bryce has scars from what others have said about him when growing up (such as “trailer park trash” and “hoodrat”), but mostly from never being good enough for his father and his father’s hurtful words; Bryce feels guilt for not trying harder to help his father, but Kira tries to encourage him; Bryce believes his father might be gaslighting him about the past and believes that his father suffers from “mental and physical illnesses”; At the very end, Bryce’s apologizes what he has said and done & Bryce forgives his father *End of Spoilers*; Kira comments to her friends about living in the “age of equality” but some men at Quantico still being livid to be outperformed by a girl; Mentions of painters (Cézanne, Rembrandt, Veláquez, Caravaggio, van Gogh, & Degas); Mentions of brand names & items (Harley-Davidson, Barbie, iPhone, iPad, AirTag, Glock, Spanx, Band-Aid, Clue, & Maglite); Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of movies & a TV show (Indiana Jones, The Goonies, & Downton Abbey); A couple mentions of Google; A couple mentions of yoga; A mention of Hallmark movies; A mention of a vampire; A mention of a panic attack; A mention of depression.
 
 
Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, a hand kiss, two cheek kisses, a head kiss, an almost kiss (semi-detailed), a semi-detailed kiss, and a border-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss; Remembering kisses & almost kisses (up to semi-detailed); Staring at lips; Touches, Hand holding, Tingles/Sparks, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (up to semi-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing (up to semi-detailed); a ‘sexy’, a ‘smoking hot’, and four forms of ‘hunk’; A married woman tries to flirt with Bryce (while he is undercover as a married man; *Spoiler* The woman was part of a ploy and did this to be able to blackmail Bryce *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of kisses, kissing, making out, & almost kisses; Mentions of dates, dating, boyfriends/girlfriends, exes, & cheating; Mentions of flirting & a married woman making moves on a married man; A couple mentions of crushes; A mention of making sure a man keeps his hands to himself (around his beautiful work partner); Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Bryce got divorced after a short marriage and is not interested in another relationship (she left him and filed for the divorce); A mention of a woman’s low-cut dress.
 
-Kira Miller, age 33
-Bryce Lambert
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        320 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Add up to a full star for Older Teens interested in the FBI, criminal justice, and/or suspense books.}

After hearing this book would be about two FBI agents posing as a married couple, I was instantly reminded of my favorite episode from ‘Sue Thomas: FB Eye’ where Sue and Jack have to pose as a married couple and live next to a couple with potential terrorists ties. I knew this book would be different, though, so I tried not to hype it up in my mind to give it a fair chance. I did really liked the plot and different elements like the art smuggling, art museum scenes, and the pretend/fake marriage, but I wasn’t a fan of our main characters or how they were written. Characters can make or break a book for me, so this affected my overall enjoyment of this story. 

 

Bryce was a little too interested in Kira right off the bat which felt a little strange because he would notice how attractive she was, but then quickly think how he had too much baggage for a relationship. This happened a few times in just the beginning chapter. There were also a few times where Kira didn’t want to talk about her past, but then would drop a very vague comment that would obviously catch Bryce or someone else’s interest so they would ask and she would explain. A lot of their dialogue felt stiff and awkward because of it. And perhaps that’s because they’ve just met each other, but it distracted me while reading because it felt unnatural. 

 

The ending was very Indiana Jones-esce—which, funny enough right after I thought that, a character also thought “what in the Indiana Jones [is this]?” and made me laugh when the scene was supposed to be intense. It felt a little far-fetched for the book. I have a few questions about some loose threads at the ending as well. Overall, this wasn’t a new favorite romantic suspense book, but I am interested in continuing the series.

 

 

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.

*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Revell) for this honest review.

"Girl in the Barn" by Erica Kingsbury

About this book:

  “Maggie Hartley has a plan. A dangerous one.
    When her little sister Grace is moved to a new foster family—without warning, and without her—nine-year-old Maggie does the only thing she can think to do: she runs. Out a window. Through the dark. Alone.
    Days later, hungry and out of options, Maggie slips into a barn on the edge of a small town called Juniper Creek and hides in the hayloft. She doesn't expect to be found by Jasper Williams. And she definitely doesn't expect his family to want to help.
    But the Williamses believe in doing right by people—even strangers, even complicated ones. For Maggie, "right" means only one thing: finding Grace.”


Series: Book #1 in the“Juniper Creek” series.


Spiritual Content- ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; The group home is an old church that has been converted to house many orphaned girls; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A few mentions of the sanctuary, stained glass windows, & pews; 
             *Note: A few mentions of luck & being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Some eye rolling; Maggie lies a couple of times (to be able to get a bus ticket, which she feels bad about doing); Grief (including Maggie for parents); After Maggie and her sister (Grace) are taken to a group home, Grace is placed with a family without Maggie’s knowledge and desperately misses her; Because of this, Maggie plans to run away from the group home to find her sister (which does happen and involves Maggie sneaking out, getting on a bus, avoiding adults, and having little to eat; *Spoilers* When reunited with her sister, Maggie says all of the prior things were worth it for the moment of hugging her sister *End of Spoilers*); Maggie knows she shouldn’t leave the group home, but is determined to find her sister because she believes they need to be together; Because of not being told more about her sister, Maggie feels like she can’t trust the adults around her & shouts at a lady at the group home for keeping things from her (*Spoilers* The woman tried to tell Maggie about the couple wanting to adopt her and her sister, but Maggie wouldn’t listen and didn’t go to the meetings; The couple was only approved for one child at a time, but plan to adopt Maggie as well when approved to do so; At the end, the woman explains more of the details to Maggie and says she’ll try to get things pushed forward to reunite the sisters in their new home, but Maggie has to return to the group home until then *End of Spoilers*) After she’s been hiding in his family’s barn, Jasper finds Maggie and hears her story (she asks him not to tell his parents about her, *Spoilers* and while he agrees to wait until morning to tell them, he quickly realizes that was wrong and should have told his parents right away; He feels guilt when the truth is found out and his parents tell him he should have come to them; Jasper’s mom tells Maggie that what she did was very brave, but was not safe; When Maggie overhears Jasper’s parents talk about calling the police, she runaway again to where her sister exactly is; Jasper covers for Maggie to have time for her to get to her sister & he feels guilty again *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of missing and runaway children; Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of the deaths of Maggie’s parents (no details besides that an “accident” happened) & grief; A few mentions of “borrowing” something (like apples on the ground, which Maggie tells herself isn’t stealing); A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of a burglar & a criminal; A couple mentions of jails; A couple mentions of jealousy; 
             *Note: Maggie says she likes playing video games like Minecraft on her tablet; A few mentions of brand names & games (iPad, Pop-Tarts, Cheerios, Barbie, Minecraft); A mention of a book (‘Charlotte’s Web’).
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
- Maggie Hartley, age 9
                                P.O.V. switches Maggie, Jasper, & a couple others 
                                                        168 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

While I don’t love the AI cover for this book, I did find the story inside to be special! I wished things had been handled differently for Maggie and her sister, but the ending gives me hope for the rest of the series for the girls’ happiness. This book was set in the fall and mostly set around an apple orchard, so it was good timing to read it now! I would give a heads up for adoptees and/or those in foster care, though, as this book may stir up difficult feelings with Maggie and her sister being separated. It’s not fully resolved by the end of the story, but it looks hopeful for the girls being reunited permanently later in the series.

 

 

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.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.