Books for Christian Girls: "Off the Chain" by Janice Thompson

About this book:

“The Town of Brenham, Texas, Has Gone to the Dogs!

Marigold Evans’ first attempt at rescuing an abandoned pooch lands her in a drainage pipe in Brenham Texas. . .and almost in jail, until Parker Jenson comes to her rescue. Then a bad day only gets worse as the Lone Star Vet Clinic, where they both work, is vandalized and the list of suspects starts to climb. With the help of her fellow employees, Marigold sets out to simultaneously solve the crime, rehab the rescued dog, and help more dogs in crisis. But why would anyone continue to work against all their good efforts?”

Series: Book #1 in the “Gone to the Dogs” series.

Spiritual Content- Proverbs 12:10 at the beginning; A couple Scriptures are mentioned; Prayers; Many talks about God, praying, having faith, & dreams; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Many mentions of God, callings, & dreams; Mentions of prayers, praying, a prayer chain, & blessings over food; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, church events, & a pastor/reverend; Mentions of callings; Mentions of ministries & one that witnesses to and helps the homeless; Mentions of miracles; Mentions of denominations & someone being raised Presbyterian but becoming a Baptist as an adult (his mother being “nearly wrecked” by it (though, they’ve now ironed out their theological differences)); A few mentions of working with like-minded people who are believers; A few mentions of if someone was charismatic they would say a certain man has a demon & a friend being full-gospel and finding demons under every bush (which Mari responds that there are plenty of them to be found); A few mentions of a man possibly skimming off of a church’s tithes; A couple mentions of Mari’s grandmother saying a man’s so mean that her prayers couldn’t reach him, which Mari isn’t sure that’s theologically sound; A couple mentions of a mission trip; A mention of a Godsend; A mention of a hymn; A mention of fasting; A mention of a blessing; A mention of calling for a priest; A mention of a the phrase that a man is “so cheap he wouldn’t give a nickel to see Jesus ridin’ a bicycle”;

*Note: A few mentions of a cat being called the “spawn of Satan”, a “demonic cat”, & a “demon cat”; A couple mentions of a man being called evil; A mention of someone scowling at Mari like she’s “some sort of demonic entity”; A mention of a (church) event being at an ungodly hour.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stinking’, a ‘suck it up’, two ‘dumb’s, three ‘idiot’s, and four forms of ‘stupid’; Some sarcasm & eye rolling; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); A couple mentions of someone making an obscene gesture; A mention of someone being “enough to make a preacher want to cuss”; Helping a friend who’s ex-boyfriend is stalking her & witnessing his reckless driving (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of vandalism (the word ‘murderer’ is painted on a wall), vandals, thieves, burglaries/robberies, stealing, & stolen items; Many mentions of an ex-boyfriend threatening, stalking, gaslighting her, showing signs of violence, following her around with a gun, the woman being scared of him, & filing a protective order; Many mentions of jail & arrests; Mentions of threats; Mentions of injuries; Mentions of blood, vomit, throwing up, & poop; Mentions of alcohol, someone being addicted, going to AA, & becoming sober; Mentions of drugs, a cartel, dealers, runners, & drug houses; Mentions of injured dogs, the passing of beloved pets, & grieving (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of owners abandoning their pets when they move; A few mentions of a man threatening to hurt a dog if it comes onto his property; A few mentions of rumors; A few mentions of divorce; A few mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of a hateful man; A mention that someone could be an axe murderer; A mention of partying in college;

*Note: Mentions of brands (Dollar General, Dollar Store, Jiffy Lube, Lady Clairol, Mary Kay, Easy-Bake ovens, Gucci, Dr. Pepper, Blue Bell ice cream, & Sonic); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of a singer & songs (Kenny Chesney); A mention of a soap opera (The Young and the Restless); A mention of the Mutt & Jeff duo.

Sexual Content- An few embraces & hand holding; A tiny bit of teasing/flirting & winks; Some noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); a ‘hussy’ (Grandma Peach calls another woman that because she’s always flirting); Mentions of boyfriends, girlfriends, exes, dates, & dating; Mentions of flirts, flirting, & swooning; Mentions of thinking about a man often & crushes; Mentions of handsome & cute guys; A few mentions of songs about cheating; A few mentions of having the hots for someone; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of hunky firefighters; A mention of a woman ‘honky-tonkin’; At the beginning of the story, Marigold has a bit of a crush on a guy who happens to be her boss (but it’s really more of respect and admiration); A bit of love, falling in love, & the emotions;

*Note: A couple mentions of female co-workers staying at a male coworker’s place when they need a place to stay (not sexual at all, he’s just a nice guy with a heart for helping people).

-Marigold Evans

1^st person P.O.V. of Marigold

256 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{ Add a full star for dog lovers and/or those who are interested in working at/as a vet. }

This was everything I hoped and more.

Easily my most anticipated book of the year, this book was just so much fun.

I thought it would be more of a mystery, but it wasn’t so focused on who broke into the vet clinic, it was more on day-to-day life and craziness and Marigold’s heart for rescuing dogs. Which I really liked. Bonus that it was in first-person POV, which reminded me of Erynn Mangum’s books with the wit and humor.

This was such an entertaining read and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

See y’all on Friday with a new review!