Books for Christian Girls: "An Amish Summer" by Shelley Shepard Gray, Amy Clipston, Kathleen Fuller, & Kelly Irvin

About this book:

“A new novella collection of sweet, summer romances from some of our favorite Amish authors!”

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“A Reunion in Pinecraft” by Shelley Shepard Gray

About this book:

“When sisters Sharon and Sherilyn Kramer attend a wedding in Shipshewana, one of them returns with a new penpal while the other returns to her job at the bakery. After sending weekly letters back and forth, Sherry and Graham Holland arrange a reunion in Pinecraft. Upon Graham s arrival, however, he realizes he s been writing to the wrong sister. He decides to use the reunion as a way to get to know both sisters, but can he sort through the confusion in time to turn the worst vacation ever into something truly wonderful?”

Spiritual Content- Luke 6:37 at the beginning; A Scripture is remembered; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of giving thanks to God.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’, and three ‘stupid’s; A bit of Sarcasm;

Mentions of pain, blood/bleeding, injuries, stitches, scars, burns, & how it happened (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of throwing up.

Sexual Content- a semi-detailed kiss; Touches, Shivers, Embraces, & Hand Holding (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing; A bit of Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dating/courting, dates, & boyfriends; Mentions of a breakup & cheating; Mentions of flirting & flings; Mentions of falling in love; A few mentions of blushes; A couple mentions of married couples kissing; A couple mentions of jealousy; Love, falling in love, and the emotions;

*Note: A couple mentions of a guy thinking a girl looks really nice in a bathing suit.

-Sherilyn Kramer, age 20

-Sharon Kramer, age 25

-Graham Holland
P.O.V. switches between them

100(-ish) pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

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“Summer Storms” by Amy Clipston

About this book:

“Arianna is counting down the days until her wedding to Jesse. They have been friends longer than Arianna can remember, and that friendship turned into love over the past couple of years. But when Arianna s brother Isaac, who happens to be Jesse s best friend, gets them both into trouble, Arianna s father puts an end to her engagement to Jesse. Some summer storms pass quickly, but Arianna is afraid the damage from this one may be too much to repair.”

Spiritual Content- A few Prayers; Church going (once); ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; A few mentions of church, church going, services, & a youth group; A couple mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of a bishop.

Negative Content- Many mentions of alcohol, bottles, drinking, drinking problems, getting drunk, & a drunk; Many mentions of buggy races, accidents, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); A few mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of a nightmare; A mention of a hunting trip.

Sexual Content- a cheek kiss, a not-detailed kiss, and a semi-detailed kiss; A bit of wanting to touch; Touches, Tingles, & Hand Holding (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing, Staring, Smelling, & Butterflies (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dating & a boyfriend; A couple mentions of a crush; A mention of stealing a kiss; Love, being in love & the emotions.

-Ariana Smucker

-Jesse Zook, age 24
P.O.V. switches between them

100(-ish) pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

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“Lakeside Love” by Kathleen Fuller

About this book:

“Esther has always lived in the shadow of her beautiful younger sister Sarah. Even the boy she has known and loved her entire life, Judah, only has eyes for Sarah. But when a handsome young Englischer comes to live with the family for a summer, everything begins to change.”

Spiritual Content- A few Prayers; Church going (once); Mentions of God & His help; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, services, & a minister preaching; A few mentions of faiths; A couple mentions of blessings; A mention of missionaries.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘stupid’s, and a ‘wimp’; A mention of a curse (said, not written); A bit of eye rolling; A few mentions of pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding; A few mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of saying something hateful; A couple mentions of throwing up.

Sexual Content- three barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Remembering a kiss (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to kiss a girl (barely-above-not-detailed); A bit of Judah staring at girls’ lips; Touches, Nearness, Embraces, Hand Holding, & Warmth (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Butterflies & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of jealousy; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of dating, dates, playing hard to get, boyfriends, & girlfriends; Mentions of flirting & flirts; A few mentions of wanting to kiss someone; A couple mentions of Judah finding the perfect place to kiss a girl on her neck; A couple mentions of nearness; A couple mentions of swooning; A couple mentions of romantic moments; A mention of Judah noticing a girl’s lips that beg to be kissed; Love, falling in love & the emotions.

-Esther Coblentz

-Judah King
P.O.V. switches between them
100(-ish) pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

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“One Sweet Kiss” by Kelly Irvin

About this book:

“Everybody in little Bee County, Texas, can see the obvious: Jacob King and Martha Byler are meant to be together. Everyone, that is, but Martha. Ever since her mother died when Martha was a young girl, she has taken over the role of caregiver to her large family. And reckless Jacob, who has had a little too much fun on his rumspringa, only seems to add to the list of people to manage. But one summer changes everything, and these two may just find a way to meet in the middle and share one sweet kiss.”

Spiritual Content- Proverbs 3:5-6 & Jeremiah 17:7-8 at the beginning; Prayers; A Scripture is referenced; Talks about God, His plan, & trusting Him; ‘H’s are capital; Mentions of God; Mentions of talks about God; Mentions of churches, church going, services, singings, & hymns; Mentions of baptism classes; Mentions of bishops, deacons, & pastors; A few mentions of prayers & praying; A few mentions of a youth group; A few mentions of faiths; A few mentions of blessings & being blessed; A couple mentions of Jesus; A mention of Praising God; A mention of sin.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘son of a gun’, a ‘sucks’, a ‘what the—‘, a ‘wuss’, two ‘idiot’s, two ‘stupid’, and three ‘shut up’s; Mentions of curses (said, not written); A bit of Pain & Blood/Bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); A riled alligator & being near it (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of alligator hunting & the possibility of drowning or getting eaten; Many mentions of alcohol, kegs, drinking, underage drinking, a drunk, & drunk driving; Mentions of a car accident & death; Mentions of parties & partying; A few mentions of blood/bleeding; A few mentions of jails & a prison; A few mentions of smoking & tobacco; A few mentions of throwing up & burping; A few mentions of divorcing; A couple mentions of nightmares; A couple mentions of lies & lying; A mention of using the bathroom outside.

Sexual Content- a fingers-to-lips touch, two almost kisses, three not-detailed kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and two semi-detailed kisses; Touches, Embraces, & Hand Holding (barely-above-not-detailed); Nearness & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); four ‘baby’s; Mentions of dating/courting, liking someone, & a girlfriend; A few mentions of kisses, kissing, & wanting a kiss; A few mentions of staring; A couple mentions of hand holding; A mention of a girl producing a child at age 16; A mention of exes; Love, falling in love & the emotions.

-Martha Byler, age 22 (?)

-Jacob King, age 20
P.O.V. switches between them
100(-ish) pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

This was a decent novella collection! Let’s give some thoughts on each one:

Shelley Shepard Gray: Some parts seemed a little unrealistic from other Amish books I’ve read, (but I am in no way claiming to be an expert about the Amish) like in the case of an Amish man taking off his shirt to show a girl his scar (& by default, his muscles). I pretty sure I read something very similar in another Amish book I read earlier this year. It was overall an okay novella.

Amy Clipston: Ooooh, I wanted to slap Ariana’s father. Not a good thought, I know, I know, but I’m sure it’s a common thought for those reading about him! I enjoyed seeing these new characters and seeing these first two in a new series being in love. :)

Kathleen Fuller: Wasn’t a fan of Judah because of his major jealousy, but by the end he grew on me and I did really like that last chapter!

Kelly Irvin: I couldn’t follow along as well as the other novellas due to all the characters mentioned. I did love Simon & Amanda (not the main two) and found them to be precious. They’re the only reason the rating went up a bit for me. I really couldn’t get into this one.

Best guy out of these main heroes is: Jesse! (Amy Clipston’s novella) I really enjoyed his caring heart and how much he wanted to prove himself to Ariana’s father.

There wasn’t really a main girl I thought was the best, but I would say out of the four, Ariana (Amy Clipston’s) was my favorite.

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review! :)