"Eleanor Jo: The Farmer's Daughter" by Eleanor Clark

About this book:

  “When Rachel Ann feels overwhelmed by schoolwork, sports, and other activities, her grandmother, Eleanor Jo, helps to put things in perspective by relating her experiences about the difficult times growing up on a farm during World War II.”


Series: Book #5 in “The Eleanor” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, Book #3 Here, and Book #4 Here! (This fifth book references events in the bonus book in the series, “Eleanor Jo: A Christmas to Remember”, which will be reviewed in December.)


Spiritual Content- 2 Chronicles 15:7 at the beginning & quoted and mentioned throughout the story; Many other Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, thought about, remembered, & shared throughout the story and bonus content at the end; Prayers; Church going & singing hymns; Eleanor Jo wishes that bad men like Hitler would read the Bible and follow God’s commands; Talks about God & Jesus; ’H’s are capital when referring to God and Jesus; Eleanor talks with her siblings about friends about God being everywhere (with us and in Heaven) & also have pretend church that leads to one of the girls asking Jesus into her heart; Eleanor recalls when she asked Jesus to come and live in her heart (Bonus book in series); Eleanor Jo’s father encourages her to pray for the enemy soldiers because they are all God’s children (which makes sense to her, but also is a little sad because it’s God’s children that are quarreling and fighting); Mentions of God, Jesus, & gifts/talents from Him; Mentions of prayers (including a girl praying for Jesus to come back soon), praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, hymns, & pastors; Mentions of Christmas & celebrating Jesus’ birth; A few mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A couple mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of being blessed; A mention of listening to the Holy Spirit; A mention of being named the Christian athlete of the year at school; A mention of tithes; At the end of the book, in bonus content, there is a devotional-like lesson about hard work with many Scriptures and Biblical events shared. 
 

Negative Content- Eleanor Jo is concerned that her father may be drafted & that they might be bombed; Eleanor Jo is worried about a prisoner of war camp being built near her home (adding that she is afraid of the Germans and Japanese; When her brother disappears one day, Eleanor Jo is afraid that one of the enemy soldiers escaped and stole him; Eleanor Jo tells her father about her fears and he encourages her to pray for those soldiers because all of the fighting men are God’s children); Set during, all about, & many mentions of World War II, fighting overseas, deaths, near deaths, injuries, bombings, & prisoners of war; Mentions of the Great Depression; A few mentions of Japanese-Americans being placed in internment camps because of their heritage during WWII; A couple mentions of other wars; A couple mentions of stealing; A couple mentions of rumors & lies; A mention of a woman losing her hearing when she had the measles as a teen; A mention of a coyote getting inside a henhouse; 
             *Note: When Eleanor gets a perm, many of her friends and adults compliment her new hair style by saying she looks beautiful and grown up; Mentions of actresses & movies (Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Eleanor Powell, Tales of Manhattan, & Broadway Melody); A couple mentions of J.C. Penney.
 
 
Sexual Content- A couple mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends; 
             *Note: Eleanor’s little brother is confused how their family’s dogs had puppies because they aren’t married and plans a wedding ceremony for the dogs (even though their mother explains that dogs don’t get married).
 
-Rachel Ann, age 14
-Eleanor Jo Bozeman, age 10-12
             P.O.V. switches between them (Rachel Ann in Prologue & Epilogue only)
                   Set in present day (prologue & epilogue) & 1941-1943
                                                        193 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I think this might be my first middle-grade book set in World War II where the main character’s father or brother isn’t drafted to fight overseas. Because of this, the story had a little different outlook on the events and Eleanor Jo having a close relationship with her dad. She is a little perfect at times, but I still really liked her heart for helping others. Overall, it was a sweet book with a good lesson in working hard!

 

 

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.

"Stray from the Fold" by Cynthia Ruchti

About this book:

  “Harriet Bailey can’t wait to marry Pastor Will Knight in just one month. But planning a wedding on top of tending her veterinary practice keeps her hopping—so much so that her Aunt Jinny prescribes a new hobby to lower knitting. Yet another challenge confronts her when local farmer Alfred Ramshaw brings a sick goat to her veterinary clinic.
    Is there any truth to Alfred’s claim that his neighbor and rival, Arlene Pendergraf, is responsible for the mysterious ailment? Harriet cannot believe the sweet older woman would harm someone’s livestock, but she is struggling to find any other solution.
    The mystery takes an even more interesting turn when Harriet finds clues that lead her to investigate a famous pilot who disappeared in 1910 on his flight to Dover.
    Could the secrets of the past give Harriet the answers she needs before more goats get sick—or worse?”


Series: Book #14 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Click on the numbers to be taken to the prior books’ reviews: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, Book #11, Book #12, and Book #13!


Spiritual Content- Luke 15:6 at the beginning; Scriptures are mentioned, read, & quoted; Prayers; ’H’s are capital when referring to God and Jesus; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, services, pastors, sermons, a Sunday School class, & a prayer meeting; Mentions of a missionary organization; A few mentions of Bibles & Bible studies; A couple mentions of being blessed; A couple mentions of a godsend; A mention of the Holy Grail; 
             *Note: A mention of meditation; A mention of the Bronze Age.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Two forms of ‘idiot’ and three forms of ‘stupid’; Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Trespassing and being held at rifle-point (barely-above-not-detailed); All about & many mentions of injured animals & Harriet’s veterinary clinic treatments (including vaccinations, goats being very sick and near death, a cat that was rescued from a burning trash bin, a dog that was hit by a car and paralyzed, a puppy that is malnourished, a chipmunk being very ill, & conditions like tumors, brain swelling and bleeding, seizures, infections, surgeries, fractures, bleeding, scars/stitches, & pain (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Many mentions of possible poison & someone harming animals; Mentions of deaths from cancer and plane crashes, a body not being found, & grief (including a husband grieving his wife & wife grieving her husband); Mentions of thieves, stealing, a possible robbery, & crimes; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, being tipsy, & a puppy possibly getting into alcohol; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A couple mentions of being struck by lightning; A mention of a pub; 
             *Note: A man recalls his father’s harsh words (including implying that he was worthless and his parents not seeing anything good in him); A quote from Hamlet; Mentions of Jane Austen, books, movies, & a quote; Mentions of historical figures (Orville and Wilbur Wright); Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of therapy & a therapist; A mention of a mental disorder; A mention of panic attacks; A mention of horror movies; A mention of brand name items (android phones).
 
 
Sexual Content- A forehead kiss; A few mentions of couples sharing kisses & an embrace; A few mentions of broken engagements & broken hearts; A couple mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of blushes; A mention of an engaged couple going to be falling asleep side by side soon; A mention of the wedding garter tradition at weddings (which Harriet is happy that has faded in popularity); Light love, being in love, & the emotions.
 
-Harriet Bailey, age 35/36 (?)
                                                 P.O.V. of Harriet
                   Mostly contemporary, but also five scenes from 1910
                                                        288 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I honestly don’t have too much to say about this cozy mystery! It was definitely one of the more animal focused mysteries of this series (a handful of them are more like 50% of the book is one mystery and the other 50% is an animal-based mystery) so I liked that part of this book, even if it felt a little slow at times (probably because I’m not a goat lover or really have an interest in them). I did find the handful of historical chapters to be completely random (until the end when everything was connected) which made me kind of ignore those were even there to begin with. The ending result felt a little far-fetched, but it was overall fine, I suppose.

 

 

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.

"The Great Date Experiment" by Ashley Mays

About this book:

  “When seventeen-year-old Callie Christianson answers the doorbell, she never expects to find her ex-best friend, Egan Pasko, there with flowers. Their childhood friendship ended their freshman year when he shut her in a locker and walked away. But now he’s sorry and he’d like to take her on twenty-one dates to prove it. It’s an experiment, he says, to see if two people who used to be “just friends” can fall in love. And, of course, they’ll record the whole thing and put it online to see how many views they can wrangle out of it.
    Callie’s ready to tell him to get lost. Until she realizes Egan’s crazy, stupid idea could help her gain the followers she needs to earn the mentorship opportunity that will launch her baking career. So the dates begin. And, even though nothing goes according to Callie’s plan, all the time spent with Egan is reminding her of everything she used to love about him.
    The only problem is their viewers aren’t falling in love with her. The haters come out in droves to tell her exactly how terrible they think she is. The only thing keeping Callie in the experiment is Egan’s hints that he might be starting to fall for her. Except she can’t be sure he’s not playing it up for the sake of the camera.
    Then Egan shares the most vulnerable parts of Callie’s life story online without her permission, stunning her into a shame spiral and leaving her to fend for herself in the comments. With their friendship once again at stake, will Callie walk away for good? Or is her heart too involved to let Egan go?”


Series: A stand-alone novel.


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is referenced (but not called a Scripture); Thanking God (once); ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Callie says once that God never rejected her (unlike her biological parents); Callie receives one comment that says she’s too “Jesus-y” (adding that the commentor has decided Callie uses her faith as an excuse to hate other people) & anther comment saying she’s not a real Christian (because if she was, she would recite more Bible verses on camera); Mentions of God; Mentions of churches & church going; A few mentions of praying & blessings over food; A few mentions of Vacation Bible School; A couple mentions of Bible studies; A couple mentions of Easter; A mention of the Garden of Eden; 
             *Note: Callie thinks that a food truck festival is the closest she’ll get to heaven “this side of eternity”; A group of teen girls say they “definitely” don’t go to church; A couple mentions of Santa Claus; A mention of a troll comment to Callie about wishing God would smite her because she’s “taking oxygen from people who need it more”; A mention of Egan crossing his fingers to ward Callie off “like [she was] an evil spirit” whenever anyone mentioned about them being a couple; A mention of Medusa; A mention of the Grim Reaper; A mention of aliens.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘freaking’, a ‘heck’, a ‘suck it up’, a ‘what the heck’, two ‘oh my gosh’s, two forms of ‘screwed up’, two ‘shut up’s, two ‘sucked’s, three ‘gosh’s, four forms of ‘crap’, seven forms of ‘ticked’, ten ‘idiot’s, seventeen forms of ‘dumb’, and thirty-one ‘stupid’s; A few mentions of curses (by Callie, said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Callie lies a few times (to either keep from explaining a long story to her grandparents or to not share her feelings); Injuries, Pain, Blood/Bleeding, Passing out, & Throwing up (up to semi-detailed); Finding a pet who has passed away (due to old age) & grief (*Spoilers* Callie with her cat and she sobs; Egan buries the cat in the backyard for Callie *End of Spoilers*); When Callie is under scrutiny from a crowd, she wishes she was dead; Egan runs from security at an event (after getting on stage when he isn’t supposed to); Egan and his brother have a physical fight; After disappointing news, Callie feels like she isn’t wanted and has been abandoned; Mentions of deaths, illnesses, & grief (including for a grandfather); Mentions of deaths of pets (both a dog and a cat); Mentions of a prank of someone being locked in their locker; Mentions of injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & someone passing out after seeing blood; Mentions of a mom diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis & her symptoms (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of poison; Mentions of throwing up; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of bullies, trolls, & harassing comments; A few mentions of lottery tickets; A couple mentions of a dare to deface a police car; A couple mentions of a divorce; A couple mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of alcohol & drinking; A couple mentions of a tattoo; A couple mentions of a cat being abandoned; A mention of true crime documentaries; A mention of a young boy almost strangling a baby chick; A mention of poop; 
             *Note: A few implications that Callie has OCD; Callie receives mean and hateful comments online from trolls calling her “so freaking dumb”, picking apart her physical appearance and clothing choices, assumptions about her parents not wanting her and saying they would have dumped her off a bridge, saying her mom should have had an abortion, thinking she has an eating disorder, that her cat would rather eat rat poison than with be her, & making assumptions about her life (some of these bother her and others do not); Callie was adopted by her grandparents and has lived with them most of her life (*Spoilers* Due to her parents divorcing when she was little; Callie’s biological mother died a while ago; Her father lives in another state and they do not keep in touch; They have an awkward conversation where he also talks about getting plastic surgery for her ears and chest (her father is a jerk (Callie’s words) and it makes her cry later) *End of Spoilers*); Egan refers to Callie’s biological father as her “real” one; Callie wonders at one point if something is wrong with her and that’s why her parents gave her up; References to pop culture & movies (Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Ratatouille, Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, & Mary Poppins); Mentions of brand names, items, stores, & restaurants (Moon Pies, Twinkies, Snickers, Oreos, Pop-Tarts, Fruit Loop, Laffy Taffy, Sour Patch Kids, Junior Mints, Reese’s cups, Cheetos, Easy Mac, Gatorade, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Coke, Splenda, Post-it notes, Sharpie, Band-Aid, KitchenAid mixer, Tupperware, Day-Glo, Nike, Williams-Sonoma, Museum of Modern Art, Outback Steakhouse, Domino’s, & Dairy Queen); Mentions of fictional characters (Nancy Drew, Babe, Harry Potter characters, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Mickey Mouse, Muppets, The Baby-sitters Club characters, & Dumbo); Mentions of Julia Child; A few mentions of social media platforms & websites (Google & YouTube); A couple mentions of EPSN & Food Network; A couple mentions of TV shows & movies (The Bachelor, Braveheart); A couple mentions of Netflix; A couple mentions of therapists & their advice (Callie’s grandma is a counselor); A mention of abortion (regarding a hateful comment Callie receives that says her mother should have had an abortion instead of giving birth to her); A mention of an eating disorder (from a hateful comment); A mention of zombies; A mention of WWE; A mention of AARP; A mention of a sports team (Denver Broncos); A mention of body odor.
 
 
Sexual Content- Four forehead/hair kisses, an ear kiss, two cheek kisses, two almost kisses (semi-detailed), a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and two semi-detailed kisses; Wanting to kiss, Staring at lips, & Remembering an almost kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Snuggling, Dancing, Hand holding, Flutters, Shivers, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Winks & Blushes; Noticing & Staring (including noticing his muscles, barely-above-not-detailed); A college-age guy hits on Callie, but backs off when she says she’s seventeen; Callie’s grandmother is concerned she’s involved in something “illicit” (but is not); When Callie and Egan are dancing, an instruction has them step back from each other because it’s not prom and they aren’t “going to a hotel afterwards”; Two ‘hot’s; All about & many mentions of dates, dating, crushes, boyfriends/girlfriend, exes, & breakups; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of jealousy & girls getting in Egan’s personal space and touching his arms; Mentions of cute guys; Mentions of falling in love; A couple mentions of making out; A couple mentions of butterflies; A mention of voyeurs that put nanny cams in other people’s rooms; A mention of a guy trying to look down a girl’s shirt; A mention of a couple kissing; A mention of a guy kissing his biceps; Some love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Mentions of cup sizes & plastic surgery (*Spoiler* When Callie is talking to her biological father for the first time in ten years, he (a plastic surgeon) comments about adding “a couple cup sizes” for her in a few years because “if genetics are to be trusted” she’s going to need it *End of Spoiler*); When going to a ballroom dance lesson, Callie comments to Egan that she wasn’t told to wear a “rhinestone bikini” and he says it’s a bummer that she doesn’t have one (which she calls him out on what that’s supposed to mean, but he apologizes for it being inappropriate and that he said it before he realized how it sounded); A few mentions of butting into conversations & wiggling a butt; A mention of Callie receiving help from Egan’s mom about what bra size she needed years prior; A mention of abs; A mention of testosterone.
 
-Callie Christianson, age 17
                                1st person P.O.V. of Callie
                                                        292 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Well, this was a fun summer YA story! 

 

When we (rather quickly) find out what Egan did to Callie, I was fully on her side and grabbing my pitchfork to chase after him in her honor. At first, Callie was a little…standoffish in a way (which made sense because of what he did), but I will note that Callie is denser than the pink lemonade pound cake she makes at times. But yet, I still enjoyed the book. I think some won’t like her or Egan and while I understand and had a few moments of going “he’s an idiot” (okay, more than a few because he was more pushy than I liked), I did like their growth and how apologetic Egan was about the past (and current) mistakes. 

 

I do wish there would have been more Christian content in this book (especially wishing there a scene of Callie’s grandmother encouraging her about praying about her troubles because there was a moment that would have fit in perfectly), but if you view it as a Clean Fiction or standard YA book, it was very clean and had no questionable content—something that is hard to find in the general market for teens nowadays. 

 

As a YouTuber who is has major safety awareness habits, I did cringe at Egan filming outside of Callie’s house and live streaming one of their dates (which he said he wouldn’t prior because of privacy reasons). Along with last names possibly being used and them being recognized in their town, I was concerned for their privacy and safety. There’s crazy people out there on there! But it’s a fictional book so I was trying not to think about it—but just don’t do what they do, okay? 😅

 

Overall this was pretty cute and I would read more by this author. This book could be a fun, summery read for girls 14/15+ that want a clean romance with some humor.

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.

"My Way" by Ashley Al Saliby

About this book:

  “For four modern girls in vastly different settings, the Sermon on the Mount is about to get uncomfortably relevant.
    As their stories continue, the lives of Eden, Katya, Mei and Zahra will shift. Circumstances will change. New challenges will arise. One of them will find herself betrayed by someone she thought she could trust. Another will begin to question what she thought she knew. One of them will come face to face with her greatest fear, and one will discover that starting over is harder than she would have imagined.
    Their journeys prompt the question: How do we know what we really believe – by the truths we assent to, or by the choices we make?”


Series: Book #2 in the “Follow in the Dark” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are read, remembered, thought over, & discussed; Bible reading; Witnessing & Discussing Jesus with others; Many Prayers & Thanking God; Church going, youth group events, Sunday school classes, messages/lessons, & worship/singing; Talks about God, Jesus, those and events in the Bible, following God’s rules, & forgiving others; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Eden is on the worship team at church; Because her crush has a heart for God, Eden wants to show him her heart for God as well by writing a worship song to get his attention, but feels off (bothered) and isn’t sure why (*Spoilers* Later, she realizes that what was wrong was that she hasn’t been thinking about God and hasn’t truly been worshiping; She and her best friend make up and pray about witnessing to two other girls they know that are interested learning about in Jesus *End of Spoilers*); When in a new country, Katya doesn’t go to church the first week because she’s overwhelmed with all the new things in her life (she goes the next week and enjoys it, feeling welcomed and safe); Sermons about God being a father isn’t Katya’s favorite because of her relationship with her father & she leaves during a message about it; *Spoilers* Katya realizes she needs both God and her father, but feels like they both have abandoned her; She tells her mother about this feeling and she tells her that Jesus has not abandoned us; At the end, Katya asks God if it’s okay that it might take her a long time before she feels safe with Him and to teach her how to feel safe *End of Spoilers*; Mei helps with teaching a children’s Sunday school class & does a skit about Daniel and the Lions’ Den; Mei looks into a student leadership position and while she could answer that God is the reason she wakes up every morning, she decides that because it isn’t for church, that might not be the answer the school is looking for and answers about her family instead (a friend answers that Jesus is the most important thing in his life and Mei in uncomfortable and feels a little defensive about not saying it); Mei is asked if she’s religious, but she says that religious isn’t the way she would describe herself and that her relationship with Jesus is a really important part of her life; Zahra has a dream where she is drowning but the Good Shepherd rescues her; *Major Spoilers* At the end, Zahra feels as if she should ask Jesus to save her sister and her baby during a difficult childbirth so she does “with a confidence and peace she has never experienced before in her life” and they experience a miracle; Zahra asks God for life for the baby and her sister and it makes an impact on her sister and family; Her father also shares with them that he has been having the same dream every night of Jesus appearing to him and has decided to follow Jesus *End of Spoilers*; Many mentions of God, Jesus, His grace, loving your enemies, & witnessing to others; Many mentions of churches, church going, student ministry events, church events, Sunday School classes, youth groups, pastors, sermons/lessons, worship, songs, & services; Mentions of Bibles, those and events in the Bible, Bible reading, & Bible studies; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of Christians; Mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of blessings; A mention of church camp; 
             *Note: Zahra hides her New Testament Bible from her family members (*Spoilers* when her older sister finds it, she calls it “corrupted”, a book for “infidels”, and full of “Christian lies”; Zahra realizes that no matter what, Jesus and her being a Christian cannot be taken away from her; Zahra’s mother and sister want to marry Zahra off and when she’s greatly upset about this, Zahra thinks her life is over because she is following Jesus; At the end, Zahra’s family witnesses a miracle because of her prayer and a family member decides to follow Jesus *End of Spoilers*); Mei meets a young man who is a leader at the retreat and says he is from a “really religious background” but has come to realize that “religious ideas can be divisive and used to hurt people” so now his creed is “just love and inclusivity” (Mei isn’t sure how to respond to that); That leader at a retreat encourages Mei to speak “your truth” which Mei recalls a youth group leader talking about that phrase and how “if something is true, it’s true all the time, for everyone”; The retreat has questions for the students to agree or disagree with, one being about “love is love” (which Mei thinks that God is “the only One with the wisdom to put boundaries around who I can and can’t be in a romantic relationship with”) and another about religion being the “basically the same…no single faith tradition has an exclusive claim on the truth” (*Spoilers* Mei prays to be faithful and steps out to disagree with all the others about this; She gets to talk with two young adults that love Jesus about the retreat and they have a good conversation about pleasing God rather than people, being hated by everyone for Jesus’ sake, and pray for her about the next day’s retreat; The next day, a girl says she feels unsafe around Mei and Mei responds that she follows Jesus and wants to obey Him, adding that “part of that includes loving my neighbor, no matter what you believe”; The leader at the retreat asks her about who she really is “a Christian girl or a representative of the Chinese-Canadian community who’s ready to champion the beauty of ethnic diversity in Canada?” and Mei writes him an email about how important Jesus and His teachings are to her *End of Spoilers*); A friend tells Katya that neither of them need God (which hits Katya hard and she tells her friend to shut up, but quickly feels bad about being mean to her friend); Eden thinks about praying with a girl she knows, but doesn’t because she thinks it will make the girl feel weird; Eden’s mom rarely attends church with their family, but is supportive of Eden and her sister going to church (Eden sometimes feels embarrassed by what she assumes her mom’s assessment of her youth group and thinks that her mom thinks it’s a waste of time, but her mom surprises her with her positive comments); A few mentions of being religious or not religious; A couple mentions of aliens; A mention of Zahra’s father’s prayer beads; A mention of Ramadan.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘gosh’, an ‘oh my gosh’, a ‘shut up’, and four ‘stupid’s; Some Eye rolling & Sarcasm; A tornado watch & sandstorm (up to semi-detailed); Zahra has a dream where she is drowning (but the Good Shepherd rescues her); Mei’s (Chinese) church is vandalized with sayings like “Go back to where you came from” & the vandals throw the spray cans at them (which hits an old women) and say a racial slur (not written out; all of this great bothers Mei; *Major Spoiler* At the end, one of the guys who vandalized the church comes to a Sunday morning service, apologizes to them, and wants to know why they still treated him kindly *End of Spoiler*); Many mentions of wars, war-torn area, fighting, deaths and assumed deaths, grief (including a mother being a shell of herself after experiencing a war and sitting in the dark crying), violence, explosions, destruction, kidnapped family member (who abducted), & a refugee camp; Mentions of amputations (including a teenage boy losing his leg), injuries, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of vandalism, graffiti, assault, arrests, & jail time; Mentions of bullying & harassment; Mentions of vomit & vomiting; Mentions of hatred & hating a place and the people (the latter is said by a boy, which his mother corrects); Mentions of hateful words & prejudice (towards Mei and her church); Mentions of smoking & a pipe (used by a teenage boy who offers a main character to try, which she doesn’t); A few mentions of a death & the woman grieving her husband; A few mentions of nightmares & nightmare-like experiences; A few mentions of unkind fathers (which can cause some to struggle with believing that God is a loving Father); A couple mentions of sniper fire; A couple mentions of rumors; A mention of a miscarriage & grief; A mention of a church meeting in a restaurant that has a “fully stocked bar”; 
             *Note: Katya has a moment of PTSD and can’t breathe (she recalls the destroyed area around her home and explosions; She later wonders if she’ll “always be doomed to be a second away from falling apart”; up to semi-detailed); In the beginning, Katya and her family are living in a refugee shelter (they are sharing a room with another family that can be rude; Katya and her brother dislike that family and living in Poland; Katya thinks going to assimilation classes are miserable; Mentions of Katya and other Ukrainian students being mocked and teased by other students); Katya struggles with people continuing on with their lives while her and many other refugees’ lives have fallen apart (she feels weighed down because of their reality); Katya’s father walked out on their family when she was little *Spoilers* but has recently contacted their mother in hopes of talking to Katya and her brother before he is sent to the frontlines; Katya feels grief, fear, and anger about this news & decides on being angry at him and resents him; A friend asks if Katya hates her father, but she says she tries not to think of him; At the end, Katya has a video chat with their father and while it is awkward, they talk for a little bit, but Katya is mad that he didn’t apologize for leaving them and discusses it with her mom and pastor’s wife *End of Spoilers*; Mei’s school is promoting a student leadership retreat about inclusion and unity (which Mei wants to help with and later tells others that she thinks her generation “can become more accepting of people from other backgrounds”); Mei wears masks to church and school; At the leadership retreat, Mei and the other students are asked their opinions on immigration (“if you think people who arrive from other cultures and countries make Canada better, [go this direction, if you disagree go the other direction]”), loving whoever you want (“[if you agree] with the statement, ‘Love is love. You love who you want, I’ll who I want, and I’ll support you no matter what, [go this way]”; Mei realizes she needs to listen to the wording of these statements and wishes to have a discussion because she knows what the Bible says, but goes to the agreeing side because others would think she’s being judgmental if she can’t explain herself even though she thinks that God is “the only One with the wisdom to put boundaries around who I can and can’t be in a romantic relationship with”), and all religions being “basically the same” (“no single faith tradition has an exclusive claim on the truth”; *Spoilers* Mei prays to be faithful and steps out to disagree with all the others; The next day, one if the girls accuses her of not being an ally to people who are different than her and feeling unsafe around Mei; Mei responds that she didn’t mean to make any feel unsafe and that she doesn’t believe that all faith traditions are the same because she follows Jesus, but also thinks that everyone should “have the freedom to believe what they want and make their own choices…like, I don’t want you to be mistreated for anything you believe or choose” adding that “because I love Jesus, I want to obey Him. But part of that includes loving my neighbor no matter what you believe”; The leader at the retreat asks her about who she really is “a Christian girl or a representative of the Chinese-Canadian community who’s ready to champion the beauty of ethnic diversity in Canada?” and Mei writes him an email about how important Jesus and His teachings are to her *End of Spoilers*); Zahra’s older sister yells at her children (which makes one cry) & is harsh because of stress and what she has experienced through the war; A friend of Katya shaves her head and talks about “reinventing” herself and “figure out the real [her]” (her mother is in too much grief to notice the change); Mentions of heart transplants, hospital stays, pain, & scars (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of Eden’s recent heart transplant & her family’s concern over her; Mentions of the pandemic, restrictions, wearing masks, & attacks on Asian families; Mentions of brand names (Sour Patch Kids, Oreos, Reese’s, & Play-Doh); A few mentions of some of those in “marginalized or minority” groups being lonely or depressed; A few mentions of Chick-fil-A; A couple mentions of video games where you “shoot some bad guys”.
 
 
Sexual Content- Flutters over a crush; Zahra is harassed (by a guy asking if she’s lost and calling her “beautiful”; Implied with ill intent), but rescued by someone before anything else happens (her mother and sister are angry that Zahra has ruined their family because of this); Zahra walks passed a girl her age that is already a mother; *Spoilers* Zahra’s older sister talks about Zahra getting married, saying that Zahra is in the way, and many other girls have gotten married who are younger than her; Zahra is very upset about this and her sister pressuring their mother to agree with her; Zahra’s mother agrees that Zahra should get married and Zahra sobs and thinks about running away, but realizes she can’t and is trapped *End of Spoilers*; Zahra knows not to start a conversation with a boy or appear too friendly because it would damage her and her family’s reputation; Eden has a crush on a boy her friend also likes which causes a problem for their friendship; Eden imagines impressing her crush with a worship song she wrote (which would “finally see in her what he had overlooked all this time”) to get his attention; Eden feels betrayed by her best friend & is jealous of the guy’s attention (her dad says that boys are stupid and is there for her by buying her chocolate and flowers, but she doesn’t want to talk about it); *Spoilers* Towards the end, Eden and her best friend make up and forgive each other *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of Zahra and other girls and women being harassed if not with a male family member; Mentions of boys, crushes, couples, dating, & breakups; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of blushes; 
             *Note: A family member’s early childbirth & mentions of it being too early, the possibility of losing the mother or baby, cries, and screams (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); A few mentions of Eden’s post-transplant medications giving her acne; A few mentions of makeup & a girl refreshing her makeup before hanging out with a boy.
 
-Eden, age 15

-Katya, age 15

-Mei, age 15
-Zahra, age 15
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        276 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{ Add up to a full star for girls in public school }

Set six weeks after the first book in the series, I’ve really been looking forward to seeing what would happen next for these four girls in this sequel. It was so good to see all of them again and not only learn what is going on in their lives now, but continue to see them all grow in their faiths. Like my time with the prior book, I felt like such a big sister towards these girls and felt so proud of them and how they handled the challenges they are facing. I was honestly ready to bring out my pom-poms at certain scenes and wish I could hug all of them. These four main characters never meet, and their stories do not connect, but it works well for this book and the lessons learned.

 

It is very easy at the beginning to compare the girls’ lives and problems they are facing to each other (like, Eden, dearie, your crush being with another girl is not the end of the world, please talk to Katya or Zahra and learn about their lives, please), but at the same time: that’s life. We get focused on our own problems that we lose sight of others living through more difficult and serious problems. Problems and troubles are worldwide and these stories show Jesus throughout them. This book and the first one handled this element so well and I love it. It doesn’t feel “preachy” or like a mom wrote this book to be full of lessons and advice to teen girls, but from a heart who truly cares for these characters and the readers, to show Jesus’ love for them. 

 

Bottom line? I have to say that I’m truly impressed—a word I don’t use often in my reviews—with this duology because of the grace shown, hard topics discussed, lessons naturally learned, and the Christian outlook and conversations about all of it. I even got goosebumps multiple times throughout the final chapters. Well done, I must say, very well done!

 

 

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 Author for this honest review.

"Light-Bringer" by Christina Shaw

About this book:

  “Alethia Tailor has lived a dark and drab existence all fourteen years of her life. She’s torn between her violent father’s hatred of light and her ailing mother’s secret longings for light, along with the brighter colors that can only be seen in the light. But the light laws of her town have done a good job at keeping everything dark.
    That is, until Armando Potts, a boy only a few years older than Alethia, returns home with the brightest light shining from him. Like the rest in her town, Alethia can’t look directly at Armando without intense pain. But she might not have to worry about it, as Armando is arrested and found guilty of violating the light laws of the town—a crime punishable by death. Once he is gone, the light would go with him, light that Alethia’s mother would love to see yet may never get the chance.
    When his execution is botched, Alethia has a Will she help him escape? Or will she let him die?”


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


Spiritual Content- God or Jesus in this world is called the “Light-Bringer” and those who do not follow him are unable to see colors and live in the dark (physically and spiritually); Many talks about the Light-Bringer, trusting him (even when bad things happen), him listening to us, talking to him, & feeling peace from him; ’H’s are not capital when referring to the Light-Bringer; Talking to & Thanking the Light-Bringer; Alethia is told that the Light-Bringer is like a person and “can be anywhere he wants to be at any time”; Those who follow the Light-Bringer will have a light that shines inside of them at a certain body part (such as their hand or foot) and is shown to others (those in the darkness will be blinded by the light); Alethia talks to the Light-Bringer (at first she wonders if she has run out of requests she is allowed give to him) and hears him speak to her (not always Scripture and *Spoilers* some are direct orders that she does not follow, but it works out to the Light-Bringer’s way anyway; One sentence is telling her that her mother is dying *End of Spoiler*; this is described by someone as a thought in someone’s head); Alethia wants to see the light and colors, but has times of doubt about the Light-Bringer; *Spoiler* Alethia talks to the Light-Bringer and apologizes for the times she preferred darkness to light and asks him to help her trust him; After this, the wind picks up and the mud that has been on her skin comes off; Alethia later hears from the Light-Bringer and feels peace from him; She still has moments of doubts and wondering if she can trust him; Towards the halfway point, her father offers Alethia to come back home if she turns away from the light; *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, Alethia witnesses to her mother on her deathbed and her mother sees the Light-Bringer; Because of witnessing to her mother, Alethia is called a traitor of the town and is executed; The Light-Bringer gathers her and she spends the last chapter with him and seeing others when their lives are done come to him as well (which is noted that their transition to being with him was “easy or hard based on what they needed to let go of and if it took a while for them to release it.”; At the very end, the Light-Bringer asks Alethia if she’s ready for what he has planned for her now *End of Spoilers*; Grig says that the Light-Bringer protects and keeps his followers safe from harm, but Grig struggles with the idea of doing something that could be dangerous because he thinks the Light-Bringer wants people to be wise; Grig and Armando are at odds with the thought of the Light-Bringer letting harm come to his people (Armando believes that the Light-Bringer will allow bad things to happen for a reason and the Light-Bringer doesn’t own him anything; Grig believes that you can’t trust the Light-Bringer if you’re going to do crazy things; *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, Grig asks what good it is to be in the light if he doesn’t keep his followers from getting hurt and eventually starts to fade in his light; When his father dies, Grig is angry towards the Light-Bringer and when his time comes, Grig fights against the light but ultimately accepts it *End of Spoilers*); Armando tells Alethia about the Light-Bringer, living the way he wants, and being willing to give everything up for him (He also tells her once that the Light-Bringer “will test you to see if you are willing to keep trusting him even when things look bad. So sometimes he will hold off on giving you an answer until the last second, or even after the last second, so that he will know if you are still going to trust him or if you will give up.”); Two side characters & Grig talk about covering up their light so they do not break a town’s light rules (believing this to be the best route to not offend the others and be able to eventually witness to them little by little), but Armando doesn’t think it is right to cover up one’s light (Alethia covers up once, but feels wrong about doing it again); Another side character talks about the light being perfect so the followers of the light should reflect the light perfectly (Alethia struggles with the thought of being perfect and doesn’t think she can do it; *Spoiler* At the very end, the woman has to give up being perfect to be with the Light-Bringer *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of the Light-Bringer, the Light-Maker, trusting him, having light, & witnessing with the light to others; Mentions of talking to the Light-Bringer (not called praying or prayers) & thanking him; Mentions of light gatherings (implies like church services with singing) & those who don’t believe also feeling included (such as a gathering to “affirm” those who come); Mentions of those who go to other towns to share about the Light-Bringer; A few mentions of being blessed; 
             *Note: Alethia’s father says the light is evil and can make people foolish or dangerous; Her father also adds that the light doesn’t make anything better, but worse because it’s “sharp and painful” to look at; *Major Spoiler* At the end, Alethia’s father says he loves the dark and when he dies, his soul disappears into the darkness *End of Spoiler*; Another character says that the darkness is beautiful; In Alethia’s town, there are light laws and no can shine an uncovered light in public; Those with the Light-Bringer’s light in Alethia’s town are treated as criminals, covered in mud to dim their light, and face execution; Mentions of luck & not believing in luck.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’ and two ‘idiot’s; A bit of sarcasm; Being attacked, Being chased, Pain, Grief, & Two Deaths (up to semi-detailed; *Major Spoilers* At the end, Alethia witnesses the light to her mother before her death & then Alethia is executed for having the light by her father (up to semi-detailed in describing the beating and pain she faces before being gathered by the Light-Bringer) *End of Spoilers*; Seeing someone beaten (up to semi-detailed); Alethia follows a crowd to an execution & sees someone beaten (but not killed, up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of executions, planned and almost executions, crimes (including the “crime” of having uncovered light in Alethia’s town), & criminals; Mentions of murders & some others thinking they are going to be killed; Mentions of deaths, near deaths, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deceit; Mentions of hatred; A few mentions of breaking and entering; A couple mentions of pubs & drinking; 
             *Note: Alethia’s father is cruel (not just to her, to everyone; He only calls her “girl” instead of her name and she recalls how he made her feel small and worthless); Alethia is the caretaker for her ill mother (*Spoilers* Because of her mother’s condition, Alethia’s heart feel heavy when she’s chased out of town; Alethia hopes to come back to share the light with her mother; *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, Alethia goes back and witnesses to her mother before her death (up to semi-detailed) *End of Spoilers*).
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A; 
             *Note: A couple mentions of a seamstress refusing to make other women’s dresses that had “less fabric than they had decency” and that she believes “longer dresses are better” because the Light-Bringer would approve of them.
 
- Alethia Tailor, age 14 (?)
                                P.O.V. of Alethia 
                                                        254 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this book, so I went in with an open mind about the plot. I think that Alethia is younger (14?) which gives the book a better-suited-for-younger-YA-readers feel, but I liked that element some of the time because I’m always trying to find more books for 13/14 year olds. She reminded me at times of Mandie from the “Mandie” series by Lois Gladys Leppard because of the rural setting, the childlike faith moments, and how she spoke. Alethia sometimes felt a little young to me, personally, but I think readers around her age might like her better. 

 

I did find some of the conversations to be a little stiff at times (particularly from two teenaged boys Alethia meets as they felt like very formal explanations) and there was a lot of recapping of events and conversations to explain them to characters that weren’t apart of those scenes. The reader has just read those parts, however, so it felt a little redundant to recap so much. Despite this, I did have some questions that were never answered such as where a follower of the Light goes when they die (once, there’s a mention of being with him “wherever he is” and later a comment is made about the “next” life which could imply reincarnation, but I don’t think the author meant it that way) and there was also three random mentions of “the Light-Maker” (who we are never really told about). 

 

I’ll admit I’m not quite sure what to think about the ending as I didn’t love it. I think some readers may enjoy this book, but it was ultimately not really my cup of tea. There were a few parts about the theology distracted me from the story and I didn’t fully agree with what was said, personally (which I think that may have been the point of some side characters). I have to be very detailed for these reviews, though, so I think some readers might not even notice those parts.

 

 

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 Author for this honest review.