"Defy" by Tricia Mingerink

About this book:

  “A traitor to the Blades must die.
    With his betrayal revealed, former Blade Leith Torren flees into the Sheered Rock Hills, pursued by King Respen's vengeful Blades.
    Left behind at Nalgar Castle, Renna Faythe tries to find her purpose, yet that purpose isn't what she expected.
    Brandi Faythe has been torn from her sister, and that isn't all right. If Leith can't rescue Renna, Brandi will take matters into her own hands.
    War demands sacrifice. Courage falters. Who will find the strength to defy King Respen?
    Acktar rests on one hope:
    The Leader is ready.”


Series: Book #3 in the “Blades of Acktar” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here and Book #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- 1 Samuel 17:10, 45-47 at the beginning; Scriptures are mentioned, read, remembered, & quoted; Songs/Hymns are sung; Stories about Daniel are shared and paraphrased; Prayers & Blessings over food; Witnessing; Many talks about God, Jesus, His will, Daniel, David, trusting God, God being with us, being in God’s hands, Heaven, & praying; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; In this world, being a Christian and/or owning a Bible is illegal and Christians are persecuted for their faiths; Brandi struggles with her faith after previous events and feels like God is far away, but finds comfort in the story of David; Many mentions of God, Jesus, trusting Him, God being with us, being in God’s hands, waiting on God, & being changed by God; Many mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & those and events in the Bible; Mentions of Christians, faiths, salvation, & witnessing; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of hidden churches, church going, secret services, & ministers; Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of cross necklaces; A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of sins; A mention of devotions; 
             *Note: Renna notes that she’s always been taught that no child of God could ever permanently lose their faith and wonders what that means for Respen (if he never truly had a faith or is it possible he has temporarily wandered away but could regain it again); Before his wife’s death, Respen would take part in Christianity to make her happy, but when she died, he became bitter towards God; *Major Spoilers* Though Renna tries to talk to him about God and forgiveness, Respen still believes that Christianity is a weakness, the churches are filled with self-righteous hypocrites, and is arrogant to the point that he doesn’t need his Maker *End of Spoilers*; A couple mentions of a man having evil lurking in him; A mention of a possible shrine for a person.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘what in Acktar’, two ‘shoot’s, and two ‘stupid’s; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Brandi lies (see spoiler in Note section below for context); Seeing/hearing an execution & Grief (barely-above-not-detailed); Killing, fighting on battlefields, & guilt over killing (*Spoilers* When defending herself, Brandi kills a Blade and feels guilt; When talking to Leith about it, he tells her that killing always has consequences even when doing it to defend someone; Brandi relates to David in the Bible and decides to become a fighter *End of Spoilers*; up to semi-detailed); Lots of near death moments (including nearly being beheaded), fighting and killing on battle fields, fighting, being attacked, being cut (including on the throat) and stabbed, being held at knife and arrow-point, holding others at knife-point, being tortured (including being whipped and burned), major pain, injuries/wounds, blood/bleeding, & passing out (semi-detailed); Seeing others killed (up to semi-detailed); Remembering seeing & hearing murders/deaths (up to semi-detailed); Finding a mangled corpse (up to semi-detailed); Helping others badly injured and bleeding (including giving stitches and helping an injured horse, semi-detailed); Grief (up to semi-detailed); Being concerned for a horse dying (up to semi-detailed); Eavesdropping; Leith is a former assassin & has killed or helped killed others before; Many, many mentions of deaths/murders (including of parents), executions, assassinations and attempts, planning to kill someone, bodies, blood/bleeding, weapons, & grief (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of torture, beatings, & being punched/slapped and whipped (including as punishments); Mentions of wars & fighting; Mentions of faking deaths & bloodied bodies; Mentions of screams, people being shot and stabbed, & attacks; Mentions of injured horses and concerned for them dying or being killed (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies, lying, & deception; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of gossip, rumors, & eavesdropping; A few mentions of suicide missions; A few mentions of thieves; A few mentions of poisons & being poisoned; A few mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of alcohol (mostly for treating wounds); A few mentions of hunters & hunting animals (for food); A mention of an abusive drunk (Leith’s father); A mention of the smell of dead animals; 
             *Note: Brandi wishes to wear trousers when adventuring (rather than skirts that get in the way) & wishes to be able to fight (despite her being a girl and not allowed to join an army); *Spoilers* About halfway, Brandi gets the idea to disguise herself as a boy to join the fighting, lies about her identity, and kills on the battlefield for the sake of others *End of Spoilers*; A few mentions of Brandi finding boys disgusting (after seeing their outdoor bathrooms with no privacy, comparing chest hair, & making rude noises).
 
 
Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, a hair kiss, a not-detailed kiss, two border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Remembering a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Tingles, & Nearness (including a couple unwanted touches, barely-above-not-detailed); Remembering touches & embraces (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing a couple share kisses & embraces (barely-above-not-detailed); Renna shudders at the thought of letting a man “kiss her…and more” if they were to get married and how it won’t be a marriage in name only (because of who the man is; not Leith); Mentions of courtship, romance, attraction, & liking someone; A mention of a man’s suggestive tone; Some love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A couple mentions of women being frisked for weapons (and a guard blushing); A mention of Brandi not having “enough of a girl’s figure” yet to be noticeable; A mention of a dress not being low-cut or revealing.
 
-Leith Torren, age 18
-Renna Faythe, age 17-18
-Brandi Faythe, age 14
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        422 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

It’s been a while since I’ve been concerned for the lives of fictional characters in a series and if they will make it to the end. The prior books in this series has been very intense and pretty violent—and this book was no different in that regard. I was pretty nauseous while reading when it came to roughly the last 35% of the book. Book 1 had a lot of near-death/near-assassination moments, Book 2 had a lot of executions and bloodshed, this third book had a lot of torture and battles. It was rough. Like, really rough. I think I need to go read a cute rom-com or something right now, not gonna lie, because it was intense. 

 

Prior to the last third of the book, though, I did find it a little slow. There was a little too much play-by-play of everyone’s actions which made the book feel a little long, but it was over four hundred pages so that’s also probably part of that feeling. That said, once the action (and violence) comes into play, the plot massively pick-ups and I think my heart was in my throat for the last 150 pages or so. 

 

Unlike the first two books in this series, we get the POV of Brandi, Renna’s little sister, in this book. This girl stressed me out and probably gave me two new grey hairs (thanks a lot, kid) with her actions in this book. I think some of her scenes were probably unrealistic, but I’m willing to stick my fingers in my ears and mostly ignore them because like I said above, I needed all my characters to make it to the end of this book alive and her risky/stupid actions helped in that regard. Mostly. 

 

The faith content was just as strong as the previous books and continued to be what kept me reading. While I might disagree with a couple comments theology wise in this book, this series has been highlighting Christian persecution in a way I usually only see in a non-fiction book and shows the characters growing stronger in their faith and trust in God despite their brutal circumstances. I truly wanted to give Renna a hug for her growth especially. 

 

I’ve been told that the last two books in this series are less violent than this book and Book 2, so I’m going to count on that and hope for maybe some cute moments between our main couple & also more forgiveness and witnessing to a new character in those. It’s definitely way more violent than I would ever usually recommend—again, I have to say, this series has been violent and is not for everyone—but the faith content has been really good overall.

 

 

 

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 Mandolin Mystery" by Cate Nolan

About this book:

  “After a decades-long hiatus, Blackberry Valley's bluegrass festival is making a comeback. The community is excited to renew a long-standing tradition that previously came to a bitter end. The founding musical duo split up after an heirloom mandolin vanished along with the proceeds from the celebration. Hannah Prentiss can't wait to join in the festivities and reconnect with her childhood friend, musician Monroe Taylor.
     But when Hannah and Monroe discover a damaged mandolin in a crate of instruments loaned to the library, they are astonished to discover that this is the missing mandolin that belongs to Monroe's grandfather.
     Who took the mandolin all those years ago, and how did it end up in that crate? And where's the stolen money? Hannah fears her efforts to find the truth may do more harm than good…unless she can bring a closing note to the past.”


Series: Book #13 in the “Mysteries of Blackberry Valley” series. Reviews of Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, Book #11, and Book #12!


Spiritual Content- Colossians 3:13 at the beginning; A Scripture is read during a devotional; Prayers; Church going; Talks about God, His will, & trusting His timing; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & His will; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, devotionals, & those and events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, & thanking and praising God; Mentions of church, church going, pastors, & services; Mentions of hymns & gospel songs; A few mentions of blessings & being blessed; A couple mentions of angels; A mention of sinners; 
             *Note: Hannah is told she’s worked a miracle when solving the mystery; Mentions of luck & being lucky; A couple mentions of someone’s music being called “magical”; A mention of someone looking like he saw a ghost.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’ and a ‘dumb’; Eye rolling; Being caught in a flash flood & surrounded by water (up to semi-detailed); All about & many mentions of stolen items, stealing, thieves, crimes, & criminals; Mentions of deaths (including Hannah’s mother & a husband/father being killed in action); Mentions of fires & arson; Mentions of blackmail & threats; Mentions of arrests & jails/prisons; Mentions of family feuds & someone trying to escape her family by any means (including illegal); Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A couple mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of a horror movie & a serial-killer clown; 
             *Note: Mentions of singers, bands, & songs (Osborne Brothers, Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn, Elvis, Alison Krauss, Rhiannon Giddens, Flatt and Scruggs, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, ‘Wayfaring Stranger’, ‘Footprints in the Snow’, ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’,  ‘Rocky Top’, ‘Every Times You Say Goodbye’, ‘Cluck Old Hen’, ‘I’m Working on the Road to Glory Land’, & ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of a struggling marriage (due to the husband always being away with work), but it improving.
 
 
Sexual Content- a forehead kiss, ten not-detailed kisses, and three barely-above-not-detailed kisses; Some touches, embraces, hand holding, nearness, & noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple winks; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, & dating; A few mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of kisses & kissing; A couple mentions of jealousy; Very light love, being in love, & the emotions.
 
-Hannah Prentiss
                                P.O.V. of Hannah & a couple others in prior scenes
                                            Four scenes from 1966, 1970, 1973, & 1975.
                                                        272 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve never been one for country music (and by default of assuming they are similar, bluegrass music as well), but I found myself interested in this mystery regardless and curious about who the culprit or culprits were. I really liked the sweet light romance between Hannah and her fella (they are so sweet and cute together!), but also message of forgiveness at the end of the book.

 

 

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 Four Seasons of Florence Wallace" by Kirstie Myvett

About this book:

  “Against her wishes, Florence finds herself at the Colored Orphan Asylum in New York City, along with her younger sister, Eva. Believing her Mama will come back for her, Florence perseveres. She finds hope and purpose in newfound friends, in the words of female abolitionists and suffragists, in memories of her father's confidence in her, and in a sunflower patch in the back of the orphanage's garden. But when the Draft Riots occur, the orphanage is destroyed in a fire, leaving Florence to wonder if the dreams of a colored girl are even worth pursuing.”


Series: Part of the “American Stories for Gutsy Girls” series, but does not seem connected to any other book.


Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are partially quoted and mentioned; A couple prayers; A hymn is sung; ‘H’s are mostly capital when referring to God; Florence hasn’t prayed in a long time because God is on her “People I Hate” list, telling her mother in a letter/journal entry to not be mad about this because “most of what’s happened is His fault”; Florence thinks badly about a pastor who paid for her and her sister’s first month’s fee at the orphanage as his “Christian duty” and she thinks that doing that was easier than helping her mother keep them together (calling his sermons about family staying together all “in act in the end”); Florence thinks that being at the orphanage shows that “colored girls’ prayers weren’t answered” and later again that God hasn’t answered her prayers for someone; Later on, Florence does say a few prayers, though, and thinks a couple of them are answered; A woman comments about looking only to “suffering humanity, your own conscience, and God” for approval; Mentions of God & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, & answered and unanswered prayers, & thanking God; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, pastors/chaplains, & sermons; Mentions of having faith (for something good to happen); A few mentions of Heaven; A few mentions of blessings & being blessed; A couple mentions of a miracle; A couple mentions of the Ten Commandments; A couple mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of Florence’s “unChristianlike behavior” (when she pays a bully back for her mean actions to her little sister); A mention of Psalm 23; A mention of a man making the sign of the cross over his chest; A mention of a cross necklace; A mention of stealing being a sin; 
             *Note: Religious phrases: “My Lord” and “Sweet heavens” are both said once; Florence hopes that if her father is able to look down on her from heaven, he would smile at her; Florence says there are no such things as ghosts when another girl thinks she saw one; A comment from a chaplain about a deceased girl having her “angel wings” now; A comment about idle hands being the “devil’s workmen”; A man says that draft dodgers are “demons”; Mentions of luck & being lucky; A couple mentions of the phrase “cleanliness is next to godliness”; A couple mentions of Santa Claus; A mention of thinking a person is a phantom/specter haunting a building.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘moron’, a ‘shut up’, and four ‘stupid’s; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); A few lies (mostly Florence to her little sister); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Jealousy & Hatred; Fires, being caught in a riot, being chased and grabbed, being attacked, & being threatened (including a brick going through a window and being afraid; Seeing all of this happen and seeing others attacked as well; all up to semi-detailed); Grief (for a deceased father & also for being together as a family, up to semi-detailed); Going to a funeral for a young girl & seeing grief (up to semi-detailed); A worker at the orphanage is mean to Florence & so is another girl there who is a bully (including the adult grabbing her and nearly striking her, forcing Florence to clean the woman’s messy room, & the girl taunting and stealing from Florence and her little sister); When mad at the bully for picking on her sister, Florence ties her up and gets in trouble for doing it (which she says was defending her sister and her parents expect that of her); *Spoilers about the bully* The Matron has Florence and the bully work on a project together and when it seems to go well, Florence thinks that while they would never be friends, maybe they won’t be enemies; However, shortly after, the bully steals Florence’s part of a speech and says it first, causing Florence to have to come up with something on the spot *End of Spoilers*; *Spoilers about the mean woman at the orphanage* Towards the end, the woman is fired for stealing and though she’s glad the woman is gone, Florence hopes she has a place to stay as no one should have to live on the streets; At the end, Florence randomly meets the woman again and while the woman continues to say that she didn’t steal from the orphanage, she wishes Florence a good life *End of Spoilers*; Florence is told to carry a weapon to protect herself in a possibly dangerous situation; Florence has a “People I Hate” list of those who have wronged her and her family by turning their backs on them (including God), *Spoilers* but at the very end, she realizes that she no longer hates anyone anymore (including the rioters which will have to “answer for what they did”) *End of Spoilers*; Florence’s mother takes her and her sister to the orphanage after her father’s death because no one was willing to take them all in (Her mother plans to come back for them and Florence mentions it often, though she worries about not hearing from her mother during their time there; Florence does not want to be at the orphanage and is very upset about being there); Florence thinks about running away from the orphanage (twice, nearly doing it before being caught) and also thinks about causing a fight on purpose to get expelled (but she doesn’t as she doesn’t know how to fight); Florence sneaks out of her bedroom multiple times (to comfort her sister, but it is against the rules); Florence is concerned that something might have happened to her mother (being sick, an accident, or worse); Florence is rude to her mother, feels like her mother is to blame for why she’s in the orphanage, and feels like her mother isn’t trying hard enough to get her and her sister back (which is proven to be false and she feels a little guilty for her accusations); Florence makes comments and assumptions that the people who work in the orphanage will mistreat the children there by being sent to bed without supper or being locked in a closet as punishments (none of this is true for the Colored Orphan Asylum); As the book continues, *Spoilers* Florence starts to find the orphanage bearable because of making friends and the possibility of being able to go to college one day to become a teacher; At the end, Florence writes to her mother that she is a splendid mother and to not feel bad for sending her to an orphanage as she was doing the best she could; Shortly after writing this in her journal, Florence’s mother comes for her and her sister to take them back, but Florence decides to stay at the orphanage for the possibility of getting to go to college and feels complete happiness *End of Spoilers*; Set during the Civil War, there are many mentions of the war, fights/fighting, battles, deaths, slavery, drafts, & “colored men” wanting to fight in the war as well; Mentions of deaths, accidents, illnesses, thinking that someone might die, & grief (including for a father & a young girl); Mentions of segregation & “colored people” being mistreated and threatened (with harm and death by others); Mentions of riots, lynchings, looting, stealing, burning buildings, & beating up people (including colored people & women with babies); Mentions of attacks/being attacked, injuries, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of children being abandoned; Mentions of thieves, stealing, stolen items, vandalism, crimes, arrests, & prison; Mentions of bullies & them taunting and teasing other children; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars (Florence knows her mother told her not to use the word “liar” or call people names, but calls a woman that because she is a “big fat liar”); Mentions of hatred (including Florence hating different people and the orphanage); Mentions of guilt (mainly from Florence’s mother for leaving her at the orphanage); Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of some colored children placed in indentures being mistreated or returned in poor condition and malnourished; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of pubs; A mention of cheating at a game (Florence’s father would help her find others when playing hide-and-seek by watching where the other children would hide);
             *Note: Because of the time period, racial comments and comparisons are frequently made (such as Florence thinking people like her are constantly targeted because of their skin color, a girl at the orphanage commenting that “it’s always white people” who saves colored people and then disappear after getting praise (which Florence agrees with her about), the same girl commenting again that the war is “another example of white people being the hero” and not letting colored people help (which Florence agrees with again as she doesn’t think it’s fair that colored men can’t help fight for their “brothers down south”), Florence thinks that the “white people” who came to the anniversary celebration of the orphanage only came to hear how great they were, Florence thinking that “white people” on the board at the orphanage do not care about colored girls with dreams, a woman comments about the “white folks” judging her, Florence recalls her father telling her about colored people who can pass for white and pretended to be white only so they “could live without the burden of Blackness”, Florence not understanding how some people think it’s a right to own other human beings, & mentions of colored children and people being refused schooling); There’s conflict between the Irish and colored people due to a lack of jobs (and competing to see who will work the cheapest) & the draft proclamation (when some Irish people do not want to fight and potentially die for the colored people); Florence knows some Irish people at the orphanage who are kind to her and the others, but also overhears two Irish men speak badly about those with skin colors like her (saying that a mixed race doctor is only smart because of white blood and how he didn’t come to America to fight for “Blacks”; she is shaken and hurt to hear these men’s words); Florence says that if she owned a business, she wouldn’t allow “rebels or racists” to shop there; Florence gets caught in a riot and chased due to her skin color; The rioters burn down buildings, steal, and plan to harm colored people and children (including yelling at them and stealing from the orphanage, which makes Florence think there is no safe place for colored people and feels unwanted and despised because of her skin color (an adult tries to tell her that she matters, but she doesn’t believe it at first); *Spoilers* At the end of the book and after the riots, Florence’s mother comes to take her and her sister with her, but Florence decides to stay at the orphanage for the sake of getting to go to college later *End of Spoilers*; Some conversations & mentions of women being seen as equal to men and those who are against the suffragists (including comments from men and women against women having rights); The Matron encourages Florence to write her feelings in a journal as it will do her no good to hold her feelings inside, so Florence does with writing entries as if writing letters to her mother; A couple mentions of mentally unwell people living on Blackwell’s island at an asylum.
 
 
Sexual Content- *Spoilers* At the very end, Florence’s mother comes to get her and her little sister as she’s accepted a marriage proposal and they will be able to have a home together; Florence asks her mother if she loves the man and her mother responds that it’s “complicated” which makes Florence think that sometimes mothers “married men they didn’t love for their children’s sake” *End of Spoilers*; 
             *Note: A few mentions of a mother nursing a baby & the flavor of her milk; A mention of a mother’s bosom.
 
-Florence Wallace, ages 11-12
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Florence
                                        Set in 1862-1863 
                                                        320 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

After reading the prior book in this series, I was a little leery that this book would only showing one race in a good light and every other race in a negative light. Thankfully, the author of this book showed both good and bad characters—which were based on their actions and not their skin colors. Very realistic for then and now; and while some of the history was hard to read with the prejudice and hatred shown, I gained more information about the time period. 

 

I’ve been a bit burned out lately on middle-grade books featuring orphanages because it seems like nearly all of them have awful adults in charge and are just plain cruel to the main character. Thankfully, the Matron of this orphanage is kind, but Florence does have to deal with a woman at the orphanage who is mean to her for no reason and also a girl who is a major bully. Every time those two would appear, I felt myself getting upset and annoyed for Florence because they were truly awful. The ending wasn’t super satisfying for the slight mystery that Florence was trying to solve as there wasn’t a true conclusion. 

 

There was more faith content than I was expecting in this book, but at first it’s mostly Florence being mad at God and adding Him to her “People I Hate” list (along with a pastor she knew that didn’t help her family more). While she’s not as upset by the end of the book and thus showing some character development in this regard, I would have preferred to see that anger at God being fixed on-page rather than subtly fixed, especially since this book is aimed for middle-grade ages and could be misleading for young readers. Florence’s anger at God and others is understandable at the beginning with what she and her family have been through, but I didn’t love the lack of awareness that God had been watching over her and answering her prayers (just not in the way she wanted). I was glad she was able to learn more and start to dream about the future by the end of the book. I wish there had been an epilogue to share what happened for Florence, her family, and friends in the future as I think that would have been a good ending. 

 

For potential middle-grade readers, I think this book would be best to read with a parent to be able to discuss the hard events in it, the prejudice and hatred showed, and have conversations about how God was watching over Florence despite her not thinking He was answering her prayers.

 

 

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 (Tommy Nelson) for this honest review.

"Ly-Lan and the Missing Tooth Fairy" by Hà Dinh

About this book:

  “Everyone in Ly-Lan’s class seems to be losing teeth lately, but Ly-Lan only has one that is just a little bit loose. Then she bites into a mooncake that she got from the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it suddenly falls out! When she puts it under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy and it’s still there the next day, she declares the Tooth Fairy must be missing. Ly-Lan rallies her friends to help look for the Tooth Fairy, but the adults are less helpful. They keep talking to Ly-Lan about patience and God’s timing. There are more questions than answers in this mysterious case, but Ly-Lan will not rest until she has answers!”


Series: Book #3 in the “Ly-Lan Finds a Way” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here and Book #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- A prayer at bedtime & thanking God; A few talks about God & trusting His timing; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Ly-Lan’s mom tells her that only God knowing why and when things will happen & Ly-Lan asks how to get God to tell her when she’ll loose a tooth (which makes her mom laugh); Later, Ly-Lan tells her best friend what her mom said about trusting God’s timing, but she doesn’t think it’s right and wants to take matters into her own hands about losing a tooth; Three illustrations show that Ly-Lan has a cross on the wall in her bedroom; Mentions of God & trusting His timing; A few mentions of bedtime prayers & praying; 
             *Note: All about & many mentions of the Tooth Fairy, her magic, getting money from her for teeth, & Ly-Lan believing the Tooth Fairy is missing after she stays up to give her the tooth and the fairy doesn’t come; The Tooth Fairy is called “magical” (twice) and described to look like a fairy with little wings; An illustration shows Ly-Lan thinking of the Tooth Fairy living in a fairy garden and that she gets her money for the teeth she collects from there (and thus Ly-Lan thinking her mom was wrong about money not growing on trees as it does in the Tooth Fairy’s magical garden); Another illustration shows a tooth being the seed of a money tree for the Tooth Fairy; *Spoiler* At the very end, Ly-Lan’s tooth disappears with a dollar bill in the spot, which implies that the Tooth Fairy visited her during the night *End of Spoiler*; A couple mentions of keeping faith (for the Tooth Fairy to visit); A mention of a mermaid.
 

Negative Content- Ly-Lan rolls her eyes at a boy and finds him to be sometimes “annoying” (once); Ly-Lan is very concerned when the Tooth Fairy misses collecting her tooth, but her parents assure her that she will come soon; Ly-Lan feels competitive with the smartest boy in her class (over who has lost a baby tooth and the price of it from the Tooth Fairy), so she comes up with a plan to pull her tooth out with the help of her best friend, but her parents tell her that she can’t do that without talking to them about it first; A couple mentions of a lost dog (who was found safe a couple days later).
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Ly-Lan Tran, age 8
                                P.O.V. of Ly-Lan 
                                                        96 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

A couple comments felt a little too adult-ish for an eight-year-old to say, but perhaps some kids would say “dental research” or “data collection” in the proper context and have made a chart for classmates who have lost teeth. I can’t quite tell if it’s a little unrealistic or if I’m completely outside of the target age market for this series. 😂 I do like Ly-Lan and her friend group, though, and learning more about Vietnamese culture! 

 

All the tooth fairy stuff had it’s cute parts, but my family didn’t do that when I was growing up, so I think it was a little lost on me, personally. As a note for parents of young readers, there’s no info about the true identity of the Tooth Fairy, but older readers and adults will be able to read between the lines at Ly-Lan’s parents’ reactions to the Tooth Fairy “missing” her tooth.

 

 

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 (Zonderkidz) for this honest review.