Books for Christian Girls: "The Orphan's Wish" by Melanie Dickerson

About this book:

“From the streets to an orphanage in a faraway kingdom, Aladdin has grown up alone. Until he meets Kirstyn. With a father who is the duke of Hagenheim and a mother who is the patroness of the orphanage where Aladdin lives, Kirstyn is a member of the most powerful family in the land . . . and way out of his league. Despite the difference in their stations, Aladdin quickly becomes Kirstyn’s favorite companion for taking walks in the forest, and their childhood friendship grows along with them.
Through his scrappy skills, intelligence, and hard work, Aladdin earns a position serving in the duke’s house. But he knows it isn’t enough to grant him his one desire: Kirstyn’s hand in marriage. If he hopes to change his station in life and feel worthy of marrying Kirstyn, he must leave Hagenheim to seek his fortune.
But once Aladdin leaves, no one is around to protect Kirstyn, and the greedy men desperate to take advantage of her father’s wealth take notice. Now, more than Aladdin’s background stands in the way of the future he’s worked so hard to obtain. His only hope is to rescue Kirstyn and somehow manage to win her hand as well.”

Series: Book #8 in the “Hagenheim” series. {Reviews of #1 Here, #2 Here, #3 Here, #4 Here, #5 Here!, #6 Here!, and #7 Here!} {You do not have to read this series in order to understand them, but I highly recommend that you do read them in order.}

Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, quoted, read, & remembered; Many Prayers & Thanking God; Going to churches/chapels to pray; Talks about God & Witnessing; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Many mentions of God & Jesus; Many mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of witnessing & talks about God; Mentions of Jesus on the cross & crucifixes; Mentions of Bibles; Mentions of churches/chapels/cathedrals, church going, priests, stained glass, & angels; Mentions of Christians; Mentions of being baptized & a baptism; Mentions of being blessed; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A few mentions of Heaven; A few mentions of pilgrims; A couple mentions of Godfearing people; A mention of a miracle; A mention of a cross necklace; A mention of a godsend; A mention of a sin;

*Note: Mentions of evil people & their actions/words; A few mentions of a man having Satan on his side; A couple mentions of the devil; A mention of a fiend from hell; A mention of a demon spirit.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’ and two ‘shut up’s; A couple mentions of courses (said, not written); Fights, Fighting, & Killing someone (up to semi-detailed); Being hit, passing out, pain, blood/bleeding, & being kidnapped and tied up (up to semi-detailed); Kirstyn has flashbacks & triggers of her kidnapper and attack (up to semi-detailed); A bear attack, being bitten/hurt badly from it, pain, & blood/bleeding (also seeing it happen, up to semi-detailed); Being slapped (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a kidnapping, believing someone might be dead, blood/bleeding, & wounds/injuries (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a (physically) abusive relationship & seeing it (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of beatings & pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a bear attack, pain, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of punishments & threats of cutting off a body part & beatings (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of wanting to slit someone’s throat; Mentions of wanting to sell a fellow human; Mentions of threats; Mentions of fights, fighting, weapons, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a (planned) hanging/execution; Mentions of deaths & illnesses (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of stealing, robbing, cheating, & thieves/outlaws; Mentions of poison; Mentions of alcohol/wine, drinking, & breweries; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of wars & battles; A few mentions of threats of killing; A few mentions of human & animal waste; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of gambling; A couple mentions of screams.

Sexual Content- a fingers kiss, four cheek kisses, a not-detailed kiss, three barely-above-not-detailed kisses, two semi-detailed kisses, and a border-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss; Staring at another’s lips (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to give/receive a kiss & touch (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, & Nearness (x2, barely-above-not-detailed); Remembering a (cheek) kiss & warmth (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kisses, kissing, & wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of seeing a couple kissing; A mention of a man looking up and down at Kirstyn; A mention of lecherous eyes; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

*Note: A few mentions of a young teen boy’s bare chest & a girl blushing; A few mentions of young women’s figures being full and conducive to having children; A couple mentions of a wife who died in childbirth; A couple mentions of not being molested; A mention of a brother trying to molest his cousin/adopted sister (he was caught before anything happened).

-(Lady) Kirstyn, age 16-17(?)

-Aladdin, age 18-19(?)
P.O.V. switches between them

Set in 1414-1415 (Also a chapter or so in 1401, 1403, 1406, 1409, 1410; Epilogue set two years later) {Medieval}
352 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Best for 14/15+ due to romance and some content.}

While not my favorite fairy tale, personally, or my new favorite Melanie Dickerson book, this was a fun read!
It was different with many the flashbacks at the beginning, but I do like seeing their history together. Since typically in “romance” books, it’s more common to see the main couple meeting for the first time in the book, having a childhood friendship was really sweet and a nice touch.

I liked Kirstyn’s heart for orphans and, honestly, her goal is my goal. ;) Aladdin was a unique character and it was neat to see Miss Melanie’s take on his personality. Both of their faiths were shown an incredible amount of time and I definitely love it. Near the end, it did get a bit kissier than I was expecting, but overall still pretty clean.

That Epilogue was the cutest thing and made me grin. :)

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!