Books for Christian Girls: "Gone Too Soon" by Melody Carlson

About this book:

“An icy road. A car crash.
A family changed forever.
Hannah Josephson had always been the “perfect” daughter. Kiera couldn’t live up to her before, and she certainly can’t now that her older sister has died in a car accident. But the image she carried resentfully of Hannah is challenged when she finds her dead sister’s diary and begins to read. Apparently Hannah’s final year wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought.
Caught in a pattern of blaming each other, the Josephson family is falling apart. Their father has left, their mother is mixing opiates and alcohol, little sister Maddie has been shipped off to spend the whole summer with their grandmother, and Kiera feels utterly alone with her grief and anger. A summer job helping at a park in a poor section of town provides a friend and a purpose.
But it’s Hannah’s diary that fills her thoughts. For the first time in years, she feels close to the sister she’s lost. But can the knowledge she gleans about her possibly help her patch back together the family that seems determined to implode?”

Series: As of now, no.

Spiritual Content- A Scripture is read; A few prayers; Church going & Being witnessed to; Talks about God, believing if He’s there or not, & why He took Hannah; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Kiera was done with God & religion the day her sister was buried; Moira asks God why Hannah died & wonders if He’s even there; Kiera and Maddie talk a bit about God & Maddie isn’t sure what she believes anymore; Kiera says she told Hannah that she was an atheist/agnostic (probably to irritate her, she confesses), *Spoiler* but more towards the end of the book, she starts thinking more about her sister’s faith *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of a Bible, Bible reading, & a Bible study; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, & a pastor; Mentions of youth groups & youth retreats; Mentions of miracles; A few mentions of Heaven; A few mentions of a Jewish dad & going to temple; A couple mentions of a sinner’s prayer; A couple mentions of an angel;

*Note: an ‘Oh, God!’ is said by Moira (she says she didn’t approve of taking the Lord’s name in vain, but that perhaps it was a prayer of utter desperation); A mention of a guy being called the devil; A mention of there being hell to pay; A mention of (not having) a religious food diet; A mention of a stereotype about being a vegan and an atheist; A mention of Kiera being ready to debate over evolution; A mention of Kiera’s concern about fossil fuels and global warming; A mention of stopping global warming and preserving the environment.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a cut-off ‘bi—‘ (want Keira wants to yell back to her mom), a form of ‘crap’, a ‘duh’, a ‘give a rip’, a ‘heck’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘stinking’, a ‘sucks’, a ‘wimp’, a ‘witch’, three ‘dumb’s, four ‘crud’s, four ‘freaking’s, and fourteen forms of ‘stupid’; Kiera & Moira both curse and curse some heavy ones apparently (but all are said, not written, barely-above-not-detailed); Sass & Eye rolling; *Spoiler* Moira tries to overdose with pills and vodka (the reader sees this in her point of view), but is saved before it takes action into her system completely and goes to rehab *End of Spoiler*; Kiera thinks she could kill the guy who hurt her sister & does vandalize his car; Moira slaps Kiera (barely-above-not-detailed); Kiera mentions that she used to be a cutter & knows a thing or two about self-inflicted pain and mutilation; Moira drinks wine and vodka often & also once after taking a sleeping pill (along with driving under the influence); Moira used to be a drug addict & starts taking pills again and is high often; Moira is very bitter/angry that Hannah died, compares her other daughters to her, fights with Kiera, & blames everyone else for Hannah’s death; All about mentions of Hannah’s death from a car accident; Many mentions of sleeping pills, drugs, addicts, being high, & overdosing; Many mentions of alcohol/wine/vodka & Kiera’s parents drinking much more after Hannah’s death; Mentions of suicide, planning a suicide, & military men’s suicides (Hannah was strongly considering committing suicide after the *see sexual content spoiler* and wishes that something else would take her life); Mentions of self-harm & when Kiera was a cutter; Mentions of verbal & physical abuse (Moira (Kiera’s mom) is said to have never physically abused anyone, but does get angry enough to consider striking Kiera and later does); Mentions of stealing, thieves, & crimes/criminals (Kiera steals her late sister’s diary and her mom’s pills for her mom’s wellbeing); Mentions of a party with drinking alcohol & teens smoking weed (Hannah’s diary tells of her going to such a party, drinking (and liking a cocktail), & getting in a car with an intoxicated guy (they got home safely); Mentions of drinking, alcohol, drugs, & partying; Mentions of hatred (including Kiera’s mention of her undying hatred for her mother); Mentions of Kiera’s father leaving after fights with her mom; Mentions of divorces; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of tattoos & piercings; A few mentions of murder; A few mentions of prison & delinquents; A few mentions of a bully; A couple mentions of a (recovering) meth addict; A couple mentions of smoking; A mention of jumping off a bridge; A mention of jumping in front of a train; A mention of a rotting body; A mention of blackmail; A mention of poisoning cats; A mention of a cigar box;

*Note: A few mentions of TV channels (ESPN, CNN, the Weather Channel, & Disney channel); A few mentions of books (Harry Potter, Narnia, & The Hobbit); A few mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of TV shows (Dr. Who & Dr. Phil); A couple mentions of designers; A couple mentions of Boy Scouts; A mention of a band (Rolling Stones); A mention of a movie.

Sexual Content- a ‘lush’; *Spoiler, but important trigger note* Mentions of a roofie being slipped into Hannah’s drink & her being raped (there is also mentions of the rapist (it was statutory rape) and Hannah feeling so dirty, but no true details besides the fact she thinks she was slipped a roofie). Near the end, it's revealed that he came up to Hannah and asks her forgiveness as he has committed his life to Christ *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of when Kiera and a friend looked at a pornographic magazine (they were disgusted and slightly confused); Mentions of making out but stopping before doing anything more; Mentions of boyfriends, girlfriends, dates, dating, & break-ups; A few mentions of Kiera overhearing that she was unplanned, unwanted, and nearly aborted (though her mother says it was a joke); A few mentions of flirting; A few mentions of crushes; A mention of a creep on the prowl for kids; A mention of a kiss; A mention of not kissing; A mention of blushing;

*Note: Mentions of a bikini (Kiera wears her sister’s bikini and notes that she’s not as curvy or fills it out like Hannah did); A couple mentions of a lingerie drawer & a padded bra; A couple mentions of a gynecologist & menstrual cramps; A mention of some girls being exhibitionists.

-Kiera Josephson, age 16

-Moira Josephson
Switches between 1^st person P.O.V. of Kiera & 3^rd person P.O.V. of Moira
334 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Trigger Warning & Note: Stars could be added for girls who have had a death in their family for the hope of the book’s message helping, but it may also hit too close to home for some readers.}

It feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve read a new Melody Carlson YA book. She was my favorite author back when I first got into the Christian market at age 12/13 and I loved reading all the teen drama and angst in her books. This author does teen drama with tough subjects in her YA so well, even though it’s not my favorite thing to read anymore. “Gone Too Soon” was no different with the main plot of the death of an older sister, the main girl struggling in every aspect of her emotions, a mother relying on alcohol and pills, and the whole family slipping through the cracks. I knew that this book would be sad, but I also knew that the happier parts would come (and to be honest, I was waiting for those happier parts as I don’t like my books to be sad or depressing, personally). Because of some content and language, the ratings are lower, but I did love the ending message of this book and did cry towards the end a few times. There can be some triggering parts for some readers, though.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!