"Mandie and The Courtroom Battle" by Lois Gladys Leppard

About this book:

  “Etta Shaw, Mandie's stepmother, has been the source of unending problems for Mandie. And when Etta comes to town to file papers she claims are a will that Mandie's father made giving her the house at Charley Gap, it appears that a courtroom battle is about to take place.
  But Mandie has papers that declare her to have the right to the house that she loves so much. Who has the true legal document? Could Mandie's father have changed his mind and made a new will? And when it's discovered that Mandie's will has been stolen or hidden, how will they ever be able to prove that Mandie has any legal right to the house?
  Where is Mandie's will? How will the judge decide?”


Series: Book #27 in “Mandie” series. (To read the reviews of the previous books in this series, click the number to be taken to that review: #1! #2! #3! #4! #5! #6! #7! #8! #9! #10! #11! #12! #13! #14! #15! #16! #17! #18! #19! #20! #21! #22! #23! #24! #25! #26!) {There also is the “Young Mandie Mystery” series, (Book #1 review Here and Book #2 review Here!) but they do not connect together well}

Spiritual Content- Proverbs 16:8 at the beginning; A Scripture is quoted & prayed; A few mentions of God; A few mentions of prayers & praying; A few mentions of church going; A couple mentions of prayer meetings; A mention of “happy hunting ground” when referring to Heaven.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, two ‘idiot’s, and four ‘shucks’; Many mentions of a stolen item & a thief; Mentions of deaths, illnesses, & a fever; Mentions of hunting & a man shot by accident; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of a divorce; Mentions of a dead rat that a cat caught.

Sexual Content- Mentions of Joe & Mandie possibly marrying when they’re older.

-Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, age 13
                                   P.O.V. of Mandie

                                              Set in 1901
                         176 pages (also available in a collection with two other Mandie books.)

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Another fun Mandie mystery! Continues well from the last book and opens the door for the next book’s plot!

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.

"Saving Sailor" by Renee Riva

About this book:

  “It’s 1968 and ten-year-old A.J. Degulio is having the best summer vacation of her young life, hanging out with her dog Sailor, at the lake; alternately playing and fighting with her four siblings; and driving her mother crazy with her fake Southern accent. And when she meets Danny Morgan—who shares her love for star gazing and deep thoughts—it seems that she’s met a soul mate. But then Danny’s family in falling apart, and the wreckage affects both the Degulios and the Morgans. It takes a tragedy to reveal the high price of betrayal…and the hope that lies in forgiveness.”


Series: Book #1 in the “A.J.” series.  


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are read; A bit of Witnessing; Prayers & talking to God; Going to Mass & confessions; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; AJ’s family is Roman Catholic; Many mentions of God; Many mentions of prayers, praying over food, & thanking God; Many mentions of churches, church going, Mass, confessions, priests, sisters, & sins; Mentions of talks about God; Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of hymns; Mentions of baptisms; Mentions of Catholics & Baptists; Mentions of Mother Teresa & martyrs; Mentions of saints & saint statues; A few mentions of Balaam’s donkey; A few mentions of rosary beads & Hail Marys; A couple mentions of wanting to be a preacher; A couple mentions of the Pope; A couple mentions of a convent; A mention of Billy Graham;

             *Note: When AJ messes up she says, “Sometimes I think I must be possessed.”; A couple mentions of Greek love gods; A couple mentions of Hercules & Zeus; A mention of a goddess; A mention of eternal damnation; A mention of being damned to a long stay in purgatory; A mention of a one-way ticket to hell.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah-blah-blah’, a ‘blazin’’, a ‘dang’, a ‘duh’, a ‘hush up’, a ‘stinking’, two forms of ‘darn’, two ‘oh my gosh’s, two ‘sissy’s, two forms of ‘wimp’, five forms of ‘idiot’, six ‘stupid’s, nine ‘dumb’s, Some eye rolling & sass; Mentions of curses (some are written out as “bleeping” and a report to a vacation to the Hoover Dam gets smart);  Pain (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of stitches & injuries (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of eating animals that were cared for as pets (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of the Zodiac Killer and his victims (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of crimes & prisons; Mentions of cigarettes & smoking; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of boys using the bathroom outside; Mentions of rumors; A few mentions of a car accident & death (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of a war & deaths; A few mentions of stealing & thieves; A few mentions of blackmail; A few mentions of dogs on death row in a shelter; A few mentions of wine; A few mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of nightmares; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of diarrhea; A couple mentions of roadkill; A mention of the Mafia; A mention of a human target for a spear contest; A mention of drunks; A mention of horror movies;

           *Note: Mentions of pop culture in the 1960s; Mentions of Truth or Dare & pranks; A mention of looking like a zombie; A mention of a vampire; A mention of aliens.

Sexual Content- A bit of Noticing; Blushes; a ‘floozies’ (AJ says her sister reminds her of them from the western movies), a ‘hot’, and two ‘baby’s; AJ says she melts over the steamy love scenes in western movies where the guy kisses the girl; Mentions of Danny’s father cheating on his mother (it’s never straight out said, but he’s apparently done it before; mentions of if Danny’s mother will leave him; AJ asks if Danny means that his father is having a sleepover with another lady; no details; *Spoiler* Near the end Danny’s father says that Jesus found him and repents *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of AJ’s crush and him kissing her for so long (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of crushes, blushes, boys, island romances, kissing, kisses, boyfriends, girlfriends, & dating; Mentions of a boy trying to kiss AJ; Mentions of pretty women & a married man looking away; Mentions of proms & dances; Mentions of teens swarming around the opposite gender; A few mentions of a guy leading on girl on & already having a girlfriend; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of married couples kissing;

             *Note: Mentions of noticing  fat & skinny people; A few mentions of behinds, backsides, & fannies; A mention of something butting up to something; A mention of a big man’s tiny swim bottoms.

-Angelina Juliana “AJ” Degulio, age 9-10

                                1^st person P.O.V. of AJ

                                              Set in 1968 {Epilogue in 1976}
                                                        217 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I’ve actually read this book twice now and I’m pretty sure I enjoyed this second time just as much as the first! AJ, her personality, & her crazy family are hilarious—there were so many parts I had to put the book down to wipe tears from my eyes from laughing so hard!

While AJ is ten, I won’t recommend this book for that age range because of certain topics mentioned/discussed. She doesn’t feel very young or immature as some other ten-year-olds, so I think older girls, like myself, should still enjoy. That epilogue is a bit of a spoiler for book #2 & #3, but it’s still so good! :)

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.

"Alison Henry and the Creatures of Torone" by C.J. Darlington

About this book:

  “After being picked on at school yet again, Alison Henry seeks refuge in her favorite place, the woods behind her cabin home. Her day couldn't get any worse. At least that's what she thinks before she spots the magnificent buck. Desperate to protect the deer from a teenage gang out to shoot him, Ali has no idea she's about to begin the adventure of a lifetime. This buck is no ordinary deer, and it turns out Ali is no ordinary girl.
  When she suddenly begins to hear the buck talking in her head, she thinks she's going crazy. She certainly can't be The Interpreter this buck named Artemis says she is, the one destined to bring together the men and creatures of his realm. She's just a kid who misses her deployed father and gets teased at school for wearing the wrong clothes. But Artemis is convinced. She must follow him.
  Before the full moon sets Alison Henry finds herself in the strange land of Torone where evil beasts trap and devour the creatures of the woods and the rightful heir to the throne is hunted and on the run. What can one girl possibly do?”


Series: Hopefully Book #1 in a series…? ;)

Spiritual Content- Good vs Evil story-line & Ali is determined not to let the evil side win; A couple Scriptures are mentioned; Talks about God; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of churches/chapels, a vicar, & a christening; A couple mentions of when Ali challenged a teacher who said that God didn’t exist; A couple mentions of faiths; A couple mentions of blessings; A couple mentions of godspeed; A mention of a nun;

*Note: Mentions of evil & evilness; Mentions of mythological animals; A few mentions of dark arts (magic & spells), which aren’t allowed in Torone; A mention of a demon scream.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘darn’, a ‘shut up’, two ‘idiot’s, and twelve ‘stupid’s; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); A few mention of words Alison isn’t allowed to/shouldn’t say; A bit of eye rolling & sass; Fighting, fights, threats, swords, arrows and shooting them in self-defense, & killing beasts in self-defense up to semi-detailed); Watching fighting & fights (up to semi-detailed); Pain, blood/bleeding, a fever, passing out, & a mean boy threatens Ali with a knife and ends up cutting into her leg (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of killing, dying, fighting, fights, shooting, threats, & deaths of beasts (barely-above-not-detailed to semi-detailed); Many mentions of deaths, wars, battles & fighting (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of blood/bleeding, injuries/wounds, stitches, scars, pain, screams, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a planned execution (that didn’t happen); Mentions of murders of humans, animals, & a murder that was ordered, but didn’t happen; Mentions of a family betraying & willing to kill each other for a title/kingdom; Mentions of traps that hurt an animal very badly before it’s killed (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of fighting to the death; Mentions of violence & killing in self-defense; Mentions of a murder, body, & blood (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths & bodies (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of bloodshed & terror; Mentions of the thought of dying or being eaten; Mentions of evil beats & the smells (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dungeons; Mentions of hunting, poaching, knives, & a deer is almost shot (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of hatred; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of mean girls & their comments; Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of a woman who was trampled to death (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of smoking, cigarettes, & cigars; A couple mentions of wanting to slap/punch someone; A couple mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of poison; A mention of drinking wine; A mention of manure; A mention of urine;

*Note: A mention of FedEx; A mention of Star Wars; A mention of the Jonas Brothers: A mention of L.L.Bean.

Sexual Content- A mention of a man looking at Ciara’s figure; A mention of a woman saying to a man that propriety isn’t her strength to a man at her room door (he doesn’t come in, though);

            *Note: A mention of a busty woman in a movie; A mention of kicking someone’s butt.

-Alison “Ali” Henry, age 12
                                          P.O.V. of Ali
                                                  293 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I’ve said before many times that I’m really not a fantasy girl—but this fantasy I got into. This one was FUN! The characters (three words: Talking fantasy animals!) were great and Ali made me laugh many times with her comments. There was a bit more violence and fighting that I was expecting (which is why that even though Ali is 12, the Pre-Teen Age Group would only be okay for), but it is a Good vs Evil plot. Quite honestly, the parts that were semi-detailed were only barely barely-above-not-detailed, so it wasn’t over the top at all.

Sooooooo….where’s book #2? Because that ending was such a cliffhanger!

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 Author for this honest review.