Books for Christian Girls: "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

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

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!