Books for Christian Girls: "In Front of God and Everybody" by K.D. McCrite

{{This is an updated review. Originally posted January 1^st, 2015, it was updated on April 17^th, 2022 to the Official Rating System.}}

About this book:

“Growing up in the country is never easy, but it sure is funny--especially if you happen to have a sister obsessed with being glamorous, a grandma just discovering make-up, hippie friends who never shower, and brand new neighbors from the city who test everyone's patience. From disastrous dye jobs to forced apologies and elderly date tagalongs, you'll laugh 'til you cry as you read the "Confessions of April Grace"!

Here are just a couple of April's thoughts: On her sister, Myra Sue: "How anyone can be that dumb and still be able to eat with a fork is beyond me." On senior citizen lovebirds: "What if they started smooching right at the table in front of God and everybody?"

In spite of all the loony characters in her life, April Grace is able to learn from her parents as they share the love of God--to even the craziest of characters!”

Series: Book #1 in the “Confessions of April Grace” series. There are three books in this original series and the first book in a new series about April Grace will be republished this summer.

Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, quoted, & talked about; The Prayer of Saint Francis is read; Talks about God & judging; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God, Jesus, & treating others as you would want to be treated; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of the Prayer of Saint Francis; Mentions of churches, church going, & preachers/reverends; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A few mentions of VBS & Sunday school classes; A couple mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of hymns; A couple mentions of martyrdom; A couple mentions of a revival meeting; A mention of the Lord’s Prayer; A mention of a picture of Jesus; A mention of the Second Coming; A mention of April Grace’s sister acting like Mother Teresa;

*Note: A neighbor of the Reilly family are old hippies who go by the names Temple & Forest Freebrid (Temple says that “she is the temple of her inner goddess, and he says he inhabits the souls of trees.”); Temple mentions about centering yourself in the center of the universe & closes her eyes like she’s praying; Isabel says they are not religious & later adds that she isn’t sure if she believes in God; April Grace describes Isabel being mad as “I’m pretty sure she was trying to keep her eyeballs from bursting into flames like those pictures you see of Satan.”; A few mentions of being or not being religious fanatics; A couple mentions of embracing your inner goddess; A mention of a truck being as “big and red as sin itself”; A mention of a cat dashing off like the devil was after it; A mention of a placed rumored to be haunted; A mention of being called a psychic; A mention of a town not being a mecca of entertainment.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, a ‘oh my word’, a ‘shucks’, a ‘ticked off’, a ‘wretch’, two ‘baloney’s, two forms of ‘idiot’s, two ‘my stars!’s, two forms of ‘shut up/hush up’, three ‘what a drip’s, nine ‘stupid’s, and twenty-five forms of ‘dumb’; Myra Sue & April Grace call each other names (like “You look like dog poop”, “big, fat pain”, “you toad”, brat, hicks, etc.) and it can boarder on hateful (mostly from Myra Sue, such as Myra Sue saying April Grace will grow up to be trailer trash and April Grace saying that the day God created Myra Sue was the funniest joke); Mentions of curses (said, but are either not written out or cut-off; Most from Ian & Isabel who both cuss & use the Lord’s name in vain (April Grace adds that she would get in trouble for mentioning and adds “so just use your imagination.”)); Lots of eye rolling, sarcasm, & being a smart-aleck; Isabel & Ian bicker quite a bit (and also cussed each other out at one point); Many mentions of smoking, cigarettes, & tobacco; Mentions of thinking someone might be an ax murderer or kidnapper & being murdered (with a couple mentions of blood & body parts); Mentions of thinking maybe a man killed his wife; Mentions of blood/bleeding, pain, & injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of thieves, stealing, criminals, & crimes; Mentions of gambling & losing everything; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, Isabel wanting a drink, & a beer joint in town; Mentions of hatred & hateful words; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of throwing up; Mentions of spankings; A few mentions of thinking a woman was physically abused by her husband (April Grace thinks that they need to haul him off to jail before anything worse happens, but then notices it’s just smeared mascara); A few mentions of jails/prisons; A few mentions of snakes, being bitten by a poisonous one, & dying (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of tattoos & piercings; A few mentions of divorces; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of poop & outhouses; A few mentions of stinky armpits (being crushed into one and then a town being called an armpit); A couple mentions of a war & the Great Depression; A couple mentions of earthquakes; A couple mentions of bullies; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A couple mentions of belching; A mention of shooting an injured horse; A mention of someone being a pain in the behind;

*Note: There is some prejudice towards hillbillies (such as asking about marrying a cousin, living in a trailer, & owning shoes); April Grace thinks that her sister has to be adopted because her personality is nothing like their parents & that Myra Sue’s real mother had to be bitten by something awful while pregnant to cause her to give birth to such a bratty kid; When told she’s narrow minded, Isabel says she’s a registered Democrat; Many mentions of brand names & stores (Walmart, Macy’s, JC Penney, McDonald’s, My Little Pony, Pepsi-Cola, Kleenex, Jell-O, Old Spice, Hallmark, Kraft Caramels, a Mars bar, Malt-o-Meal, Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Lucky Charms, Scrubbing Bubbles, Lysol, Glade, Charmin toilet paper, Handi Wipes, & Dove); Mentions of movies, TV shows, characters, celebrities, & singers (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Karate Kid II, Days of Our Lives, Andy Griffith Show, The Cosby Show, Murder She Wrote, Search for Tomorrow, Masterpiece Theater, NOVA, 60 Minutes, Card Sharks, Press Your Luck, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Jane Fonda, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Fred Astaire, Wham, Rick Astley, Blondie, Old King Cole, & Brooke Shields); Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of books & characters (Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre, The Hobbit ); A few mentions of pain medicine brands (Tylenol & Darvocet); A couple mentions of the Dallas Cowboys; A couple mentions of the phrase “trailer trash” (used to insult).

Sexual Content- Mentions of a grandma’s boyfriend; Mentions of kisses & kissing (including seeing it happen four times, barely-above-not-detailed; Grandma Grace says a man kissed her yesterday, which April Grace overhears this and is grossed out at the thought of her Grandma and some man kissing); A few mentions of a man being hot for April Grace’s Grandma; A couple mentions of flirting;

*Note: (To avoid the spoiler, a young girl is diagnosed with an eating disorder) *Spoiler* Thanks to Isabel’s influence, towards the end of the book, April Grace notices that she can see Myra Sue’s rib and tells her folks; Myra Sue develops an eating disorder called “anorexia nervosa” *End of Spoiler*; Myra Sue gets the notion after hanging out with Isabel (who is as skinny as a rail) that she’s fat and the size of a house; When Myra Sue goes to the doctor, Isabel wonders if Myra Sue has a boyfriend and would “indulge…” (hints to if she’s pregnant—which she’s not and April Grace tells her so); Isabel says she refuses to ruin her figure to have a child; In the bathroom when April Grace is looking for something, she comes across “a box of feminine you-know-whats”; A few mentions of a mother not being ready for her daughter or being a mother; A couple mentions of a woman’s scrawny chest & butt; A couple mentions of a family saying they have raised three kids, one of each (each April Grace wonders if they mean their poodle); A couple mentions of bras & undies; A mention of short-shorts; A mention of a sheer nightie; A mention that Lily caught Myra Sue staring in the minor while saying something about her “huge butt”.

-April Grace Reilly, age 11

1^st Person P.O.V. of April Grace

Set in 1986

290 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I find this book to be a hoot because of April Grace. There’s a lot of humor and funny moments in this book. According to my notes, this is apparently the fourth time I’ve read this book and I think I still enjoyed it just as much.

It is, however, a book I would hesitate to give to middle-grade readers. Yes, there’s a lot of humor, but April Grace does criticizes/judges others quite a bit, there’s a lot of sarcasm/sass and sibling bickering (some boarder-lining on just plain hateful from Myra Sue), mentions of cussing, and towards the end, someone is diagnosed with an eating disorder. I could see why some families would pass on this book and series because of these elements. There was a good amount of faith content in it and good lessons, though, by the end, which I really enjoyed seeing.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!