"Kisses from Katie" by Katie Davis

About this book:

  “What would cause an eighteen-year-old old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tennessee, to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother’s heart, lose all but a handful of her friends (because the rest of them think she has gone off the deep end), and break up with the love of her life, all so she could move to Uganda, where she knew only one person but didn’t know any of the language? A passion to make a difference. Katie Davis left over Christmas break her senior year for a short mission trip to Uganda and her life was turned completely inside out. She found herself so moved, so broken by the people and the children of Uganda that she knew her calling was to return and care for them. Her story is like Mother Teresa’s in that she has given up everything—at such a young age—to care for the less fortunate of this world. Katie, a charismatic and articulate young woman, has gone on to adopt 14 children during her time in Uganda, and she completely trusts God for daily provision for her and her family, which includes children with special needs.
  To further her reach into the needs of Ugandans, Katie established Amazima Ministries. The ministry matches orphaned children with sponsors worldwide. Each sponsor's $300/year provides schooling, school supplies, three hot meals a day, minor medical care, and spiritual encouragement. Katie expected to have forty children in the program; she had signed up 150 by January 2008; today it sponsors over 400. Another aspect of the ministry is a feeding program created for the displaced Karamojong people—Uganda's poorest citizens. The program feeds lunch to over 1200 children Monday-Friday and sends them home with a plate for food; it also offers basic medical care, Bible study, and general health training.”


Series: There is a sequel titled “Daring to Hope”; review of that book Here!  


Spiritual Content- All about God, Jesus, Katie’s faith and her love for Jesus, witnessing, praying, God’s grace, His will, & Him leading her; Tons of Scriptures are read, quoted, mentioned, talked about, & referenced; Many prayers; Tons of Talks about God, Jesus, praying, & faiths; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; All about mentions of God, trusting Him, His will, praying, & witnessing; Many mentions of God & following His will; Many mentions of Bibles, Bible reading and studying; Many mentions of & talks about those & events from the Bible; Many mentions of prayers, praying, & answered prayers; Many mentions of Christians, faiths, & love for the Lord; Many mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of thanking, praising, & worshiping God; Mentions of churches, church going, services, & pastors; Mentions of Sunday School classes & Bible studies; Mentions of Jesus’ birth, the nativity, & Christmas; Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of mission work & missionaries; Mentions of miracles; A few mentions of sins;

             *Note: A few mentions of religions; A few mentions of the devil & a witch doctor; A mention of a weekend that felt like hell.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘duh’, a ‘shut up’, and two forms of ‘stupid’; Many mentions of diseases, illnesses, starvation/malnutrition, wounds, blood/bleeding, pain, & deaths (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wars, fighting, killing, & deaths; Mentions of abusive parental figures & being punished wrongly; Mentions of fathers leaving their families; Mentions of insects that cause diseases; Mentions of homemade alcohol, drinking, drunks, & alcoholics; Mentions of throwing up & vomit; Mentions of sewage, waste, & smells (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of children abducted and sold, & child slaves; A few mentions of a man who killed his stepson and sold a body part to a witch doctor; A few mentions of prisons & killing in the Bible; A few mentions of accidents & injuries; A few mentions of lies; A couple mentions of drug addicts; A couple mentions of gossip; A mention of a murderer from the Bible.

Sexual Content- Mentions of dating, dates, boys, & boyfriends; A couple mentions of rebels raping women and children (no details); A couple mentions of how some men looked at & spoke to Katie;

             *Note: Mentions of prostitution, prostitutes, & a woman selling her body; A mention of Sarah having her servant sleep with Sarah’s husband in the Bible; A mention of a need for basic education in matters of hygiene and sexual behavior in Uganda.

-Katie Davis
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        280 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add ½ to a full star for those interested in caring for orphans}

I love this book.

Y’all, I love this book.

Let me back up: I first read this book when I was fourteen. It was a library book and as I’m flying through reading these pages on my parent’s bed, I kept thinking: “I don’t want to give this book back. I don’t want to…” I even asked my mom if it was possible for me to buy this copy from the library. Because I did not want to give this book back to the library. (Her answer was, of course, no and let’s just go buy my own copy.)

Even since I first read this book, Katie Davis has been a role model for me.

I’ve talked about how much I love this book in a few of my YouTube videos, but not in the sense of when I was a new teenager, a certain Asian country was on my heart. Reading about Katie’s experiences of being away from the country her heart was in, had me yelling “She gets it! She knows what I’m feeling! I know what she’s feeling!” At that time, I hadn’t yet been to my country, though, so looking back, it wasn’t quite the same. ;)

Rereading this book in preparation of her newest release, Daring to Hope, (which was already been reviewed Here!) had me recalling all those emotions of reading about Katie, her growing family, & their incredible faiths.

This time, though, I had my own copy to underline the majority of the book. ;)

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.