"In Between" by Jenny B. Jones

 

Kindle cover

About this book:

  “Can we overcome our past?
Katie Parker is about to get a new life—whether she wants one or not. With her mom in prison, and her father AWOL, Katie is sent to live with a squeaky-clean family who could have their own sitcom. She launches a full-scale plan to get sent back to the girls’ home when she finds herself in over her head...and heart. When Katie and her new "wrong crowd" get into significant trouble at school, she finds her punishment is restoring a historic theater with a crazy grandma who goes by the name of Mad Maxine. In the midst of her punishment, Katie uncovers family secrets that run deep, and realizes she's not the only one with a pain-filled past. Katie must decide if she'll continue her own family’s messed up legacy or embrace a new beginning in this place called In Between.”


 Series: Book #1 (of three) in the “Katie Parker Productions” series.

Spiritual Content- Katie really isn’t happy with God (she says “God-schomod” once); Many, many Prayers & Blessings over food by Pastor Scott (Katie’s new foster dad); At the beginning Katie does not want to go to church but as it goes on she gets a bit more open minded; Youth group, Church & Wednesday night goings (a few sermons are written out); Scriptures are said & talked about; a “Thank God”; Katie says she “had history with a teacher who probably knew your Moses dude”; Katie tries to pray; Katie recalls when she was five and at Sunday School once, that she finger-painted a mustache on a picture of Jesus; Katie says she doesn’t know that she’ll ever get through the Bible “until Nicholas Sparks puts out a version.”; Talks about God, Him accepting us, Him meeting us, forgiveness & The Grace of God (GOG).     

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘goddess’, a ‘pansy’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘stinkin’’, a ‘suck it up’, a form of ‘sissy’, two ‘blast it’s, two ‘screw’, three ‘sick’s, three ‘idiot’s (mostly Katie calling herself that), three ‘oh my gosh’s, eight ‘stupid’s (again, mostly Katie calling herself that) and someone cusses but it’s not written; butts, rears, back ends, tushes het told where to sit & go numb; The phase “on crack” is said once; A floor color reminds Katie of vomit; Katie had a roommate that “would just as soon slit you with the knife she hides under her King James Bible as she would befriend you”, Trina is mentioned a couple times again later; To confuse/scare Mr. & Mrs. Scott, Katie dresses goth & says that “death…that’s so cool” and that her “people celebrate it” (she mentions that a juice looks like blood and that bacon is a dead pig) (She knows that they’ll send her back soon so she just tries and get it over with); Cigarette smoking (Katie does not partake in it but hangs teens who do); Katie is unknowingly recruited for a vandalism trip with her new “friends”; Katie tries to push the envelope with Mrs. Scott and asks for “a strawberry virgin daiquiri with a little pink umbrella floating in it” (She, of course, does not get one); Katie & Frances have to dissect a pig (semi detailed & very detailed); Katie is very, very, very sassy and sarcastic (very!).

Sexual Content- a ‘floozy’, a ‘hoochie mama’; Katie says she has a boyfriend named Snake (“the shorter the name, the easier to get it tattooed on your—“) (He’s made up and not mentioned after that scene); Maxine was a Vegas Show girl and says once that she’s “not afraid to show a little cleavage” and also says at a different time that she keeps her ATM card in her bra; Katie says that the “dog’s way of getting to know me is totally scandalous. If I greeted people like that at school, I’d be arrested.”; When she’s trying on a pair of jeans, Katie says that the pair “makes me look like a actually have a butt”; Katie gets two new padded bras and that she’s shortcoming in that area, those bras are mentioned again a few times again as a “wonderbra”; Katie says that “the underwear could go since I like to go au natural anyway” (that doesn’t happen and Mrs. Scott finds room for all the bags in her car); Sam dances with a young guy, but it’s clear a few pages later that Charlie is teaching Sam to dance; Boyfriends & Girlfriends are mentioned but don’t play major roles in this book; Katie calls a guy “totally hot” and that guys who usually like her “usually have a few body piercings and a taste for cheap cigarettes.”; Katie tells Frances that she thought she was going to hyperventilate when she asked Millie (Mrs. Scott) to buy her some tampons; Maxine stuffs tissues in Katie’s dress saying that they’re “Boobs in a box!”.    

-Katie Parker, age 16
                                         P.O.V. of Katie
                                                        345 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens- 

(and a half)

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating- 

(and a half)

**Just a note: Katie is very sassy and very sarcastic; some families will not want their daughter reading this book**

 While this had some funny parts, I think it would be best for girls ages 16+ because of some of the content.

See y’all tomorrow with a review of a…*gasp*…a banned book?!

{Psst! have you seen our Giveaway? Open Worldwide & ends on the 5th!}

*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.