“Sixth grader Riley Abercrombie is determined to win—even if she has to gulp down her nerves and speak in public. The Historical Society is having a contest with a cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to where her great-grandma once lived. But a winning essay about her brave relative, a Rosie the Riveter in World War II, may launch Riley on an adventure far bigger than she’d imagined. She soon finds herself in a real-life mystery. A famous tool, an antique rivet gun, is missing, and Riley is sure she can uncover the culprit. Chasing clues and suspects with her new friend Marcus through a museum’s vintage artifacts and aircraft, Riley just might discover she needs more than good detective skills. Will she learn to trust God when the wrong person has been accused? Can she be brave in the face of danger like her beloved great-grandma? When the kids’ sleuthing puts them in peril, they’re going to need faith, friendship, and even forgiveness to get them through.”
Series: Book #1 in the “Heroes on the Homefront Mysteries” series.
Spiritual Content- A Scripture is quoted, mentioned, & remembered throughout the book; Prayers; A couple discussions of God & also on forgiving others; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Riley hopes that God is listening to her prayers about keeping her father safe even if “He does have a lot of soldiers to keep up with” (adding that she wishes the Army would just send her dad home and then God would have one less solider to keep up with); Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of Bible reading; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of church, church going, sermons, a pastor, & church events; A mention of being sure that a loved one is having a great time in Heaven;
*Note: Religious phrases like ‘for Pete’s sake’ and ‘honest to Pete’ are both said once; Riley recalls a friend in her gymnastics class laughing at her for wearing a T-shirt that had an American flag on it which made Riley tried to tell her stories that her great-grandma told her, but the girl said “what were they trying to prove by having a war, anyway? War is evil. They should have just walked away.” and while Riley agrees that war is evil, she doesn’t agree with her about the walk-away part (Riley told her grandmother this and she also agrees that war is evil, but adds that when “an enemy starts up an attack, you’ve got to either defend your country or lose it”); A mention of aliens (teasing).
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’ and a ‘for crying out loud’; A bit of eye rolling & sarcasm (good natured); A handful of scenes of eavesdropping on adults; Being locked in a closet; Riley’s father is in the Army and has deployed months prior to places her and her family don’t know and she misses him greatly (she also wonders how the Rosies and others during WWII handed their loved ones being gone and missing them, up to semi-detailed); Prior to her father being deployed, Riley’s dog passed away and she misses him as well (barely-above-not-detailed); All about many mentions of World War II, events and groups during the war (including Pearl Harbor bombing and the Battle of Iwo Jima), Rosie the Riveter and soldiers, factories for airplanes/bombers, & air raids; Many mentions of thieves/burglars, a theft/robbery, stealing, stolen items, the crime scene, & the culprit possibly going to jail; Mentions of soldiers being killed, wounded, or captured during events in World War II; Mentions of deaths & grief (including for mothers and a great-grandmother); A few mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of the Doolittle’s Raid mission in 1942 being called a “one-way mission” and not all of the soldiers making it back; A mention of bank robbers;
*Note: Discussions about & mentions of women being able to do jobs now that wasn’t a choice or commonplace back in the 1940s and it being an option now thanks to the impact of Rosie the Riveter noting that “The Rosies not only helped win the war, but also made it possible for women to keep working in all kinds of jobs after the war—jobs that had always been just for men” and later that back then, there wasn’t many women who worked outside of the house, but if they did “there weren’t as many kinds of jobs open to them as there are today” (such as work in a factory then or even be a plumber or a surgeon now which a couple of women thank Rosies for their influence on that being possible; One Rosie says that Riley is able to wear pants all the time now because of Rosies having to change the dress-skirt fashion for safety in the factories; In bonus content at the end of the book, the author shares that “after the war, many women decided they wanted to continue working.” And that while many women were happy to return home, “many other women decided they liked the challenge of work and the paycheck, and so continued to look for jobs that suited them. So, Rosies opened the way for women of the future to work in many kinds of jobs that previously had been only for men.”); Riley’s grandmother warns her to let the police handle the burglary, but Riley plans to keep her eye out for ways to help them solve it (at the end, her grandma tells her that her sleuthing days are over and she doesn’t want Riley following bad guys or assumed bad guys all over the place; Riley then apologizes to someone she thought was the thief); A few mentions of political figures during World War II; A few mentions of historical songs (‘The Rosie the Riveter song’ and ‘The Boogie Woogie Bungle Boy of Company B’); A few mentions of Sherlock Holmes; A mention of Halloween.
Sexual Content- N/A.
-Riley Abercrombie, sixth grade
1st person P.O.V. of Riley
193 pages
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My personal Rating-
This book made me want to stand up and sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ or even ‘America The Beautiful’. It was truly delightful and charming with a strong patriotic story. I was so pleasantly surprised by how many different elements of “Keep ‘Em Flying” I enjoyed!
Throughout the book there are “Riley’s Riveting Research Notes” added in with historical details and facts about World War II which makes this great for readers wanting to learn more about this time and/or homeschooler families doing a study on it.
I really enjoyed Riley and her personality. She was determined to solve the mystery and help her new friend, but she didn’t overstep besides a bit of eavesdropping (which the speakers were often speaking loudly anyway) and there were no scary or intense moments, which I greatly appreciated!
Whenever I see books about World War II and the impact Rosie the Riveter had, it usually leans to a slightly feminist perspective (even in some Christian Fiction books) and I was very impressed (and glad) that this book didn’t have that angle. I listed some of the comments about how the world changed for working women—and just women working outside of the home in general—in my review above because I want to highlight that this book showed that yes, things definitely changed after the war, but it wasn’t in a “girlboss” or “girl power” kind of way.
As far as the writing style, I thought it was very apt for a girl Riley’s age because while she says “like” in between a sentence, “BTW”, or even saying “IDK”, it never felt over-the-top or overused. I did think Riley saying “IDK” and “BTW” was a little strange as I don’t know anyone who actually says it in a talking conversation, but perhaps some do. As a note for parents, Riley and her brother (who is a grade younger) both have their own phones.
I thought this was a great story and I can’t wait to read and review the next book in the series soon! As an additional comment, for Tenderhearts or Explorers in American Heritage Girls, I’m nearly positive this book could work for a part of some patriotic-themed badge!
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.