Books for Christian Girls: "Found in Translation" by Roger Bruner with Kristi Rae Bruner

About this book:

“When Kim Hartlinger—eighteen and spoiled—arrives on a mission trip to Mexico and discovers, to her chagrin, that she’ll be doing construction in a remote village without plumbing and electricity, rather than evangelism in a medium-sized town with a fast food joint . . she has only two choices. “Rough it” (which isn’t exactly what Kim had in mind when she signed up for this trip) or turn around and head home.
Will Kim be able to touch the villagers’ hearts with the Gospel? Or will her time in Mexico be up before she gets the chance?”

Series: Book #1 in the “Altered Hearts” series.

Spiritual Content- This book is set during Mission Trip; Many Prayers; Scriptures are mentioned, read & quoted; Many talks about God, forgiving, judging & God using us; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit; Kim grew up in a Christian home, but has only been professing to be a Christian for a couple years; Singing Hymns; A couple dreams with an angel; Many, many mentions of God; Many, many mentions of prayers; Many, many mentions of those in the Bible; Many mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Many mentions of churches, sermons & lessons; Many mentions of witnessing, evangelizing & the Good News; Many mentions of Christians & forgiving; Mentions of the Holy Spirit; Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of What Would Jesus Do?; Mentions of miracles; Mentions of praising & thanking the Lord; Mentions of hymns; Mentions of sins; A few mentions of denominations; A few mentions of devotionals; A few mentions of biblical days; A few mentions of missionaries; A couple mentions of crossing; A mention of MercyMe, Beth Moore & Billy Graham;

*Note: Mentions of the devil; A few mentions of those being called cursed; A few mentions of cavemen; A couple mentions of aliens; A mention of superstitions; A mention of a clairvoyant; Geoff says he is the lord in his life, and only has faith in himself (*Spoiler* He does a complete 180 by the end. (including Sexual Content parts) *End of Spoiler*).

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dang’, a ‘darn’, a ‘heck’, a ‘shush’, a ‘sucker’, a ‘witch’, two ‘blasted’s, two forms of ‘drat’, three forms of ‘doggone’, three ‘shut up’s, four ‘blazes’s, six ‘stupid’s, eight forms of ‘duh’, and ten forms of ‘dumb’; A bit of sarcasm; Kim is desperate to break the habit of cursing (and many mentions of it, she curses three times, said but not written (she has never taken God’s name in vain, though)); Many mentions of four letter words, temptation of cursing & curses (said, not written); Kim can come across as rude, self-center & shallow at the beginning; Pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of bathrooms & doing business; Mentions of smoking, cigarettes, drinking, DUI and liquor; A few mentions of violence; A few mentions of defacing tombstones & getting arrested; A few mentions of divorce; A couple mentions of drug wars; A couple mentions of gallows & nooses; A couple mentions of butchering farm animals (no details); A couple mentions of racial stereotypes & misconceptions; A couple mentions of wine; A mention of intoxication; A mention of throwing up;

*Note: A couple mentions of aliens; Mentions of brands (American Eagle, Gucci, Aeropostale, & Hollister).

Sexual Content- Mentions of mission trip romances; Mentions of boyfriends, girlfriends & dating; Mentions of boys eyeing Kim; A few mentions of finding a mate on a mission trip; A few mentions of brotherly embraces & pecks on the cheek; A few mentions of Geoff’s innuendos & implying comments (he views Kim as a something, not a someone); A few mentions of an unbrotherly hug; A couple mentions of making girls jealous; A couple mentions of a gorgeous guy (but his attitude is a turn off); A couple mentions of kissing & overly friendly embraces; A couple mentions of a guy complimenting Kim’s body parts (nothing improper, but Kim can’t miss where his thoughts are at. Not written); A couple mentions of hormones; A couple mentions of Scarlett O’Hare chasing after a married man; A mention of a husband’s unfaithfulness; A mention of adultery; A mention of a potential rapist; A mention of a boy getting fresh; A mention of lust; A mention of Geoff gaping at Kim; A mention of an implication of having fun and then a child; Kim mentions that she can manipulate boys without crying; Kim mentions that she refused to go out with several of her male teachers after she turned eighteen;

*Note: A mention of girls’ monthly flammables; A mention of needles in someone’s backside; A couple mentions of changing & underwear; A few mentions of girls’ figures & hips.

-Kim Hartlinger, age 18
1^st person P.O.V. of Kim
368 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

“Found in Translation” was pretty impressive to me. Based on one of the author’s (the daughter’s) mission trip when she was eighteen, sometimes it felt more like a biography or a journal than a fiction book. Some parts could have been expounded upon, but there was a lot of dialogue which was a nice difference.

Kim was a much better heroine than I was expecting (I’ve lowered my expectations on older Christian YA books for many reasons, one of them being the whiny, shallow main girls. This Kim wasn’t over the top, which I highly appreciated.)

I have to say, though, I’m reading this novel at an important time in my life. I’ll be going on my first mission trip in July (2016), and while the trip I’ll be going on won’t be like Kim’s, I can relate to a lot of the emotions she felt there and that last line of this novel was great. But, I can’t share because of spoilers! I can say, however, that while Kim didn’t know what she was majoring in that coming Fall, the Lord revealed His plan for her to her after the life-changing mission trip and that’s what I’m praying He does for me.

I’m very much looking forward to reading the next book in the series and seeing what happens with Kim next!

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!