"Aj's Ireland" by Renee Riva

About this book:

  “In 1967, nine-year-old AJ wins a trip to Ireland to spend Christmas in a medieval castle. There's only one drawback; she has to bring her big Italian family along. It doesn't take long for AJ to drive her Prom Queen sister crazy with her newly acquired Irish accent, or to take revenge on her brother with her Spooky Suzu doll hanging above his bed at night. Hop on the Blarney bus with The Degulio's, a group of tap dancers, and a family of yodelers for a rip roaring ride around Ireland. You may learn some interesting history amid the chaos in this comical coming of age adventure seen through the eyes of quirky AJ. You will never see Ireland the same again. A feel good read for ages 8 to adult”


Series: Considered a #.5 in the “AJ” trilogy. You can see the reviews of Book #1 Here! and #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- Set during Christmas time; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & Christ; Mentions of churches, a cathedral, & priests; Mentions of Christmas, baby Jesus, & songs; Mentions of Christmas Eve & a candlelight vigil; Mentions of saints & angels; A few mentions of prayers & praying; A couple mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of blessings;

             *Note: A couple mentions of ghosts.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah, blah, blah’, a ‘darn’, a ‘drat’, a form of ‘idiot’, an ‘oh my gosh’, a ‘what the heck’, six ‘dumb’s; Sarcasm, Sass, & Eye rolling; Pain & Injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of famines, dying, & deaths; Mentions of wars & fighting; Mentions of gangsters, mobs, & Bonnie and Clyde; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & bars/pubs; Mentions of eating bunnies (doesn’t happen); Mentions of pranks on siblings (including a “possessed” doll, a ghost, and a dungeon); A couple mentions of slaves; A couple mentions of forest fires; A couple mentions of illnesses & deaths; A mention of cigarettes;

             *Note: Mentions of pop culture from this time period (Seventeen magazine, JC Penny’s, & a couple movies and actresses).

Sexual Content- Mentions of AJ’s boy-crazy sister, cute/handsome boys, almost kissing, & kissing; Mentions of kissing stone;

             *Note: A couple mentions of a mini-skirt & mini-jumper; A mention of someone’s bum.

-Angelia Juliana “AJ” Degulio, age 9
                                                     P.O.V. of AJ

                                                      Set in 1967
                                                       162 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add ½ star to a full star for those who have enjoyed the other books in the series.}

Such a fun prequel to this series—that I happen to read after I finished the main trilogy! Haha! I would say that this one is just as on par with the humor and crazy antics as the other books. :)

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.