About this book:
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| 2009 edition |
“If she told her new family what she saw, would anyone believe her?
Her Irish father having died in a construction accident, Kate O'Connell and her mother are left to struggle alone in the Minneapolis of 1906. Deciding her mother needs help, twelve-year-old Kate goes to pray with their pastor about getting her mother a new husband.
But when God answers their prayers, even Kate is not prepared for the changes. Her mother's remarriage involves becoming part of a Swedish family with two brothers and one sister on a farm in northwest Wisconsin. Such a big change is made harder when Anders, who is also twelve, gets mad at Kate and seems determined to make her life miserable.
As conflicts erupt with Anders, strange occurrences begin to happen around the farm. Kate is convinced she sees someone lurking about, but why? Are their lives in danger?”
Series: Book #1 in the “Adventures of the Northwoods” series.
Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are read, remembered, & prayed; Prayers; Bible reading; Church going; Talks about God & prayers; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Before her father passed, Kate wouldn’t have thought about going to the church for help, but goes there at the beginning of the book to ask the pastor for help getting her mother a husband; Kate was very nervous talking to the pastor, but because he is kind, she becomes less nervous; Kate was angry at God after her father’s death & asked “If you love me, God, why did you let Daddy die?” and doesn’t think that God hears her prayers, but prays for a new husband to make her mother happy as directed by the pastor (her mother is very upset when she learns what Kate did, misunderstanding some of it); Kate wonders if her prayer is too big for God and gets upset when it’s answered in a way she doesn’t like; Kate’s mother says she’s asking God to put special guardian angels around Kate because of her getting into trouble; Kate wonders of God helped her in a dangerous situation, but brushes it off; When Kate is lost in the woods, she tries to trick God into helping her and adjusts it when she says “If you help me, God, I’ll believe you can take care of me. I’ll even believe you do good things!” and then wonders if God is getting back at her for the mean things she’s thought about Him; She tries to forget about her promise to God afterwards and then feels ashamed realizing that she only asks for help when she scared; Kate starts to enjoy hearing Scriptures read, bit won’t admit it of anyone asked; *Spoiler* At the end, Kate asks God if she can count on Him and when a Scripture comes to mind, she changes it into a prayer *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & forgiveness; Mentions of churches, church going, services, hymns, sermons, & pastors/reverends.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: five ‘stupid’s and twelve ‘dumb’s; A bit of eye rolling; Being in a bad storm & being worried about parents (up to semi-detailed); Being stung by bees & pain (up to semi-detailed); Kate is almost ran-over by a horse (but is saved, up to semi-detailed); Kate has close calls with a bull & a bear (her mother is upset that Kate could have been killed, up to semi-detailed); Kate sneaks inside a wagon and accidental travels with a stranger; Some of the children at school & Kate’s new siblings play pranks on her (she wants to make friends, but doesn’t go up to them because of their whispering and pranks; Kate doesn’t tell the teacher at school because she thinks the boys will get meaner if she does); Kate gets lost in the woods (& Kate later lies that she wasn’t scared and then is honest and says she was scared); When Kate exclaims that she hates their landlord, her mother tells her to stop it (Kate still thinks negatively about the man though); Kate calls one of her new brothers ‘dumb’ because she’s upset that he’s paid no attention to her after she laughed at him (which she does feel bad about); Kate almost feels glad about someone burning his tongue because she doesn’t like him; Kate has a rocky start to a relationship with a new brother (he teases her a bit and also gets her muddy & she doesn’t take it well) There’s name calling of ‘stupid’, ‘dumb’, ‘country bumpkin’, and ‘scaredy-cat’ between Kate and one of her new brothers; At one point, Kate wants to hurt a new brother and call him the meanest word she knew (which was ‘country bumpkin’ and does call him that); Kate tells her brother that she hates him; Kate has a bad feeling about an adult when she’s near him; Kate wonders if her mother has enough love for her with their new family members & her mother assures her that she does; Kate wonders if she’ll ever feel part of the family; *Spoiler* By the end, the teasing and bickering between Kate and her brother slows up and they watch out for the other *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of the death of Kate’s father & both her and her mother’s grief (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a thief, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of gunshots & explosions; Mentions of a bad storm; Mentions of boys teasing Kate & others at school; A couple mentions of the construction accident that killed Kate’s father; A couple mentions of a wife and mother’s passing (scarlet fever); A couple mentions of smoking; A couple mentions of lying; A couple mentions of an injured horse (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of horses and buggies being struck by lightning; A couple mentions of jail; A mention of Kate’s mother saying she needs a spanking;
*Note: There are ‘dumb girl’ and ‘stupid boy’ comments from Kate & one of her new brothers (boys vs girls rivalry); Anders tells Kate to “stop acting like a woman” when she gets upset and crying (she responds that she is a woman—”well, almost”); Kate has her moments where she comes across selfish because of her reaction to having to move to Wisconsin and being unable to see her friends or learn to play the organ (she is anger and resentful at times & is also sullen on purpose to upset her mother); Kate doesn’t want to move to Wisconsin based on all the things her friend has told her about it (wilderness, bears, etc.); Kate doesn’t want a brother because of the teasing boys at her school and her friend saying that brothers are pests; Kate tells her new teacher that her last name is O’Connell, even though her mother asked her to use their new last name; Kate’s step-father is kind and though he knows that one of his sons is picking on her, he tells her that she’ll earn her way with him and they will get along (we do not see him talk to the son to be kind or knock-off his teasing, however); A mention of Kate’s mother reminding her about children being “seen and not heard”.
Sexual Content- Kate is concerned about her mother marrying a man without being in love with him, but her mother assures her that she will grow to love him; A mention of a boy being teased about being sweet on Kate (he gets red, but never denies it).
-Katherine “Kate” O’Connell, age 12
P.O.V. switches between them
Set in 1906
144 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
This is a series I see here-and-there in used bookstores and thrift stores, so it’s always been on my radar to review. I’ve heard it compared to the “Mandie” series and I can see why. Stubborn, head-strong girls being thrusted into a new world for them, where there’s adventures, dangers and mysteries. Because I have a fondness for Mandie and her series, I do like those more, but I look forward to seeing how this series continues.
Kate was a bit of a stinker and I wasn’t a fan of the rivalry/teasing and name-calling between her and a new brother, but I expect it to be nearly non-existent in the next book…hopefully. The mystery doesn’t come in until the half-way mark, just a note for avid mystery fans.
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.
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