Books for Christian Girls: "Room for Cream" by Erynn Mangum

About this book:

“Presley McCoffrey just wants to make the mark.
The only child of two doctors, she’s never lived up to their dreams for her life. Choosing to do zookeeping was a huge disappoint to her parents and they’ve never let her forget it. But now, there’s a chance to be the manager of the Hudson Zoo. And after putting in time at the place for ten years, Presley is bound and determined to get it. Maybe then, her parents will finally see that not only is she good at zookeeping, she actually likes it. Ten years at Hudson Zoo should make this job a shoe-in. But just as she submits her resume, she sees the job isn’t a shoe-in after all.

Jack Dominguez, her old co-worker and friend, is moving back from Seattle and also applying for the job. And everyone is talking about the new guy, coming from San Diego, who is also vying for the position. When the Board of Directors suggests a two-week interim trial for each candidate, Presley knows she’s got the upper hand. After all, she knows the zoo like the back of her hand. She knows the staff, she knows the animals, she knows exactly what will happen. But then everything goes wrong and all of a sudden, life doesn’t look as cut and dry like she thought it would.
In the midst of it all, Presley gets close to Jack’s wife, Maya, who is also discovering that life isn’t what she planned. Does God have a plan that is better than theirs? And if so, what could He possibly be doing?”

Series: Book #4 in the “Maya Davis” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here, #2 Here, and #3 Here!

Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, read, & discussed; Prayers & Blessings over food; Going to a Bible study, Church going, & sermons/discussions; Being witnessed to; Talks about God & Christians; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Presley says believes there’s a Deity, but doesn’t believe in there being only one way to Heaven; As the book continues, Presley starts thinking more about God; Mentions of God & His timing; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles & Bible studies; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, church events, Sunday school, church groups, pastors, & sermons; Mentions of Christians & sharing faiths; A few mentions of Heaven; A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of sinners; A mention of praising God; A mention of Godspeed; A mention of a missionary; A mention of a blessing; A mention of hail Marys;

*Note: Presley’s mother told her that they don’t need a crutch like religion & that because of they are good people they’ll be in Heaven; A mention of reincarnation; A mention of haunted spirits; A mention of ghosts.

Negative Content- Noticing; Minor cussing including: a ‘dang it’, a ‘darn’, a ‘duh’, a form of ‘dumb’, a ‘holy cow’, a ‘sheesh’, two forms of ‘crap’, three ‘gosh’s, three forms of ‘heck’, and eight ‘oh my gosh’s; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Mentions of a crime show’s murderer & blood; Mentions of wondering if a murder happened; Mentions of animal manure; A few mentions of a death from a car accident; A few mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of (thinking a guy may be) a mass murderer; A mention of a hanging in a movie; A mention of a divorce;

*Note: Mentions of movies, TV shows, TV channels, actors, & fictional characters; Mentions of a restaurant; A few mentions of social media sites; A few mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of Starbucks; A mention of something sounding too “brown-nosy”; A mention of Hallmark; A mention of the Hunger Games; A mention of an energy drink;

Sexual Content- Blushes; Noticing; Mentions of dating, dates, girlfriends, & boyfriends; Mentions of blushes; A couple mentions of gorilla mating behaviors (no details);

*Note: Mentions of a married couple trying to have a baby & the different options for treatments (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of menopause; A mention of a shot in the tush; A mention of butting out.

-Presley McCoffrey
1^st person P.O.V. of Presley
228 pages

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

Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

While Presley might have been a bit different than Erynn Mangum’s previous main girls in the sense of her family background and opinion on God, she still had the quirkiness and movie-loving attitude that everyone else has.

After finally finishing the original Maya Davis series, I knew this book may feel a bit strange if only because of the time skip of ten years. It shockingly didn’t bother me as much as I was expecting.

There was such a special feel to this book because of how the faith content was done and the ending message. So many parts brought tears to my eyes for Presley and Maya, but also the faith discussions about God’s timing and our worth. I love how this novel explained certain elements and the genuineness of the characters. Yet another amazing book by Erynn Mangum.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!