"Playing With Fire" by Melody Carlson

About this book:

  “If your vision led you straight into the fire, would you follow it anyway?
  Samantha’s brother, Zach, is finally home after a ninety-day rehab for his meth addiction, and life seems to be getting back to normal. That is, until Sam starts having dreams about dangerous situations involving drugs. But her visions are so vague that she doesn’t know who needs help. Of course she’s worried about Zach staying clean, especially since he’s hanging with the wrong crowd. But the whole school seems to be buzzing about drugs, and Sam doesn’t know who’s using and who’s not. What is wrong with these people anyway?
  Then Sam has a vision of a burning cabin, and this time someone has been shot. Convinced that Zach is involved somehow, Sam chooses to leave Detective Ebony Hamilton out of the loop. If Zach really is involved, this will land him in jail for sure! But her own investigation is getting too hot to handle, and Sam must decide whether to risk getting Zach in trouble with the law– or ultimately risk his life.”


Series: Book #3 (of four) in “The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor”. (Book #1 review, Here! Book #2 review, Here!)

Spiritual Content- Joel 2:27-29 at the beginning; All about Samantha’s gift of visions from God; Many, many prayers; Scriptures are mentioned; Witnessing; Many, many, many talks about God, trusting Him, gifts, judging, & sinners; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Sam’s mom is still mad at God; Many, many mentions of prayers; Many mentions of church, youth group & sermons; Mentions of Bible reading; Mentions of those in the Bible; Mentions of Christians & religious people;

*Note: A mention of a demonic sound & evil; A mention of “going through hell”; A mention of going to “hell and back”; A mention of someone wanting someone else to burn in Hell; A few mentions of Hell; Mentions of a witch.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’, a ‘TGIF’, two ‘duh’s, two ‘sheesh’s, three ‘shut up’s, three ‘sucker’s, ten forms of ‘crud’, thirteen ‘stupid’s; Sarcasm; A mention of a middle finger salute; Many mentions of curses (said, not written); All about drugs (meth and ecstasy), dealers, highs, overdoses, addictions, rehab, fire, heat & smoke (up to detailed); An overdose death; A party with drunks (Sam nor her friends drink); Many mentions of Book #2’s almost suicides & murders; Many mentions of wild parties & fights; Many mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, fake IDs, bars & pubs; Mentions of those who have been shot & blood (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of smoking, cigarettes & weed; Mentions of jail, crime & criminals; Mentions of lesions; Mentions of vomiting; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of cheating & gossips; A few mentions of tattoos & pierces; A few mentions of divorce & parents separating; A mention of a violent movie;

              *Note: Mentions of Starbucks, Adidas and Gap.

Sexual Content- a not-detailed kiss; a ‘hot’, two ‘butt out’s; Sam is asked if she’s lesbian (she’s not); Mentions of who-likes-who, dating, dates, jealousy, proms, boys, boyfriends & girlfriends; Mentions that Garrett is trying to figure out if he’s gay or not (his abusive father put the thought in his head, Book #2); A couple mentions of prostitution & a girl sleeping with a guy for meth; A mention of one-night stands; A mention that Sam knows girls her age that have had babies;

              *Note: A mention of Jennifer Knapp.

-Samantha McGregor, age 17
                                         1^st person P.O.V. of Sam
                                                        229 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add a star for girls in Public School}

“The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor” series deals with some hard topics and “Playing With Fire” was no exception. Lots of Spiritual Content, which is always nice! The ending leads very well into the next & final book of the series. :)

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.