Books for Christian Girls: "The Minor Miracle" by Meredith Davis

About this book:

  “What happens when an average kid finds out he has not-so-average powers? And what if the bad guy the CIA expects him to catch is none other than his long-lost great-uncle? Noah Minor must figure out the answers to these questions and more in this action-packed adventure for young readers.
   Noah Minor is a pretty average kid. Nothing major has happened in his life except for the time he survived falling sixteen stories as a baby—and he doesn’t even remember it. As he enters seventh grade, Noah is hoping to be less average and more extraordinary like his best friends, trombone prodigy Rodney and the practically perfect Haley. But during a standard vision test, Noah learns that he can manipulate gravity and a special section of the CIA called Gravitas wants to train him. He also learns that his fall twelve years ago wasn’t an accident. It turns out his family's beloved great-uncle Saul dropped Noah as part of an illegal experiment, and is a wanted fugitive.
   Noah is simply ecstatic to learn that he has “super powers” (even though Gravitas refuses to call them that), but he quickly learns that unlocking and harnessing his power isn’t so easy. Plus, it seems Gravitas only wants Noah as bait to capture his great-uncle. But is Uncle Saul really the bad guy—or just the right person to help Noah reach his full potential?”

Series: Currently unsure if this book is a stand-alone novel or the first book in a series.

Spiritual Content- Three prayers; This book is called “The Minor Miracle” because Noah’s last name is Minor and he was tossed off of a tall apartment as a baby and survived; Mentions of this miracle with Noah calling himself “The Minor Miracle” as his superhero name and other ones (which are more teasing/flippant between Noah and his friends); A few mentions of God; A couple mentions of those & events in the Bible; A couple mentions of praying;
             *Note: No magic in this book, instead Noah’s and others’ powers are inherited & Noah has to learn how to properly use them (one feature of his powers is called The Cling which happens when he has a rush of emotions and causes his clothes to stick to him (which he says makes him a ‘freak’); Noah is able to manipulate gravity and learns how to do that along with others shown it including being able to “fly” (rise towards the ceiling); Noah and others use a pendant made from a meteorite to help focus on their abilities; A few mentions of these abilities not being superpowers or any kind of “superhero hocus-pocus”; A couple mentions of a group of people being convinced that Noah’s uncle is evil; A couple mentions of a musician’s idol (another musician); A mention of a bully walking around “like a god” at school; A mention of it feeling like a bully is harnessing all “the dark forces of middle school”; A mention of something sitting like it’s on a sacrificial altar.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘duh’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘turd’, two ‘dumb’s, two ‘heck’s, two ‘shut up’s, four ‘idiots’s, six forms of ‘screw up’, and eight ‘stupid’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; The possibility of nearly dying, Pain, Passing out, & Throwing up (up to semi-detailed); The prologue starts with a reporter seeing a baby (Noah) being dropped from a tall building (by a family member) but the baby is okay (up to semi-detailed, *Spoiler* This was Noah’s great-uncle who dropped him to test his theory on babies needing to be exposed to life-threatening events to induce their abilities; Noah later thinks that the moment of terror was worth it to have the powers because he’s upset at Gravitas keeping secrets from him and wants to be mad at them *End of Spoiler*); Noah is threatened with being “suppressed” (erasing specific memories) by Gravitas if he tells others (including his parents) about them or to forgot his abilities if he can’t pass their tests (he has to wear a bugged bracelet so they know if he talks about them); At first Noah thinks he’s being threatened by a man with a gun and is scared by it, but it’s actually a device that loops sound; Noah promises to let Gravitas know if his uncle contacts him, but does not (*Spoilers* When upset with Gravitas keeping secrets from him, he justifies that he refuses to feel guilty about it; Noah’s uncle tells him to gather another friend with abilities to help him (without telling the person that it’s for his uncle); Because of his uncle’s words, Noah becomes suspicious of Gravitas; *Major Spoiler* Noah tells Haley towards the end what is happening with his uncle and Noah feels very bad about his actions causing problems for his friends; They plan to trick his uncle, but he ties them up (and tapes their eyes) and threatens Haley with a syringe that could kill her (we see two illustrations of this); The uncle drops Haley off of the roof when she’s unconscious and Noah dives after her (an illustration is shown); Noah realizes that his uncle is as dangerous as everyone has been telling him; Due to not telling an adult with Gravitas about this, Noah is punished with clean-up and potentially other consequences *End of Spoilers*); Noah practices his abilities even though he was told not to outside of class & figures that Gravitas never has to know (*Spoiler* This has consequences when it’s found out so he’s not allowed to test for the next level status and is given a necklace that alerts Gravitas if he uses his powers; Noah is upset at himself for outing himself because he could have been the star student for once instead of the “problem child”; When he tells his uncle this, his uncle shares his outrage for Gravitas’ rules *End of Spoiler*); Noah lies twice & tells not-quite-a-lie a couple times to his mom and friends; Noah faces a bully often & comes up with comic-book inspired names for him (such as ‘an insufferable clod’, ‘villain’, ‘scoundrel’, ‘scourge of the earth’, ‘feckless dolt’, ‘nattering nimrod’, and a ‘turd burglar’); The bully taunts (calling Noah and his friends ‘dorks’ and ‘freaks’) and threatens Noah and his friends, so later Noah plays a few pranks on him (such as using his powers to pull the food or drink from the bully’s mouth and making him look gross; *Spoiler* Noah is told that he shouldn’t do pranks with his abilities, but he defends himself that he was defending his friend that was being teased *End of Spoiler*); Noah gets upset that his friend is so “perfect” and makes snippy/snide remarks towards her & also gets upset at her (but tries to catch himself a few of the times); Mentions of thieves, thefts, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of sedating someone & threatening to do that to others who don’t listen (a villain); Mentions of fights & fighting; Mentions of pain, injuries, & passing out; Mentions of a bully, his mean taunts/teasing, & bullying; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of butts, farts (also called “butt belches”), burping, throwing up, & jokes about it; A few mentions of threatening to kill a child (a villain); A couple mentions of a divorce & a father deserting his family; A mention of kidnapping; A mention of poison darts; A mention of a bomb; A mention of a wildfire; A mention of a dictator; A mention of jealousy; A mention of a nightmare;
             *Note: Noah isn’t sure who to trust or believe (Gravitas or his uncle); Noah feels like a disappointment to Gravitas; Noah feels like he’s too old to pretend about being a superhero & play with action figures with a younger boy (the latter one is because he doesn’t want Gravitas to think of him as immature so even though it pains him, he gives away his superhero items); Noah wants others to think of him as incredible (he plans for others at his school to finally know his name and wants to be a hero, which is why he is embarrassed when other people stare at or whisper about him); Noah is embarrassed by his mom taking pictures of him on his first day of an activity (he’s glad that she doesn’t try to come inside with him); Noah has a moment of being happy about a mean boy being annoyed by something; Noah & his friends go trick-or-treating on Halloween; Mentions of Halloween; Mentions of a fictional character & TV show in this book about kids who turn into animals (one of a boy turning into a wolf is shown in an illustration); Mentions of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade & fictional characters (Peter Parker, Hello Kitty, Smurfs, Snoopy, & Buzz Lightyear); Mentions of a musician (Dizzy Gillespie) & a song (“We Will Rock You”); A couple mentions of Noah feeling like he’s a freak; A couple mentions of a brand name (Gatorade); A mention of a ride at Six Flags; A mention of a movie (Sleepless in Seattle); A mention of Noah and his friend watching a scary movie; A mention of an American flag resting on the floor after an storm.

Sexual Content- A cheek kiss (shown also as an illustration); Noah holds on to a girl’s waist to protect her, tries to hold her tighter to warm her, and she presses her cheek against his (not completely romance-inclined until the end and with Noah thinking the girl would be saying “My hero!” if it was a comic); Noah notices a pretty girl; Noah’s friend, Rodney, teases him and their mutual friend (Haley) about being a couple someday (Noah thinks of her like a sister in the beginning); Mentions of dates to a school dance & asking others out for it; A few mentions of kisses & kissing; A couple mentions of crushes & crushing on someone; A couple mentions of a boy in Noah’s class shaving and wearing a tight shirt so that others notice his muscles;
             *Note: In the illustrations of the cast of characters at the beginning of the book, one of the girls is wearing an oversized sweater that shows her cami strap & another girl is wearing a midriff showing cropped jacket (this can be seen on the Amazon page for this book Here); In another illustration, Haley wears short-shorts; Mentions of butts, farts (also called “butt belches”), & throwing up; A few mentions of a young man’s pants coming off in a training test and it revealing his boxer shorts with a dog on the butt & Noah making note to wear boxers and not briefs to his test (two comic-book style illustrations included); A few mentions of puberty.

-Noah Minor, age 12
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Noah (Prologue in a reporter’s P.O.V.)
                                                        272 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 girls with brothers and/or a fan of superheroes and comic books.}

This was different! A bit too boyish to me, but it was an interesting concept.

I didn’t care for the superhero organization making Noah wear a bugged bracelet and threatening to wipe Noah’s memories if he talked about them. With them and Noah’s mad scientist uncle, I wasn’t sure who Noah should trust—if either side really is good because they both seemed questionable. The ending made sense and there was a bit of character development and lessons for Noah.

I will say that I didn’t quite get all the superhero power stuff, but that could be because how it was explained. This was not my cup of tea, but some middle-grade readers may enjoy it more.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!