"Payback" by Melody Carlson

About this book:

  “If your vision asked you to risk your life to save others, would you have the courage?
  When Samantha McGregor tells her friend Detective Ebony Hamilton of her disturbing visions of a brutal murder at a high school, Ebony asks her to go undercover to help identify the shooter before it’s too late. The stakes are raised when Ebony discovers that the potential crime may be connected to a larger terrorism threat!
  Meanwhile, Samantha realizes that her mother’s new boyfriend is a little too good to be true. Her unsettling visions, combined with Ebony’s investigation of Steven’s past, reveal him to be more interested in her mother’s money than her heart.
  To make matters worse, Samantha has been having visions of an unknown boy who is mercilessly being bullied by his peers. Who is this teen? Can she help him?”


Series: Book #4 (of four) in “The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor”. (Book #1 review, Here! Book #2 review, Here! and Book #3 review, Here!)

Spiritual Content- Joel 2:27-29 at the beginning; All about Samantha’s gift of visions from God; Many, many prayers & thanking God; A couple Scriptures are mentioned; Many, many, many talks about God, Jesus, His will, His help, gifts, peace, & forgiving; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Sam’s mom is still mad at God *Spoiler* That changes near the end *End of Spoiler*; Many, many mentions of prayers,  praying, & prayer chains; Mentions of Christians & witnessing; Mentions of church & youth group; Mentions of sermons & judging; Mentions of Bibles; Mentions of Heaven; A few mentions of miracles.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a girl is called ‘a dog’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘TGIF’, two ‘butt out’s, two ‘duh’s, seven ‘crud’s, and fourteen forms of ‘stupid’; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; All About mentions of a school shooting, threats, terrorism, deaths, pain, & blood/bleeding (semi-detailed); All About mentions of bullies, hitting, kicking, & blood/bleeding (semi-detailed); Many mentions of blood/bleeding, being shot & killed (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of kidnappings, frauds, & wanted criminals; Mentions of murders & deaths: Mentions of suicides; Mentions of gunfire in video games; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, getting wasted, & parties; Mentions of drugs, rehab, & jail; Mentions of smoking & cigarettes; Mentions of wanting to have/give revenge/payback; Mentions of vomiting; Mentions of cheating; A couple mentions of divorces.

Sexual Content- A barely-above-not-detailed kiss; All About Proms; A bit of Noticing;

Three ‘hot’s; Mentions of overhearing about guys booking hotel rooms after prom, being rewarded with sex, & the girl still being a virgin; Mentions of crushes, dates, dating, boyfriends & girlfriends; A few mentions of a rumor of a woman being sold as a sex slave (not true); A couple hints of a girl visiting a guy’s place; A couple mentions of hormones;

              *Note: A mention of wanting a prom dress with no cleavage showing; A mention of Marilyn Monroe.

-Samantha McGregor, age 17
                                         1^st person P.O.V. of Sam
                                                        2216 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add a star for girls in Public School}

Final book in “The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor” series and “Payback” finishes it out with another big plot. Lots of intense topics and moments with tons of Spiritual Content gave me goosebumps! I still personally think that this is one of Melody Carlson’s best series yet! :)

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.