Books for Christian Girls: "The Girl on the Tube" by Rachel Allord

About this book:

  “Twelve-year-old Addie Brown wants to fit in. But ever since she and her dad moved from small town America to bustling London, life is as bumpy as the Tube she rides to school. Addie’s cranky neighbour tells her off but then invites her to tea! It seems as if Addie’s best friend in America has already forgotten all about her. Worst of all, Addie’s dad doesn’t seem any happier than before, even though moving across the pond was his crazy idea.
    But the biggest mystery Addie encounters is the lady in the green hat. Who is she? And why does she appear on the train when Addie is missing home – and her mom – the most?”

Series: As of now, no.

Spiritual Content- A prayer; 'H's are not capital when referring to God; A couple mentions of God & Thanksgiving being a reminder to thank Him; A couple mentions of prayers & a blessing over food; A couple mentions of the pilgrims leaving England to worship God in “greater freedom without restriction”;
             *Note: *Spoiler, but about a potential angel/ghost* At the very end of the book, Addie sees the lady on the Tube again, but then the “edges of her glimmer and glint, her body blips and blurs like a fuzzy picture on an old television screen” and the woman disappears “just like that, she is gone, transported back to whatever secret world she’s come from”; It’s noted that Addie feels “spellbound” by seeing this *End of Spoiler*; Addie’s dad calls himself her guardian angel on the Tube; A few mentions of a family leaving Iran because of their religion; A mention of a statue of Ghandi.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’, three ‘dumb’s, three ‘rats’s, and five ‘stupid’s; A bit of eye rolling (Addie rolls her eyes disrespectfully to her dad’s comment once); A mention of a man cursing (said, not written); Addie and her father have recently moved to a new country and she cries about missing their old home and wishing to go home; Addie has first day at a new school jitters & is a bit jealous at others already having friends; Addie has moments of angry words and runs off (in their apartment area) or slams her bedroom door when her father asks her questions about her day or won’t let her travel to school by herself (she is particularly upset about him not letting her go to school by herself and this comes up a couple times before he offers to shadow her instead and make sure she can get there by herself; *Spoiler* When they try this, Addie wonders why she feels lonelier when it was what she wanted; He allows her to go to school by herself only after they’ve done this a few times; *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, when Addie is upset and her dad has to leave for a bit, she leaves the apartment and goes to explore, adding that she feels a bit of guilt, but her anger takes over and she’s going to smash his rule “into to smithereens”; Addie thinks that this “big, bad thing I’m doing feels wild and satisfying, like bashing a pinata”; She quickly feels uncomfortable, realizes she forgot her mobile, and starts to panic; She imagines her dad panicking about not finding her at home and hurries to get back, knowing that she messed-up by breaking his one big rule; She gets back home to her father looking for her and they have a good discussion about her mom; As a punishment he makes her help their neighbor & return her travel card after school each day *End of Spoiler*; A neighbor says that Addie is fortunate to have a father who cares about her and her whereabouts); Once of the girls at school corrects Addie about different British words unkindly & Addie gets embarrassed when the girl comments about her dad taking her to school; Addie goes to insult the know-it-all girl, but someone cuts her off; A boy says that Addie left half her brain in America & Addie wonders if he’s right and part of her is stuck back in America, which makes her cry at remembering everything she’s missing (later, he makes another comment along the same lines); *Spoilers* A group of boys stick gum in Addie’s hair and because she’s allergic to peanuts and can’t use peanut butter like someone told her about, she takes matters into her own hands by cutting her hair (she is very upset afterwards and cries); Addie gets detention for forgetting part of her uniform and a teacher believing she’s being disrespectful when asked about it *End of Spoiler*; Addie gets nervous when trapped on the Tube, thinking of it like a buried coffin underground; Addie eavesdrops on her father’s conversation with her aunt; Addie attempts to eavesdrop on someone to be able to catch her name; Addie lies about wanting to try a new food, but ends up liking it; When Addie mimics her aunt calling her dad a “stick in the mud”, he gives her a sharp look which makes her quiet; Mentions of deaths & grief (including from a car accident; a woman’s husband & also a mother/wife); A few mentions of the events of the Boston Tea Party; A few mentions of homeless people begging on a corner with their dog; A couple mentions of deaths in history (the Mayflower); A couple mentions of prison/jail; A couple mentions of injuries & blood/bleeding; A couple mentions of passing clubs and tattoo parlors; A mention of a drunk man; A mention of a food looking “like sick” (meaning vomit); A mention of a classmate assuming Addie’s parents are divorced;
             *Note: *Spoilers about Addie’s mom* Addie’s mom passed away when she was nine; She recalls a memory that makes her feel achy inside; There’s a couple moments where Addie notes her dad is sad and thinking about her mom; Addie doesn’t want to make her dad sadder by talking about her mom and sometimes feels like “she’s here, an invisible barrier between us. Especially when having a mom around would help a lot.”; Addie cries after something happens that her mom could have fixed and that if her mom was still alive then they wouldn’t have moved to London; Addie has another positive memory about her mom, but then remembers the night the two officers showed up at her house with news about her mother’s car accident; Towards the end, Addie has a breaking point of missing her mom and wishing she could bring back the dead and go back in time to stop the car accident; Later, Addie and her dad talk about her mom together and he shares good memories about her with Addie; When Addie’s aunt comes to visit, she encourages Addie that it’s okay to miss her mom and feel sad when she’s sad, happy when she’s happy *End of Spoilers*; Addie’s new friend is Iranian and her family had to move, which Addie doesn’t understand (a neighbor explains to Addie that not all countries are free and there are rules where opinions can’t be expressed by reporters or artists, people are forbidden to change or share their religion, and that women have the most difficulty with doing things that Addie takes for granted like “showing their hair and skin. Riding a bike. Singing, dancing, and talking too loudly in public”; Addie says she would just have to break the rules then, but the neighbor says that’s “an easy boast for someone who isn’t in danger” and that her friend must miss the only home she’s known; Addie’s friend later tells her about swimming for the first time when she was nine because “girls aren’t allowed to swim at most beaches. Unless they have a women’s section.” and Addie thinks that’s another unfair rule); Addie is concerned that her best friend back home has a new best friend, but tries to squelch the doubt; *Spoiler* Towards the end, Addie feels like her best friend is choosing someone else over her, giving up on their friendship, & Addie feels betrayed; They don’t talk for a couple weeks, but send a text to each other at the end which Addie feels is a good step *End of Spoiler*; Addie cuddles with a stuffed animal she’s had for a long time even if it’s a “babyish, stupid habit” because it brings her comfort; Mentions of a play/musical (42^nd Street, which Addie goes and sees); Mentions of brand names and items (Marmite, Tootsie Rolls, Jolly Ranchers, Jello, Sharpie, & iPad); Mentions of a movie & fictional character (Mary Poppins, Peter Pan and Wendy); Mentions of FaceTime; A few mentions of celebrities/well-known figures (Ginger Rogers & Winston Churchill); A couple mentions of places (Walmart & Tesco); A couple mentions of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; A mention of BBC.

Sexual Content- Addie is upset to hear that her father has a date (he explains that it’s a work-dinner and not a date, but she is still upset *Spoiler* and runs away to go explore; More information in a spoiler in a Negative Content section above, but he later tells her that he can go on dates and she shouldn’t disobey him *End of Spoiler*); A mention of a musical’s second act making Addie sleeply, adding it had “too many romance parts” (42^nd Street);
             *Note: A couple mentions of underwear; A mention of passing women in tiny skirts.

-Adeline “Addie” Brown, age 12
                               1^st person P.O.V. of Addie
                                                        192 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I was hopeful about this book and enjoyed many elements of it! It had a charming feel of a book just in-between the Middle-Grade and Young Adult age groups and I think many readers would like as well. The faith content was much lighter than I was expecting, just as a note, as there’s barely any.

Some Americans might be confused with it being said that Addie is starting high school (also called year seven) when she’s only twelve, but it’s just the way the UK school systems are and there were many parts of Addie having to learn about her new country.

Addie was honestly a delight. I thought she handled everything well and was very realistic for her age. I liked the Thanksgiving scene especially, but I’ll admit to not loving the rest of the ending with how *Spoiler* we don’t have an answer for the lady on the Tube by the end. There’s an implication that she’s a guardian angel for Addie, but no real details on what exactly is going on *End of Spoiler*, which I was disappointed about.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!