"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! 

*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.

*I received this book for free from the Publisher (WaterBrook) for this honest review.

"In the Shelter of Hollythorne House" by Sarah E. Ladd

About this book:

  “A young widow faces an uncertain future . . . until an unexpected encounter with her first love gives her heart a second chance in this Regency romance set on the Yorkshire Moors.
    England, 1817—Charlotte Grey thought she had seen the last of Anthony Welbourne. Knowing her father would never consent to his only daughter marrying a man he deemed beneath their family’s station, Charlotte bid her final farewell to Anthony and vowed never to turn back. Instead, she honored her father’s wishes by marrying the wealthy Roland Prior.
    Determined to put his love for Charlotte in the past, Anthony chose to immerse himself in a life full of meaning—first as a soldier fighting a war overseas, then as a member of William Walstead’s watchmen, a rugged band of men dispatched to deal with perilous situations. Fearless and persistent, he makes it his life’s focus to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.
    When Charlotte’s husband dies unexpectedly, she quickly realizes how blind she’d been to his nefarious ambitions and how many people he’d angered on his relentless quest for wealth. To protect her infant son, Henry, from those who wish him harm, she and the baby flee to Hollythorne House, her childhood home. There Charlotte comes face-to-face with her former love, who has been sent as one of the hired watchman to protect her and Henry until the details of her late husband’s estate are settled.
    Anthony’s presence brings back feelings she never expected to have again, and she struggles to trust his intentions. Are the watchmen really looking after Charlotte as they claim—or are they looking to make trouble for Roland’s estate and heir? Despite the constant reminders of their past, Anthony must remain focused on the task he was hired to do. But when new threats emerge and the past collides with the present, both must decide what they are willing to risk for the chance to right old wrongs and carve out a new future . . . together.”


Series: Book #2 in “The House of Yorkshire” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Church going; The phrase “Thank God” is said (by Anthony); Mentions of churches, church going, services, & vicars; 
             *Note: It’s said that Anthony needs to make peace with the demons that have kept him away from his hometown; A couple mentions of ghosts (including Anthony not believing in ghosts and curses); A mention of a place being in a “devilish state”; A mention of being lucky; A mention of a place being treated as a shrine; A mention of someone idolizing another.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’, three ‘devil’s, four ‘bah’s; A mention of something being damning; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); A bit of sarcasm; Being shot, Being held at gunpoint, Gunshots, Seeing someone shot, Fighting, Injuries, Pain, & Blood/Bleeding (semi-detailed); Nightmares (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); *Spoiler* A baby is kidnapped and held for ransom (everything is okay by the end of the book) *End of Spoiler*; Charlotte finds her husband’s body (barely-above-not-detailed) and while is shocked, she does not grieve him much due to his actions towards her; Charlotte’s husband hit her when he was drunk (we see the aftermath recalled, up to semi-detailed); Anthony drinks ale at a pub & later is given alcohol *Spoiler* when injured *End of Spoiler*; Anthony lies to his friend & keeps his past relationship with Charlotte a secret from him and their boss; Charlotte lied to her father about her being happy in her marriage to comfort him before he passed; Anthony has guilt over not stopping a loved one’s death; Many mentions of a war, near deaths, deaths, major injuries, battles, & an explosion (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of crimes, criminals, thieves, stealing, stolen items, & smuggling; Many mentions of lies, liars, lying, & deceit; Mentions of deaths & grieving (for a husband, parents, and a parental figure); Mentions of fires & a death; Mentions of gunshots, seeing someone shot, seeing someone killed, bodies, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of threats, kidnappings, ransoms, & being attacked and tied up (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, & pubs; Mentions of rumors & gossip; A few mentions of Charlotte’s husband’s “violent episodes”; A few mentions of tobacco; A few mentions of an injured owl that ended up dying (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of a snuffbox (including a side character using one, up to semi-detailed); A couple mentions of hatred; A mention of a legend of a man murdering his wife; A mention of poisons;
             *Note: Charlotte’s husband was very controlling and dictated every aspect of her life (including only allowing her half an hour with their son a day); Due to Anthony’s parents passing away when he was young, his grief about being alone and being an orphan caused him to want to be just like his father; A man had his wife institutionalized because she couldn’t bear a child; A few mentions of some men believing that women are “too weak-minded and delicate” for hard topics; A couple mentions of men trying to manipulate women.
 
 
Sexual Content- A hand kiss, a cheek kiss, six head/forehead kisses, an almost (semi-detailed) kiss, two not-detailed kisses, three barely-above-not-detailed kisses, a semi-detailed kiss, and a detailed kiss; Recalling a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Staring at another’s lips (up to semi-detailed); Lots of Wanting to kiss & embrace (quite often, up to semi-detailed); Lots of Touches, Embraces, Hand Holding, Staring, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Lots of Noticing (up to semi-detailed); When Anthony is injured, Charlotte sees his bare chest and arms (barely-above-not-detailed); Charlotte catches a couple in a passionate embrace; *Spoiler* A man used a young woman’s feelings to gather information from her *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of reputations, chaperones, flirting, & couples being alone together when they shouldn’t (including Charlotte and Anthony); A couple mentions of a married man having a mistress (Charlotte’s husband); A mention of a legend of a man murdering his wife after finding out she had a lover; A mention of a woman being accosted by a man; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A couple mentions of a mother dying in childbirth.
 
-Charlotte Prior, age 22 (?) 
-Anthony Welbourne, age 23 (?)
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                       Set in 1817 (Prologue in 1813, Epilogue in 1819)
                                                        352 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’m not really a second chance romance fan, but I was pretty impressed with how both main characters stayed to their plans and wasn’t distracted by the other being nearby. More so her, which made me like her a lot more because of her determination to focus on her son—and she actually does that and does that well. It took quite a while for her to entertain the idea of him again and their relationship, which I actually really liked. I do think some would find it too slow, but I liked the slow-burn being actually slow. I found the timing of their first kiss and confessions to be terribly timed, but I’ve seen it a lot on Romantic Suspense books (and still dislike it). 

 

I will say that there was too much clothing and appearance details for my taste. It felt like almost every chapter had a part where their clothing and the cut of it is described. It was interesting at first but quickly grew to be too often for me. 

 

Having read most of this author’s newer releases in the past couple of years, I expected this one to be clean, but have no faith content. That proved to be right for this one as well. There were a few parts where faith content could have been worked in very naturally and because of the lack of it, it just made the book feel like an average regency book. Charlotte found her strength in Anthony (and thinks this a couple times) which was just disappointing.  

 

I think my main dis-enjoyment was that this book kind of felt like just a regular regency book—there was no faith content to stand out, no humor to make me laugh, and nothing that took me by surprise. Middle of the road, I guess you could say, though, I feel a bit bad saying that. It was pretty clean, but had a few mentions of Charlotte’s husband who was verbally and physically abusive towards her.

 

 

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.

"A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure" by Angela Bell

About this book:

  “Miss Clara Marie Stanton's family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren't insane.
    London, England, 1860 
    When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society's prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara's Grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing.
    Theodore Kingsley, a shame-chased vagabond haunted by the war, wants a fresh start far from Kingsley Court and the disappointed father who declared him dead. Upon returning to England, Theodore meets clockmaker Drosselmeyer, who hires him as an apprentice, much to Clara's dismay. When Drosselmeyer spontaneously disappears in his secret flying owl machine, he leaves behind a note for Clara, beseeching her to make her dreams of adventure a reality by joining him on a merry scavenger hunt across Europe. Together, Clara and Theodore set off to follow Drosselmeyer's trail of clues, but they will have to stay one step ahead of a villain who wants the flying machine for himself--at any cost.”


Series: As of now, seems to be a stand-alone novel. 


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned; Prayers; Singing a hymn; Talks about God, trusting Him, giving up control, & leaning and relying on Him; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Clara believes that everything is up to her and wants to make sure she doesn’t disappoint her family or her God, but both her mother and grandfather witness to her about trusting God and giving up control; Clara’s mother accuses her of trying to carry the world on her shoulders when she’s not God; Clara, her mother, and Theodore visit a handful of beautiful cathedrals, but Theodore doesn’t enter them due to his belief that he’ll soil the Almighty’s house due to past actions; Theodore longs to enter different cathedrals and wonders if he staying away from the Lord’s house has been a mistake; *Spoilers* Theodore wonders if God would be willing to welcome him home after Clara’s mother tells him not to mistake his heavenly Father’s character for his earthly father’s voice, but later thinks that God would never welcome him home; Towards the end, he has a dream of a voice talking to him, treating him kindly, and saying that He will always claim Theodore as his child and him can depend on Him; Theodore wakes up from that dream and kneels at a cross pledging to lean on Him and nothing else *End of Spoilers*; Clara receives letters for her grandfather encouraging her to pursue relying on the Lord and being dependent on Him; *Spoilers* Towards the end, Clara asks God to forgive her stubbornness and asks Him for help, wanting to lean into Him; Clara later wants to seek the Lord’s guidance before admitting her feelings to Theodore, knowing that the last time she didn’t do that regarding a relationship, there was a lot of pain; Theodore agrees to pray about it with her and do what the Lord leads *End of Spoilers*; Many mentions of God, Jesus, trusting Him, giving Him control, leaning and replying on Him, faiths, & Hope; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of God’s creation & His animals (Clara’s mother is an advocate for rescuing mistreated and injured ones); Mentions of cathedrals, visiting them, worship, stained glass windows, statues of saints, & priests; Mentions of songs of worship & it being moving (bells at a cathedral & singing a hymn); Mentions of Jesuits & saints; Mentions of a parade of the apostles and with the archangel Michael battling a skeleton figuring (representing death) at an event; A few mentions of thanking God; A few mentions of blessings; A couple mentions of Providence; A couple mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of a priest spewing brimstone and hellfire; A mention of the Resurrection; A mention of the return of Christ; A mention of the Gospels & reading them; A mention of divine intervention; A mention of being a good Christian woman (Clara’s mother jokes that she’s not one until she’s had her tea and toast); A mention of a vicar; A mention of Clara’s mother’s plan to baptize animals (not sure if joking or said in earnest); 
             *Note: ‘Good heavens’ is said four times, ‘Thank heavens’ twice, ‘Heavens above’ twice, ‘Heaven knows’ twice, ‘Dear heavens’ once, ‘for heaven’s sake’ once, and ‘how in the name of heaven and earth’ once; A woman yells out for Heaven to save her after seeing a rat; Someone says that “there is no darker hell than a government intuition”; A swan is called a “winged demon” by Theodore; Mentions of Greek mythology and gods, statues of them, & parts of the legends; Mentions of a hobgoblin (Clara calls Theodore one multiple times); A couple mentions of something not being magic but ingenuity; A mention of Theodore’s demons haunting him and controlling his nightmares; A mention of demonic rodents; A mention of sinfully delectable chocolate truffles; A mention of an ungodly speed of a train; A mention of animal being an omen of good luck; A mention of someone screeching like a banshee.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bah’, a ‘confounded’, a ‘what the devil’, two ‘bloomin’s, two ‘for the love of all’s, two forms of ‘my foot’, two forms of ‘what the dickens’, three ‘cursed’s, three forms of ‘shut up’, three forms of ‘what in the blazes’, four ‘botheration’s, four forms of ‘drat’, four ‘stars above’s, five ‘gah’s, seven ‘by jove’s, seven ‘shove off’s, seven ‘what the deuce’s, eight forms of ‘blast’, eight forms of ‘dashed/dash it all’, eight forms of ‘idiot’, ten forms of ‘stupid’, and sixteen ‘stars’ (exclamation); Theodore exclaims “Rusted cogs!” six times; Other made-up curses like “Salted paper cuts”, “Feathers and figs”, “Liver and onions”, and “Rust and rot” are used; Mentions of curses (including Clara holding some back when in pain and Theodore being tempted to swear; others are said, but not written out); Some eye rolling & sarcasm; Being kidnapped, Being held at knife- and gunpoint, Being drugged (chloroform), Being tied up, Almost drowning, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, & Passing Out (up to semi-detailed); Stabbing someone & Seeing someone shot (self-defense, up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone knocked out, the injuries and blood, & Being concerned for the person (up to semi-detailed); Nightmares (Theodore about his time in a bloody battle and seeing deaths along with hurtful and hateful words from his father and being whipped and slapped by him as well, semi-detailed); Some grief (Clara for her grandmother); Clara feels panic when her mother disappears (she walked away from her, up to semi-detailed); Clara’s ex-fiancé is stalking her due to her family’s money & she is mistrusting towards others because of what he’s done and threatens to do; Clara’s mother rescues animals that are injured, mistreated, or about to be killed by a human (we see this on page and some were going to be drowned); Clara’s mother gets excited about watching two men engage in fisticuffs (they witness the fight, up to semi-detailed); Clara tells a white lie to her mother, but her mother calls her out on it; Mentions of battles, deaths, injuries, a soldier’s “mental faculties” being “deemed damaged beyond hope” and being committed to an asylum, & nightmares and guilt over it (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths of loved ones & grief (Clara for her grandmother, but we also see mentions of her grandfather’s grief for his late wife and son, and mentions of Clara’s grandmother receiving horrible news that caused her to collapse and later her death); Mentions of train crashes, deaths, & Clara’s fear of trains because of hearing about people trapped in them (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of an abduction/kidnapping, chloroform, being tied-up, being held at knife- and gunpoint; Mentions of fights, fighting, an attack, people being shot at, pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of violence, thieves, thefts, pick-pockets, stealing, stolen items, robberies, & break-ins; Mentions of stalking & a stalker; Mentions of jails/prisons, arrests, & deaths; Mentions of threats, blackmail, dastardly spies, & revenge; Mentions of gambling, a man’s addiction, bets, debts, a debt’s prison, & a man being beaten and threatened by his creditor (*Spoiler* At the end, it’s revealed that Clara’s mother betted on a sure-thing, received a large purse from it, and plans to open two orphanages *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deception (including Theodore lying to get Clara’s mother’s animals on a train); Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & drunks (including a man pouring a drink for someone who has passed and then pouring the wine in a river); Mentions of manure/excrement & chamber pots; Mentions of injured animals & Clara’s mother rescuing them before they die or are killed by humans (including drowning the animals in a sack or tossing them off a ship); A few mentions of murder & murderers (mostly towards animals, which Clara’s mother stops); A few mentions of taxidermists; A few mentions of fashionable items being made from animals (pelts and feathers for hats); A few mentions of the death of a mother animal; A couple mentions of a saint being tortured and thrown off a bridge wearing heavy armor; A couple mentions of nooses; A couple mentions of an ambush with torches and pitchforks; A couple mentions of tobacco; A mention of being conned; A mention of a hunter;
             *Note: Theodore’s father resents him for his mother passing away when giving birth to him (He recalls his father saying that he would trade Theodore for his wife, a few times), is verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive, & whips Theodore in past memories and nightmares; Theodore does not have a good family and the topic of his family is a sore spot for him; Theodore views himself as a spare part in the world and a faulty one (because of his father’s ugly words); *Spoiler* At the end, Theodore writes a letter of extending forgiveness to his father, now knowing that being a child of God is an inheritance no man can revoke *End of Spoiler*; Clara is afraid of her family members being committed to an asylum due to their personalities and rumored “hereditary insanity”; Mentions of asylums, those committed to one, the deplorable conditions (including the patients being chained and whipped), Clara being afraid of her family members being committed to one, being threatened about sending someone there, & deaths that happened at asylums; Mentions of Clara’s medical journals cautioning travelers about “railway madness” that can happen with all the jostling on a train and sensory exposure & she is concerned that her mother could get it (also concerned about her mother’s mind “becoming unhinged”due to the train); A few mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters (Pride and Prejudice & The Three Musketeers); A couple mentions of children discriminating other children because of their parents’ prejudices; A mention of Clara’s ex-fiancé telling her she had no business to be involved in his business deals; A mention of a dog Clara’s mother saved from having his ears docked.
 
 
Sexual Content- Two hand kisses, an almost kiss, and a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; Staring at another’s lips; Touches, Dancing, Hand holding, Warmth, Butterflies, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Recalling touches & warmth (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Flirting, Blushes, & Winks; Clara’s mother hints to Clara and Theodore kissing & that they should not do something scandalous when being unchaperoned for a moment (her eyebrows waggling imply her wanting to do that latter one, though, and Theodore teases Clara about doing something scandalous with her); Theodore gives Clara a foot massage (not sexual, just a sweet action); a ‘trollop’; Mentions of blushes & winks; A few mentions of an almost kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of chaperones; A mention of seducing; A mention of the sort of women that lure unsuspecting lads into alleys and “have their way with them” (Theodore teasing Clara); Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Clara is shocked to hear her mother say the word “rousing” and begs her to never use it again in her presence; Clara kicks a man in his loins to vent a measure of her fury (which causes him pain & to moan in agony); Clara knees a man & it’s implied to have been in his private area as she hopes he can’t sit right for a month; When falling into a lake, Clara starts to undress to help her not drown (not sexual at all or commented on by Theodore); Mentions of Theodore’s mother dying in childbirth; A handful of mentions of Clara’s mother’s ample bosom & Clara being squished by it in an embrace; A few mentions of Clara’s mother’s concern about her new mice friend’s habitat having to consider their “conduciveness to pleasant procreation practice” for the habitat to be deemed suitable; A mention of Clara’s mother wanting to order someone to shoot a man in a place that will “end his chances of reproducing”.
 
-Clara Stanton, age 23
-Theodore “Arthur” Kingsley
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                            Set in 1860
                                                        383 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve heard a lot of different opinions about this book, so even though I was already curious about this book the minute I heard about it, I became even more curious hearing that it was actually a steampunk book and not just a Historical book like I was expecting. Had I not known it would have a Steampunk influence (mainly through automatons and flying machines), though, I think I would’ve been very confused and it would’ve altered my enjoyment of the book. So go into this book knowing this information! 

 

It had its silly moments with all the many animals Clara’s mother has rescued, but then it would take a turn to solemn moments with the mentions of asylums and deaths of loved ones. It was a bit jarring at time, but that’s trying to continue living life and also facing on-going grief. 

 

I can see why some people didn’t like Clara with her attitude towards Arthur—I enjoy it for the first part but I do wish she would’ve been kinder to him quicker because he was a dear. But I can see where she was coming from (trying to protect her family from the scoundrel she used to be engaged to) and I did enjoy how he didn’t let her suspicions and general mistrust of him to bother him. He kept teasing her good naturedly and was such a sunshine-like character. She did lighten up before the half-way mark and when he started to do a bit of flirting, it was so smooth and so cute. They really were a good match and I really enjoyed reading their adventure and quips. 

 

The faith content was lovely and often what my own heart needed to hear along with Clara’s. It was worked in beautifully with letters from her grandfather and conversations with her mother. Arthur/Theodore doesn’t think he can come to God because of his past actions and his earthly father’s loathing, but how it was shown and what happened at the end brought tears to my eyes. Also how their growing faiths made a big role of her acceptance of his feelings and wanting to seek God’s guidance before becoming closer to Theodore was great to see. 

 

I really liked so many aspects of this book! The humor and whit in this book took me my surprised and I really liked it. I also really liked Clara and her protectiveness for her family. This book had a whimsical writing style that can be a little difficult I think to get into at first, but it was fun and fit the mood of the story. 

 

Overall, I found it to be utterly charming. I can’t think of a better word than charming, but I suppose whimsical and even delightful would fit as well. The romance was light and cute, the whit and banter was great, and the faith content was something I needed. Really enjoyed this book and suspect it will be a favorite from 2024!

 

 

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.

"History Lost and Found" by Beth Adams

About this book:

  “When Pearl Allen passes away the day after her 100th birthday, her granddaughter Tracy begins the difficult task of sorting through her beloved grandmother’s belongings. She finds a worn, marked-up King James Bible and a trove of journals and scrapbooks in her grandmother’s cedar chest. Within is a handwritten family tree with the name Ezekiel Collins listed as one of Pearl’s children. There has to be a mistake because how can she have an uncle she’s never heard of?”


Series: Book #1 in the “Secrets from Grandma’s Attic” series. 


Spiritual Content- A bit of Bible reading; Church going (a few times for answers for the mystery); Talks about God & His love for us that’s shown in the Bible; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Many mentions of Bibles; Mentions of God, trusting Him, His love, & grace; Mentions of Bible reading & devotionals; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, a church choir, services, your group & pastors/rectors; Mentions of nuns from a convent running a home for unwed mothers; A few mentions of a Methodist church & a Lutheran church; A couple mentions of sharing the gospel; A mention of it always being a good time to worship God; A mention of a miracle; A mention of Christian books; A mention of a woman being a deacon at her church; A mention of a sin; 
             *Note: A teenager says that he didn’t want to hear about his great-grandmother’s Bible but rather about hear about soldiers when interviewing her for a report; A handful of mentions of luck & bad luck; A couple mentions of a rumored ghost haunting a place & another haunted place; A mention of a woman’s demons; A mention of a place being called evil (because of treatment received there). 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘sucking up’; A bit of eye rolling & sarcasm; Mentions of wars, the Pearl Harbor bombing, fighting, deaths, & grief (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of the Spanish flu, “treatments” for it (such as drinking bleach or smelling gasoline) & deaths; Mentions of a baby ring (Georgia Tann) & kidnapping/stealing the children and falsifying records; Mentions of drugs being part of why two kids are in the foster care system, the kids suffering when they were with their birth mother because of her own demons, the kids ties to the birth mother never being severed because of blood, them being retraumatized every time after visiting her, & the possibility of the birth mother getting custody again; Mentions of fires & a family losing their house; Mentions of shipwrecks & colliding boats; Mentions of divorces & an unwanted separation; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of anger & tension towards others over differences in opinion on town laws; Mentions of elderly family members having memory problems (including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, & someone implies another is crazy by moving her finger in a circle on the side of her head when talking about the elderly woman); A few mentions of the possibility of the death of a child with medical problems; A few mentions of car crashes & a death (involving an eight-teen wheeler); A couple mentions of jealousy (between sisters); A mention of the possibility of an infant dying at birth; A mention of a death from cancer; A mention of a man dying after a long fight with Alzheimer’s; A mention of a woman’s husband being diagnosed with leukemia; A mention of someone’s lip piercing; A mention of a missing person; A mention of a flood; A mention of nightmares; A mention of graffiti; A mention of alcohol; A mention of someone looking like another just punched a kitten; 
             *Note: *Major Spoilers* A man tells his adoptive mother (who has always tried to keep his adoption a secret) that his biological mother has never been and is not his mother, that she is; The adoptive mother adds that the biological family isn’t his family because they gave him up and abandoned him, but he defends them because they didn’t know about him *End of Spoilers*; Many, many mentions of foster care, adoption, & biological parents (including mothers being forced to give-up their children, comments about adoption being rooted in the heartbreak of a mother sacrificing herself for her child, a comment about the children finding loving homes and the birth mothers “going on to have another chance at a more traditional life”, & Tracy finding records of a home for unwed mothers and wondering if the young woman wanted to relinquish their babies, wanted to raise them, or if they ever gotten over the loss, up to semi-detailed on her thought and wonderings about their feelings and emotions); Many mentions of institutions back in historical days where adults, children, and babies would be admitted for many different reasons (such as schizophrenia, mongolism, multiple personalities, laziness, epileptic fits, dropsy, tuberculosis, overtaxing of mental powers, hysteria, & babies with disabilities like craniosynostosis and Down syndrome), the babies or people being “sent away” to there by their family members (Tracy wonders if this is what happened to the person named in the Bible, but believes that her grandparents would have only put the baby there if they couldn’t care for him with a severe medical problem), a facility being described like it being like “every horror move you’ve ever seen”, & deaths of those there; Mentions of mothers who had depression or other mental health issues (one would be in the mental hospital for it); Mentions of adoptions being kept quiet in the 1940s & families pretending their adopted child is biologically theirs (legally and publicly); Mentions of creepy things & kids hunting for them (books, items, & a fake skeleton); A few mentions of the passing of a beloved sister who had Down syndrome (she was in her thirties); A few mentions of wondering if unwed mothers were able to “get over” giving up their children (including someone saying, “of course not. How could you get over something like that?”); A few mentions of adopted adults feeling like “something” is missing from their lives (their biological families); A few mentions of Wikipedia; A few mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of a brand name item (Nintendo Switch); A couple mentions of an author (Mark Twain); A couple mentions of TV shows & movies (Unsolved Mysteries & Nightmare on Elm Street); A mention of the possibility of disgracing a family and being disowned because of it; A mention of a fictional character (Spider-Man); A mention of Google maps; A mention of horror movies.
 
 
Sexual Content- Three cheek kiss (between Tracy and her husband); A bit of hand holding; Tracy wonders if the mystery name in the Bible could be a child from an out-of-wedlock pregnancy & when she first voices this thought, her cousin’s husband says that “it happens all the time, doesn’t it? Your grandparents were human, after all. They probably made all kinds of mistakes, just like the rest of us”; *Major Spoilers* Tracy tries to figure out if it was an out-of-wedlock pregnancy because her grandfather was stationed elsewhere in the war during the time the baby would have been conceived, but then finds out it was another woman and her grandfather (before either of them were married) and that the baby was taken away from the mother by the nuns at an unwed mothers home; It’s said by Tracy’s cousin and sister add that the woman “got pregnant with Grandpa’s help, she didn’t do it alone” and “Grandpa got [the woman] pregnant”; He never knew about the existence of the baby because he was shipped out and never received her letters; The child grew up in a wealthy family and had a “happy enough” childhood, but never met either of his biological parents before they passed and shows his sadness at that; He did meet Tracy’s grandmother and she welcomed him with open arms and stayed in-touch with him until her death *End of Major Spoilers*; In five letters-like parts added-in through the book, there’s hints to an out-of-wedlock pregnancy and the girl’s parents not knowing (due to her mother’s illness and fear that her father “will kill” her; *Major Spoiler* When she does tell her father, he says its merciful that her mother is out of her mind and in “that awful place” (an institution/mental hospital) because she won’t feel the same he feels over having a pregnant and unwed daughter; She is sent to a home for unwed mothers where the nuns will “take care of everything”; She planned to keep her baby and runaway if necessarily, and while she hits the nuns who take the baby away from her, she ultimately doesn’t get to keep or even hold her baby; In a letter to the birth father, she’s upset and says that if he was there and not in the war, this wouldn’t have happened; Later, it’s revealed that she would get depressed every summer around the day she gave birth *End of Major Spoilers*; Many mentions of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, girls being sent to a home for unwed mothers when they “got in trouble”, everyone making “mistakes” (particularly used in this context), a couple making some “bed decisions” and it driving them apart, & young women relinquishing their babies if unwed (which makes Tracy wonder if the women wanted to do that or wanted to raise their babies; She also notes that some of the nuns in charge of the unwed mothers’ home would treat the women that protested giving up their babies as if that pain was “if not [a] punishment, at least natural consequences for the actions that had landed them there in the first place”which makes Tracy upset about the men involved in the creation of the child not being a part of anything else); Mentions of affairs, cheating, & broken hearts; Mentions of dating, boyfriends/girlfriends, & romances; A couple mentions of young women getting pregnant from “an act against their will”; A couple mentions of unwed mothers being looked upon as shameful and unfit for society; A mention of a boyfriend making a pass at his girlfriend’s sister; A mention of jealousy; 
             *Note: Mentions of childbirth, screams, & pain (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of a man unable to have biological children due to an injury as a child (no details given).
 
-Tracy Doyle
                                P.O.V. of Tracy & a handful of letters added-in 
                                                        232 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{ Trigger warning for those sensitive to adoption, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, & the babies being taken away from their mothers—sometimes without the mother having a choice. }

As adoption is near and dear to my heart, I found myself very interested in this book the more I read. I will say, thought, that like many Guidepost mysteries’ first books, I was a little lost with this one and all the characters and information I’m given right off the bat. There’s a lot of family trees and trying to figure out how the mystery name comes into play, but I think I kept up decent enough on everything. This book, by the ending, was kind of messy. Real life-like, I suppose, but messy. Readers that like family drama and secrets may like this one, but I found it very sad at times with the reality of the unwed mother home and young women being forced to give up their babies. 

I’ll admit that I didn’t care for the message that an out-of-wedlock pregnancy is a “mistake” at the beginning. It’s regarded as “everyone makes mistakes” and no one is perfect, so we all need God’s saving grace, which is true, but I think back to the “Christy Miller” series when it talked about no child ever being an accident and that God knew that baby would be born—and what a miracle is it, that not even the angels can create a life. I read that as a pre-teen and it’s stuck with me all of these years. 

Overall, I did find myself very interested in the mystery of this book and plan to at least read the next book in the series as I own it; past that, we’ll see if I’m interested enough to continue the 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.