"Maria Takes a Stand" by Norma Jean Lutz

About this book:

  “Maria Schmidt finds a cause to support.

When the Minneapolis twelve-year-old learns of the effort to give women the right to vote, she takes up the cause. It’s not easy, though—besides the friction the “suffragettes” face, Maria fears the threats her father, a union officer, is receiving. And with a new war going on in Europe, her German-sounding surname brings her added trouble.

Maria must overcome her personal hardships to serve a cause much larger than herself. Can she reply on God’s strength to do the right thing?”


Series: Book #18 in the “Sisters in Time” series. Click on the numbers to be taken to that review: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, & #17.


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are read, quoted, & discussed; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; A couple mentions of Scripture reading & prayers in a classroom; A couple mentions of being blessed & blessings; A mention of thanking God; A mention of someone in the Bible.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘shut up’, a ‘sissies’, and three forms of ‘dumb’; Maria and her siblings face prejudice for their German heritage & mentions of the hate-filled words; Maria gets shoved and flung around (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of wars, fighting, killing/deaths, & assassinations (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of an accident, fires, people being shot and killed, & deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a riot & intending to do violence; Mentions of arrests & jails; Mentions of people throwing rotten tomatoes at those matching for the right to vote for women; A few mentions of injuries & blood/bleeding; A few mentions of threats & vandalism; A few mentions of stolen items; A few mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of an awful political cartoon showing doll-like bodies of children bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of beer & drinking.

Sexual Content- N/A.

-Maria Schmidt, age 12-13
                                P.O.V. of Maria

                                            Set in 1914-1915
                                                    139 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

This was a really interesting one due to the historical details of this plot. Having some German heritage myself like Maria, I really didn’t know about the beginning of World War I and Germany’s influence on it all. Sad because of the deaths, but important to learn about. I’d say that the first half of this book was more focused on the woman’s right to vote movement and the later half on the war and prejudice of German-Americans like Maria and her family.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Breakout!" by Jerry B. Jenkins & Tim LaHaye

About this book:

  “Racing against time, Vicki and the stateside Young Tribulation Force must decide if they will risk their lives to help believers held by the Global Community. Vicki is thrilled at the return of an old friend.
  In New Babylon, Lionel watches a celebrity receive Nicolae Carpathia’s mark, while Judd discovers some startling information from a new friend.
  Follow the kids as they try to help others see the truth and struggle to survive the deadly consequences of refusing to obey the world’s most evil ruler.”


Series: Book #29 (of forty) in “Left Behind: The Kids” series. (Reviews of books #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, and #28.)


Spiritual Content- The Rapture has happened (all main characters were left behind); All about the Rapture, the Antichrist, Tribulation, & telling people about Christ; Scriptures are read, quoted, mentioned, & discussed; Prayers; Lots of witnessing, discussing, & sharing testimonies; Many talks and discussions about God, faiths, & Heaven; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of churches & Sunday school; Mentions of Jews & a temple; Mentions of religions & religious people; Mentions of martyrs; Mentions of resurrections; A mention of song/hymn; A mention of a scholar/rabbi;

          *Note: People think Carpathia is god & worship him; Many mentions of evil & the devil; Mentions of gods.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’ and two ‘stupid’s; Many mentions of beheadings, executions, guillotines, & blades (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths, murders, & killing (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of gunfire, blood, & beatings (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of drugs & needles; A few mentions of cigarettes; A few mentions of tattoos; A couple mentions of alcohol & parties; A mention of stealing; A mention of divorce.

Sexual Content- A bit of jealousy; Mentions of Judd & Vicki being meant for each other; Mentions of a teen who is pregnant; A few mentions of a cute guy; A couple mentions of a boyfriend; A mention of abortion; A mention of a date.

-Judd Thompson Jr., age 18

-Vicki Byrne, age 17

-Lionel Washington, age 16

                                         P.O.V. switches between them & Natalie
                                                        147 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{These ratings are for content, since everyone has a different opinion on the Rapture and how it will happen.}

Not overly thrilled with another love-triangle in this series.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.