About this book:
“Libby had just started to relax and accept her new family's love when some strange happenings began to threaten her security. Libby knew she wasn't at fault, but who was the culprit? Would someone solve the riddle in time to keep her from being sent away again.”
Series: Book #1 in the “Elizabeth Gail” series.
Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are read, discussed, & thought over; Being told the Christmas story & Being witnessed to; Church going, Sunday school, & lessons; Talks about God & praying; 'H's are not capital when referring to God or Jesus; Libby shrugs off being told about God loving everyone as “just another of the strange things she had to put up with in her new foster home”; *Spoilers* At the end, Libby is asked by Mrs. Johnson if she loves Jesus and Libby nodded yes which she is glad to hear and encourages Libby that Jesus will be her; At the very end, Mr. Johnson has a serious talk with Libby about making Jesus her Savior, which Libby has been thinking a lot about and he explains about sin and the crucifixion; Libby prays and is now about of God’s family, adding that she’ll really need Jesus’ help to forgive the mean girl *End of Spoilers*; When discussing a mean girl’s actions, Mr. Johnson says she isn’t a Christian and it’s added that she’s been coming to church regularly now (which Susan thinks is because of her crush on her brother); Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, those and events in the Bible, & a family devotional time; Mentions of churches, church going, a Sunday School class, & a Christmas program; A few mentions of a nativity sets; A couple mentions of Blessings & being Blessed.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘dumb’s and two ‘stupid’s; Being lost in a snowstorm, punching someone in the nose, & pain (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); At the beginning, Libby tries to irritate her caseworker by chewing gum loudly; Libby is determined to not love anyone again because it hurts when they no longer want her; Libby tries to act indifferent towards her new foster family because she didn’t want to come live there and can’t be nice (she snaps at her new foster siblings and has a range of emotions because while she wants to be friends, she can’t because it will only make it worse when she has to leave; She says that she hates living there and hates them which makes her foster sister say that they’ll hate her too if she keeps acting like this); Libby thinks that the Johnsons will be like every foster family she’s had and will send her away when they’re tired of her, so she decides to *Spoiler* runaway, but Mr. Johnson finds her as soon as she is leaving and they talk *End of Spoiler*; Libby feels like a burden and that nobody wants her, but tries to believe the Johnsons’ words about them wanting her; As the book continues and routines are made, Libby and her foster siblings act closer to siblings (with Libby only lashing out and crying about them possibly not wanting her or not believing her some of the time); The foster parents think Libby lies to them on different things that happened (when she really didn’t do them) and later apologize for upsetting her (Libby is upset that no one believes her; *Spoiler* It turns out the main girl is causing trouble for Libby, see next Spoiler for information on this *End of Spoiler*); When a mean girl at church is rude to Libby, Libby pinches her and the girl calls her an “aid kid” (which makes Libby upset; Later the girl gets in her face and says she’s nothing, which makes Libby want to yank the girl’s hair out but she instead hits the girl in her nose (the boys laugh at her bloody nose, barely-above-not-detailed; There is a two-page illustration of this scene before the blood); The girl is continuously rude, mean, & hateful to Libby including pushing her and blaming her for events; The mean girl tells Susan that she and Libby aren’t “real sisters” and *Spoilers* when the mean girl blames Libby for something, Susan says that she’s glad they’re not really sisters when she’s upset at Libby; Towards the end, the girl sets Libby up as a thief and want her to leave or her family will press charges against her; Libby will be sent away but the Johnsons hope be able to get her back once it’s all settled down; When one more thing happens and it’s obvious that Libby didn’t do it, the whole family goes over to talk with the mean girl’s family (her mother makes a negative comment towards Libby) and the truth comes out so Libby gets to stay *End of Spoilers*); Libby doesn’t understand why her foster siblings are still being nice to her even after she messed up and aren’t planning to do something mean to her (when a misunderstanding happens later, Libby thinks one of them is getting back at her and yells out that she hates that foster sibling); When Libby speaks angrily, Mrs. Johnson tells her to go to her room and not to speak that way; *Spoiler* Libby gets lost in a snowstorm and wonders if she’ll ever be found or searched for; She’s very upset at the foster sibling that took her outside and thinking the worse about her, but the girl hit her head and was unconscious for a time, which makes them both realize the other wasn’t being mean and apologize to the other *End of Spoiler*; A few hints to other foster families that Libby has had that weren’t great or nice to her & Libby is concerned that her next foster family won’t be nice to her; Libby is concerned that a goose will bite her and peck her eyes out; Mentions of a theft, stealing, & making someone look like a thief; Mentions of Libby punching a girl in her nose, the injuries, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of an injured filly (due to Libby not doing a chore properly) & it’s bloody leg (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of hatred (including Libby and the mean girl both saying they hate the other); Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of a car wreck & death; A mention of Libby slapping a foster brother for teasing her; A mention of the possibility of a dog being run over; A mention of a bar;
*Note: Libby last saw her mother five years ago when she promised they would be together, but then her mother away after a month with a “weird man she’d met in a bar”; Libby doesn’t know where her father is because he left her and her mother when she was two; It hurts Libby to think about her parents; *Spoiler* About half-way through, she is told that her father was killed in a car wreck & that her mother would like to have Libby for Christmas, which Libby thinks that “they” will decide if she goes or not; When asked about it, Libby comments that her mother might want her back and could desert her again; The mother ends up taking back the invitation and leaving the country for a year *End of Spoiler*; Libby feels dirty and shabby when she meets her new foster family at their impressive house; Shortly after arriving, Libby’s new foster parents asks if she will call them Mom and Dad, but when Libby shakes her head (though she wants to say yes), they both says she can call them by their first names (*Spoiler* At the very end, she is calling them Mom and Dad *End of Spoiler*); A teasing comment about keeping a friendly goose from “molesting” someone; Mentions of a brand name (Monopoly, Careers, & the game of Life); A mention of butting into a conversation.
Sexual Content- Seeing a married couple kiss (thrice); Libby notices twice that her new foster brother is “good to look at”and when he smiles at her, she quickly looks away; She thinks similarly about a boy in her Sunday School class & wants him to think she’s pretty; The mean girl hates Libby because she’s always with Ben (her older foster brother) and that he likes Libby more than her; When Libby blows out candles on a cake and one is left, her foster sister teases her about having one boyfriend; Mentions of crushes & liking someone.
-Elizabeth Gail “Libby” Dobbs, age 11-12
P.O.V. of Libby
122 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
{ Could be possibly triggering or even relatable for those in foster care or adoptees. }
First released back in the late 1970s, I think it would be fair to classify this series as vintage even though it was contemporary at it’s time. ;)
Libby has a lot of conflicting emotions, bless her, and it gets worse when there’s a horrid neighbor girl causing a lot of trouble for her. I’m not sure why the adults weren’t told every time when the mean girl was being terrible? It got frustrating to me about that, but thankfully it’s a short book so justice would eventually happen soon.
I don’t have many thoughts on this book besides that mean girl being absolutely terrible, but I hope we’ll see her better in future books.
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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