Books for Christian Girls: "Spark" by J.M. Hackman

About this book:

“Brenna James wants three things for her sixteenth birthday: to find her history notes before the test, to have her mother return from her business trip, and to stop creating fire with her bare hands.

Yeah, that’s so not happening. Unfortunately.

When Brenna learns her mother is missing in an alternate reality called Linneah, she travels through a portal to find her. Against her will. Who knew portals even existed? But Brenna’s arrival in Linneah begins the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, including a royal murder and the theft of Linneah’s most powerful relic: the Sacred Veil.

Hold up. Can everything just slow down for a sec?

Unwilling yet left with no other choice, Brenna and her new friend Baldwin (Um, hello, Hottie!) pursue the thief into the dangerous woods of Silvastamen and beyond. Exactly what Brenna wanted to do for her sixteenth birthday. Exactly. When they spy an army marching toward Linneah, Brenna is horrified. Can she find the veil, save her mother, and warn Linneah in time?

And more importantly, why on earth doesn’t this alternity have Belgian waffles?”

Series: Book #1 in the “Firebrand Chronicles”.

Spiritual Content- The God figure in this fantasy novel is titled as the Most High King & ‘H’s are capital when referring to Him; Talks about [God] & who to serve; There are angel-like beings called the Lighted Ones; Brenna says she had never been big on church, but see supernatural things in Linneah; A couple Prayers; Many mentions of the Most High King (named Elyon in this novel), His Son (who walked earth), & Prophecies; Mentions of believing in [God] & His Son; Mentions of prayers, praying, praising. & blessings over food (to the Most High King); Mentions of a church-like place & worshiping the Most High King; Mentions of sacred relics & objects; Mentions of a devil-like character (the Great Serpent) & his followers; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of the Lighted Ones (angels); A mention of a miracle;

*Note: three ‘saints and sinners!’ and a ‘welcome to hell’ are said; Alien-like creators; Mentions of aliens; Mentions of evil & evil spells; Mentions of creatures called Dragon Demons; A couple mentions of curses; A couple mentions of ghosts.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bastard’, a ‘blah, blah, blah’, a ‘darn it’, a ‘duh’, a ‘freaking’, a ‘geez’, an ‘oh my word’, two ‘dumb’s, three forms of ‘screw up’, four ‘idiot’s, four forms of ‘suck’, five ‘sheesh’s, five forms of ‘shut up’, and twelve ‘stupid’s; Sarcasm & Eye Rolling; Fighting, Stabbing, Being Stabbed/Hit, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, & Smells (semi-detailed); Healing injuries & Blood (up to semi-detailed); Being poisoned & Pain (up to semi-detailed); Creepy bugs/spiders and creatures, Pain, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Hurting others & Starting Fires (some are killed and Brenna has a hard time with what she’s done even though it was self-defense, up to semi-detailed); Earthquakes & Waves (barely-above-not-detailed); A monster & seeing it eating people (barely-above-not-detailed); Nightmares of dying (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a murder, how it happened, & blood (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of places & creepy creatures that cause pain, bleeding, and deaths (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths; Mentions of possible deaths from fighting; Mentions of killing, violence, fighting, fights, screams, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of dead bodies (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of wars; Mentions of fires & smoke (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of earthquakes & waves (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of poison & being poisoned; Mentions of crimes & criminals; Mentions of thieves & stealing; Mentions of knives; Mentions of a tavern; Mentions of drugs & addictions to a certain drug; Mentions of blackmail; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of tattoos; Mentions of an injured dog (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of hunting; A few mentions of someone possibly being suicidal/cause themselves harm (he isn’t/doesn’t); A few mentions of a mission to kill someone; A few mentions of torture; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of starving to death; A couple mentions of a cigarette; A couple mentions of divorce; A mention of a beheading;

*Note: A couple mentions of a brand name; A mention of Star Wars; A mention of a fictional character.

Sexual Content- a forehead kiss, a cheek kiss, a not-detailed kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and a border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss; Some Hand Holding, Touches, & Warmth; Some Noticing; four forms of ‘hot’; Mentions of flirting & a flirt (including a girl pressing her body against a guy); Mentions of a cute boy; A few mentions of a man leering at girls & giving once-overs; A few mentions of dating & boyfriends; A few mentions of blushes; A couple mentions of kisses; A couple mentions of funny stuff happening between young teens; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of protecting a girl from a guy; A mention of a guy looking at Brenna’s mouth; A mention of a girl being an unwanted female at birth; A YA amount of love, falling in love, & the emotions (some/a bit);

*Note: A couple mentions of being knocked down to their butt/bottom; A mention of whipping someone’s butt; A mention of someone being a pain in the butt; A mention of underwear.

-Brenna James, age 16
1^st person P.O.V. of Brenna
288 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add ½ to a full star for high school age and older who enjoy fantasy books.}

It’s no secret that fantasy isn’t my favorite genre, personally.

Yet, for some reason, there are ones that interest me and when I try them out, I find that they are ‘eh’ or not too bad (i.e. decent/good).

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this fantasy story, especially with the beginning feeling like a contemporary story (until Brenna had fire coming from her fingers, that is). While Brenna did have a few roller-coaster emotions back-to-back at times, I did like her and her sass. She also has ADHD, which I like seeing that being represented in Christian Fiction.

Sure, there were some typical fantasy clichés of the girl in the new world, creepy creatures and strange food, and the guy with a chip on his shoulder about the new visitor. But there was were parts I wasn’t expecting and had me curious on what the author would do next. The Spiritual Content was also very obvious to represent God and the devil, so I liked that.

Because of some fighting, harming, and creepy creature parts, my rating is lower, but those who activity read fantasy books might not be bothered.

For Parents: People do spells with their powers and magic is involved, but the magic is seemed to be more of a gift/blessing.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!