Books for Christian Girls: "Norah's Ark" by Judy Baer

About this book:

“Hi, my name is Bentley.

I'm a mutt with a dash of pit bull in the soup, and I have issues. I'm not likely to win any beauty pageants, and I'm afraid of cats. But my human, Norah Kent, thinks I'm the greatest despite all my shortcomings.

The problem is Norah won't go out with anyone who doesn't like me. Norah says she's perfectly happy being single, and that in God's time she'll marry Mr. Right. But I think God's time may be right now, and Mr. Right may be Officer Nick Haley--the one guy who's afraid of a kitten-fearing basket case of a dog like me! I'll do just about anything to bring Norah and Nick together, even if I have to...gulp...woof!”

Series: A few mentions of characters from “Million Dollar Dilemma” and “The Whitney Chronicles”.

Spiritual Content- Many Scriptures are mentioned, read, remembered, quoted, & discussed; Bible reading; Prayers; Church going & a sermon; Witnessing; Many talks about God, His blessings, praying, forgiveness, & being a Christian; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Norah’s pet shop is called Norah’s Ark (based on Noah’s ark in the Bible); Norah has been a Christian since she was ten and loves Scriptures that refer to God’s creatures; Many mentions of God, His blessing, & forgiveness; Mentions of Scriptures & events and those in the Bible; Mentions of Christians, accepting Christ, & witnessing; Mentions of prayers, praying, & prayer lists; Mentions of churches, church going, a pastor, & sermons; A couple mentions of being a God-sent; A couple mentions of blessings; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of angels; A mention of Heaven; A mention of praising God;

*Note: A few mentions of Cupid; A mention of Adonis.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘biddy’, a ‘crummy’, a ‘duh’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘sucker’, two forms of ‘sissy’, three ‘idiot’s, five ‘dumb’s, and nine ‘stupid’s; Mentions of someone who was attacked by a dog, injured severely, & very afraid of dogs now (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of crimes, criminals, thieves, stealing, vandals, & trouble-maker teens; Mentions of accidents, injuries, & scars (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of hurt & injured animals (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of a drug raid & nearly bleeding out; A few mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of a bully & his gang of teenage thugs; A few mentions of gossip; A few mentions of gas (jokes); A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of drinking wine; A mention of blood; A mention of parents arguing;

*Note: Mentions of celebrities, actors/actresses, singers, movies, TV shows, books, & characters; Mentions of toy & technology brands; A few mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of designers; A couple mentions of Ben & Jerry’s; A mention of Target.

Sexual Content- a hand kiss, two forehead kisses, four barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and semi-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, & Hand holding; A bit of Blushing; Noticing & Smelling; three forms of ‘hunk (one is towards a horse)’ and seven ‘baby’s (from birds); Mentions of kissing & kisses; Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends, & girlfriends; Mentions of birds that wolf whistles (that would put a construction worker to shame), comments on people’s bottoms/legs, flirts/makes other comments, & makes kissy noises; A few mentions of flirting; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of a married couple kissing; A couple mentions of reputations & not being in a compromising situation; A mention of a married couple possibly giving a mother figure a grandchild; A mention of a girl walking with a little more wiggle to her hips for a guy’s benefit; A mention of a crush; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

*Note: A couple mentions of a bikini; A mention of lingerie; A mention of feeling Cupid’s arrow on a backside; A mention of being hoisted onto a horse & feeling the handprints on a backside (not-detailed); A mention of a little girl acting like she’s riding a horse by smacking her butt; A mention of a dog sitting on its butt.

-Norah Kent
1^st person P.O.V. of Norah
361 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

For some reason, some people might not like this book. I’ll be honest and say I won’t understand how you cannot like “Norah’s Ark” or “Million Dollar Dilemma”, but I’ll leave you with your opinion as long as you respect mine for a case when I don’t enjoy one of your favorite books. Deal? ;)

This book is a favorite of mine purely because of two things:

1. Norah’s love for her dog. The cover says, “Love Me, Love My Dog” and that is something I completely agree with. Norah is a huge (understatement) animal lover and it shows in her peacemaking heart.

2. Norah’s faith is like Cassia’s in “Million Dollar Dilemma” and it truly inspires me to be a better Christian in my knowledge of Scriptures and also how I show my faith towards others. I love the thought Norah has at one point in this novel, “My grandmother said I might be the only sermon someone like Lilly ever hears. That should keep me on my toes.”

The “romance” side of this book (putting in “ ” as it really is light and while Norah would love to hear bells when she meets the right man God has for her, her faith and love for animals is the main plot, I would say) might seem strange to some due to the three eligible bachelors in Norah’s life, but, trust me when I say, it all works out and I never thought anything was cheesy or forced feeling.

I cannot share in words how much “Million Dollar Dilemma” and “Norah’s Ark” have encouraged me in my personal life, but also just the giddiness I feel when I read these two books reminds me why I enjoy reading.

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!