"The Summer of Cotten Candy" by Debbie Viguié

{Just a note: There will be no new reviews this coming week. (May 25^th-29^th) I need to do some updating to BFCG and will be taking the week “off” to do so. But don’t worry, you’ll still be able to recognized BFCG that next week...I just ordered 200 business cards, I won’t be changing it that much! ;) If you visit during the week, you’ll notice a few things changing. You can follow me on Goodreads though to see updates on what's going on!}

There is also another version of this cover, but I, personally, like this one better. ;)

About this book:

  “Most people think The Zone is an amusement park, but Candy Thompson knows it s really a slave labor camp. What else would you call a summer job that requires a sixteen-year-old girl to set aside her whole social life for the privilege of standing out in the hot sun selling cotton candy? Still, there are perks particularly the mysterious hunk in the Lone Ranger costume. Behind that mask are the most amazing eyes Candy has ever seen. Who is that masked man? But someone else is just as interested. And romantic competition isn’t the only problem. Besides being hard work, The Zone is eating up major time. How is Candy supposed to stay involved in church? Worse yet, will she lose her best friend, Tamara, who resents how Candy’s job limits their time together? This is NOT the summer Candy hoped for! But as she is about to discover, the summer of cotton candy will be the greatest summer of her life.”


Series: Book #1 (of four) in the “Sweet Seasons” series.

Spiritual Content- Prayers & mentions of Praying; Asking forgiveness; A couple mentions of Scriptures; Church & Youth Group; A mention of David & Goliath; A girl says God isn’t real because her mother told her so.

*Note: Candace says the workers at The Zone act like The Zone is “some sort of shrine to the god of entertainment.”; Candace renames The Zone, “Hell Zone”.

                

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dang’, a ‘dang it’, a form of ‘dumb’, a ‘gosh’, a ‘oh my gosh’, a form of ‘screw’, a ‘stupid’, a form of ‘suck’, a ‘wicked’, a ‘wimpy’, two forms of ‘crap’, three ‘duh’, five ‘idiot’; Sarcasm; Mentions of a drug test & urinating in a cup; Mentions of vampires & mummies.

Sexual Content- Five barely-above-not-detailed kisses (One of those on the first date and telling friends about it) and Five boarder-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses; Thinking about kissing & kisses; Noticing & Staring; five forms of ‘hot’ when referring how someone looks; Boys, crushes, cheating & dating plus mentions of it all; Flirts & Jerks leer & make kissy noises at Candace; A couple mentions of sexual harassment; Candace is convinced that a guy is a pervert; Candace calls Tamara’s 15year old cousin a perv when he pinches her; Candace asks a guy friend if he has a crush on a guy after being told there's no girls he has his eye on (he does not, he recently broke up with his girlfriend); A nightmare of wearing nothing from the waist down at school (no details).

*Note: “get your butt over here”, “You kicked butt” and “kick your butt out of here” are said once each; Mentions of (and sometimes wearing) shorts, tank tops, short skirts, bras & low-cut tops.

-Candace “Candy” Thompson, age 17

                                         P.O.V. of Candace
                                                        209 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

(and a half)

Early High School Teens-

(and a half)

Older High School Teens-

(and a half)

My personal Rating-

{Higher ratings for girls in Public School or fans of Melody Carlson}

While I wasn’t a fan of all the kisses, I laughed so hard! The plot-line was fun. This was overall decent read and I can see many teenagers enjoying this series.

There will be no new reviews this coming week! I need to do some updating to the site and will be taking the week “off” to do so. ;)

*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.

"For the Joy Set Before Us" by Erica Fye

 About this book:

  “Ever wonder what your calling is? Do you feel burdened for the nations? If you are willing to follow where God leads you, the road ahead may be challenging, but it will be well worth it if you do not give up. In For the Joy Set Before Us, Erica Fye invites you to journey with her to get a glimpse into the life of a missionary, and to offer insight into what God may have in store for your life.”


Series: Non-Fiction

                                                       

Spiritual Content- Over 180 Scriptures are quoted, mentioned or referenced; Erica talks about God, His will & trusting Him many, many, many times; Quotes by missionaries and evangelists; Mentions of having Bible studies; Chapter 13 is all about how you can be saved.

*Note: Mentions of witches, witchcraft & curses (barely-above-not-detailed)

Negative Content- Mentions of abuse, AIDS, alcoholism, drunks, malnourished children, and seeing people die and suicide; Mentions of thieves & someone who was beaten, stabbed and left for the dead (barely-above-not-detailed).

Sexual Content- A mention of King David being an adulterous murder; A quote from George Cowan that “missionaries are not exempt from life-threatening trauma such as...rape...”; A few mentions of falling in love.

Non-Fiction                               
                                                        120 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

(and a half)

Older High School Teens-

(and a half)

My personal Rating-

(and a half)

{Add up to a full star for missionaries, future missionaries or those with hearts in Africa}

Oh wow. This book is, just, incredible! A must read for future missionaries or anyone going on a mission trip! I don’t know what else to say besides that I really, really enjoyed it. :)

See y’all on Friday with a new review! {And just a note: There will be no new reviews the week of May 25^th-29^th. I need to do some updating on this blog and will be taking that week off to do so. :) }

*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 publisher through BookCrash.com for this review.

"As Love Blooms" by Lorna Seilstad

About this book:

  “Tessa Gregory is nothing if not tenacious. Denied a position as a horticulturalist at prestigious Como Park in Saint Paul, she is not above a little benevolent deception in order to get the park superintendent to change his mind and hire her. She plans to infiltrate the world of wealthy and influential people in hopes of drumming up financial support for a world-class conservatory. But before she can put those plans into action, she meets Reese King, a handsome gardener at Como Park--and a major distraction. Still, Reese might be the key to achieving her dream. But is his goal to help her . . . or to capture her heart?”


Series: Book #3 in the “Gregory Sister” series. {I have read book #1 & #2, but it looks like I haven’t reviewed them! Hmm! I liked them just as much as this one. :) }

                
Spiritual Content- Colossians 2:6-7 at the beginning and later read in the novel; Talks about God, His will & mustard seeds; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Praying; Church going & mentions of; Mentions of those in the Bible.

*Note: A mention of a Japanese torri gate.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘stupid’s; A ghost story about bones & a dead man being in a lake (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of gambling.

Sexual Content- A barely-above-not-detailed kiss and Four semi-detailed kisses; A couple cheek kisses; Two mentions of seeing another couples kiss (not-detailed); Touches (up to semi-detailed); Noticing & Staring; Love, falling in love & the emotions.

-Tessa Gregory

-Reese King
                                P.O.V. switches between them & Aunt Sam

                                              Set in 1913 {Epilogue in 1915}
                                                        314 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating- 

Oh my goodness! Tessa is so fun and a bit sassy, which makes this novel quite funny! :) While I really, really enjoyed this book and Tessa’s personality, I had to lower the ratings because of all the kisses. I hope that this author keeps writing in this time period, and I’m very curious to what she’ll have out next!

See y’all on Wednesday 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 review.

"The New Girl" by Lois Gladys Leppard {Pre-Teen Week!}

{Welcome to Pre-Teen Week! Every quarter we’re going to try to do a full week dedicated to finding great Christian books for girls ages 8/9-12 every week day! This is the last day of this quarters’!} {Day One Here!} {Day Two Here!} {Day Three Here!} {Day Four Here!}

About this book:

  “Someone's moved into the old cabin on the hill...Sarah, a girl the same age as Mandie! Mandie can't wait to have a new friend to share things with. But Sarah doesn't seem to want any friends, and Mandie can't understand why. What is Sarah hiding? Mandie's determined to take the first steps toward friendship -- and find out!”


Series: Book #2 in “Young Mandie Mysteries” series. (Book #1’s review Here!) {This series is connected to the original Mandie series, Mandie is younger in this series but this series was written later. Also is a bit confusing for those who have read the Mandie series first. See my review of Book 1 for my thoughts on this.}

Spiritual Content- Mandie & her family go to church.

Negative Content- Some of the girls at school whisper about Faith, but the teacher stops it.

Sexual Content- Irene & Tommy have crushes on each other.  

-Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, age 9
                                             P.O.V. of Mandie

                                         Set in 1897 (I think)
                                       116 pages (with a craft)

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

(and a half)

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

(and a half)

My personal Rating- 

(and a half)

{The ratings are lower as the girl gets older because of the simple plot-line, but is clean nevertheless}

Cute story! Since it had Spiritual Content, which the first book didn’t, the ratings were a higher. Overall it was good but it doesn’t flow with the original Mandie series....

See y’all on Monday 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.