"The Key Question" by Virginia Smith & Beth Adams

About this book:

  “When Hannah Prentiss's best friend, Lacy Minyard, receives a strange package allegedly from her mother, she finds a mysterious key wrapped in a monogrammed handkerchief inside. Lacy is even more baffled when her mother reports receiving a similar package, purporting to be from Lacy! Hers contains a puzzling poem and a key wrapped in an identical handkerchief. Neither woman knows anything about their gifts.
    Can Hannah help her friend identify the sender and decipher the poem to find out what the keys open?
    Meanwhile, Hannah's father and brother are determined that she start dating. Hannah appreciates their well-meaning intentions, but she's more interested in making a success of her restaurant right now.
    Can Hannah find a way to tell her loveable but interfering family how she really feels?”


Series: Book #1 in the “Mysteries of Blackberry Valley” series. Review of Book #1, Here!


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is read; A couple Prayers; Morning Bible reading & Thinking about it (1 Corinthians 13 Scriptures mentioned); Church going (including one time where Hannah tries to concentrate on the service, but is too focused on the mystery & another time when she manages to pay attention to the service); 'H's are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & devotionals; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, church events, services, pastors, sermons, & hymns; A mention of a miracle; A mention of a cross necklace; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck & being lucky; A mention of Santa.
 

Negative Content- A bit of eye rolling; Hannah has a couple moments of grief (about her late mother); Mentions of deaths, illnesses, & grief; Mentions of the Great Depression & wars (WWI, WWII, & the Korean War); Mentions of crimes, stealing, & a break-in; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of an estranged sister relationship; A few mentions of mines collapsing & trapping and killing workers; A few mentions of fires; A few mentions of a divorce (including someone saying that a couple divorced, but it wasn’t the man’s fault as they married young and things didn’t work out for them; Later, the man says his first wife didn’t want kids and that was a big part of why they got a divorce); A couple mentions of people not coming out after exploring a cave (implied deaths); A couple mentions of rumors; A mention of nightmares; A mention of hunting;
             *Note: Mentions of a mother having “spells” (which seems to be more of a mental illness than a physical one, a character notes); Mentions of books, poems, authors, & fictional characters (‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, ‘The Firm’ by John Grisham, Winston Churchill, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, poems by Emily Dickinson, & also learning about Emily Dickinson’s life); Mentions of car brands; A mention of a brand name (Corelle); A mention of the Beatles.
 
 
Sexual Content- A bit of touches, noticing, & smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple Blushes; Hannah’s family tries to set her up with some guys they know, but she isn’t interested in dating anyone due to trying to make her restaurant successful first; Mentions of dates & dating; A few mentions of handsome men; A mention of a family not having a “sordid secret” (such as an out-of-wedlock pregnancy); A mention of a married couple sharing a kiss; A mention of flirting; A mention of crushes; A mention of heartbreak.
 
-Hannah Prentiss, age 35
                                P.O.V. of Hannah 
                                                        246 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’m not sure exactly why, but I was actually pretty interested in the mystery of this story because it was a bit of a slower one. But I’ve always been fascinated mail and packages, so that’s probably why I was invested in the two mysterious packages that showed up. The ending was a bit sadder than I expected, but it was still a good mystery. 

 

As a note, this second book does mention a couple events from the first book of the series, but does not give away that mystery or Hannah’s findings.

 

 

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 Beastie of Brambly Bald" by Amanda Cleary Eastep

About this book:

  “Jack Finch’s plan to gobble up tons of turkey over Thanksgiving Break and work on the Tree Street Kids’ fort has been foiled. Instead, the Finches are traveling to the mountains of North Carolina to visit the grandparents Jack barely knows. Thank goodness his best friends Ellison and Roger are coming with him to the cabin on Brambly Bald mountain. But something is lurking in the forest, and soon Jack uncovers a secret bigger than Bigfoot. When the kids come face to face with a real threat, will Jack find a way to protect his friends? Jack braves danger, finds new branches on his family tree, and discovers what it means to be rooted in God’s great family.”


Series: Book #5 in the “Tree Street Kids” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, and Book #3 Here, and Book #4 Here!


Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are quoted, prayed, & read; A few Scripture are quoted & mentioned in bonus content along with how to be a part of God’s family; Prayers; A couple talks about God & those and events in the Bible; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A couple mentions of churches & church going; A couple mentions of Bibles; A mention of the Holy Spirit; A mention of a missionary; A mention of Veggie Tales; 
             *Note: Mentions of boy calls his mother “Mothership” as her code name over walk-talkies; A mention of superstitions.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘gah’, a ‘gosh’, a form of ‘oh my gosh’, and a form of ‘shut your trap’; Midge calls the others “lily-livered” for being scared of a plan to find Bigfoot; A bit of eye rolling (mostly because of a sibling’s comments); A new character is bossy (which Jack doesn’t plan to take orders from her despite her being older than him); Jack has a few comments about his little sister, Midge (such as giving her candy that will keep her mouth occupied and not talking so much) but are not mean-spirited; Hunting for Bigfoot and the “Beastie of Brambly Bald” in the woods (some of the characters think it’s a bad idea and runaway when they see an animal’s glowing eyes; The group comes across an unnatural footprint; Despite this, Jack doesn’t believe it exists, though, he does freak out once when he thinks he sees it; *Spoilers* It turns out the signs of the Beastie Bald is actually a girl setting it all up to keep Jack and the others away; Jack’s mother grow up believing in the beastie and was very hurt to find out her father wasn’t telling her the truth which has led to their strained relationship for years; Jack’s grandfather did see sightings of the beastie later, however; Towards the end, Midge and Forks sneak out one morning to find the Beastie; At the end, Jack thinks they all believe in it for a moment during a dangerous situation, but Midge knows that it isn’t real and Jack encourages that there’s other mysteries to discover *End of Spoiler*); Facing a bear (the group is scared, but tries to make themselves loud and big to frighten the bear off); A scary moment in a car (Jack’s mother has to swerve hard to avoid hitting something when driving in the dark in the mountains & she’s shaken up by it); Mentions of World War II, war stories, explosions, & a bomb shelter; Mentions of a neighborhood bully (who Jack calls “enemy number one of the Tree Street Kids”); Mentions of some family members not getting along (Jack’s mom talks to him about this because of her relationship with her father); Mentions of hunting; Mentions of pipes, smoking, & tobacco (a grandpa smokes in front of the group of kids); A few mentions of slavery (Ellison says his family can’t trace his ancestors back very far because of slavery and the lack of records by the slave owners); A few mentions of deaths (of parents); A couple mentions of a death of an explorer (bonus content); A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of two girls not knowing their moms; A mention of a concern about a child running away; A mention of when Jack and Midge got lost in the woods (Book #2); 
             *Note: Many talks about & many mentions of Sasquatch, Bigfoot, and another legendary creature called the “beastie of Brambly Bald” (who Midge wants to look for in North Carolina and hopes to see; The group goes hunting for it and also find a diary about someone else looking for it, see spoilers above); One of the Tree Street Kids’ (Ruthie) mom left home years prior, hasn’t seen her since, and she receives a letter from her inviting her to visit for Thanksgiving (Ruthie isn’t sure what to do; *Spoiler* But her mom ends up spraining her ankle and unable to drive to pick up Ruthie *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of brand names (Popsicles, Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Roll sucker, Squeezit fruit drinks, McDonald’s Happy Meals, Pizza Dorito, Mountain Dew, & Ivory Soap); Mentions of books, poems, & authors (quoted- ‘To a Mouse’ by Robert Burns, Little Red Riding Hood, & Hatchet; mentioned- The Boxcar Children); A few mentions of fictional characters (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Superman); A few mentions of Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts; A couple mentions of the Loch Ness monster; A couple mentions of Lewis and Clark; A mention of Red Lobster; A mention of Disney World; A mention of Popular Mechanics magazine.
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Jack Finch, age 11
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Jack 
                                                        244 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’m not usually one for Bigfoot/Sasquatch storylines, but I actually really like how it all worked out in this story. I do think it was mainly because of Midge—she keeps you on your toes! She makes me laugh with her comments and I think Jack is a very good (and kindly realistic) brother to her. He is protective and while there might be on or two times throughout the series that he wishes to go somewhere without her, she always ends up tagging along and is without a doubt part of the group. This series has been very wholesome partially because of that and how the author has written Jack as a character. I’m very much looking forward to reading the next book—and I hope it’s not the last one of 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.

"Enemy of Talionis" by C.J. Milacci

About this book:

  “She embraced submission to fuel her rebellion. But escaping to reclaim her freedom was just the beginning. Now she must fight.
    Bria and her companions have finally reached Eryndale after a perilous journey, but their troubles are far from over. Mistaken for spies and facing suspicion at every turn, they must convince the skeptical Eryndale leadership of the growing threat posed by Demetrius Ark and his Talionis soldiers.
    As they prepare to fight and new allies emerge, Bria and her friends find themselves facing ever increasing odds. Even if they can unite the people of Eryndale to mount a defense against Talionis, it might be too late to stop Ark from carrying out his sinister plans.”


Series: Book #3 in the “Talionis” series. Reviews of Book #1, Here! and Book #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- Micah 6:8 is a mantra for a group of people (not actually quoted, but a shortened version of it); A few other Scriptures are mentioned, remembered, & quoted; Prayers & Thanking God (including a long one and benediction from an elder); Talks about God, being changed by Him, & trusting Him; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Bria believes God has saved her, but finds it hard to understand how God is supposed to be a part of her everyday life like others have told her about; Bria wonders about some of her friends’ eternal destinies and sharing her faith with them; Bria feels settled and peace from God in a couple difficult situations; Hearing a testimony from a girl who lived in an abusive household and God answering her prayers and pursuing her; Many mentions of God, Jesus, & trusting Him; Many mentions of prayers, praying, & answered prayers; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & verses; Mentions of eternity & seeing a loved one again; Mentions of faiths; Mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of someone looking like he wishes he was anywhere else when God is discussed; A mention of someone telling others to pray for someone if they have any “religious bones” in their bodies; 
             *Note: Phrases like being “damned” for eternity (without knowing God) is said once & other exclamations like “heavens” and “heaven forbid” are said once and thrice; Many mentions of evil, evil people, & fighting against it/them; Mentions of Hell (both as in eternal damnation when someone doesn’t know Jesus & what Bria has been through, including a training week called “Hell Week”); Mentions of abusive parents that wanted their family to look good to those at their church and would put on a “performance” at church, acting perfect (their kids knew not to make them look like anything other than wonderful godly parents or else they would regret it when they got home; This would include beatings and the kids having to carefully cover bruises; The daughter shares that despite this, she didn’t hate God and loved church); A couple mentions of the devil & someone else being called a devil; A couple mentions of facing demons & being haunted by demons; A mention of a villain saying that someone is following an “empty faith”; A mention of superstitious people.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bunch of bull’, a form of ‘idiot’, two forms of ‘dumb’, two forms of ‘shut up’, two ‘stupid’s, and two ‘ticked’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Many scenes of being held at gun-point, being threatened, being tied-up, shooting guns and using knives on others (implied killing as well), gunfire, attacking/fighting, being hit, pain, injuries, blood/bleeding, & throwing up (up to semi-detailed); Setting explosives & explosions; Remembering deaths, near deaths (including by murders/executions, drowning, and someone else being shot), & grief (up to semi-detailed); Seeing dead bodies & others be nearly killed, shot, be held at gun-point and knife-point, tased, attacked, fighting, injured, bleeding, and in pain (up to semi-detailed); Believing loved ones to be dead or dying & grief from it (up to semi-detailed); Bria isn’t sure if she could hurt or kill follow recruits she trained with that are being forced to fight (she asks God to help her with whatever happens); Many mentions of attacks/fights, fighting, weapons, injuries (including major injuries like missing a hand), pain, blood/bleeding, & being tied-up (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of children and teens being kidnapped to become soldiers & parents injured or killed for trying to stop it (seen on-page, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths, grief, & guilt (including drownings and murders/executions; grief for a brother, border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of dead bodies; Mentions of missing people, them possibly being dead or killed, & grief for them; Mentions of possible casualties during fights; Mentions of evil men willing to kill others in their way; Mentions of a planned war; Mentions of beatings & torture (including from parents); Mentions of all of the training that Bria and the others did in Book #1 (including fighting & going through Kill Zones where they could be shot, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of threats (including someone threatening to harm or even kill a child); Mentions of criminals & crimes; Mentions of explosives, fires, & places being destroyed; Mentions of betrayal & hurt from betrayal; Mentions of abusive (physically and verbally) parents; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hatred; A few mentions of drownings & near drownings (Book #2); A few mentions of a child being unable to walk after an injury & the parent wanting revenge on why it happened; A few mentions of families abandoning their kids; A few mentions of a woman running away from her home (due to an abusive family member); A few mentions of stealing & stolen items; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of suicidal thoughts (past, by a side character); A couple mentions of suicide missions; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of slaves; A mention of a man trying to kidnap a woman; A mention of a mother treating her daughter “like garbage” after the father left; A mention of poison; A mention of bullies; A mention of tattoos; 
             *Note: Bria hyperventilates & someone walks her through breathing deeply; Bria’s friend, Nika, shares about her unhappy and abusive family (her mother would yell and her father would beat her and her siblings to the point where one couldn’t sit afterwards; Her parents cared what others, especially church members, thought of them and the kids would have to hide their bruises); Nika shares that she considered taking her life at the worst moment; A mention of depression; A quote from Theodore Roosevelt is shared at the beginning of the book. 
 
 
Sexual Content- Two head/forehead kisses, a cheek kiss, two almost kisses (barely-above-not-detailed), and a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Hand holding, Warmth, Flutters, Shivers, Nearness, & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing couples embrace & share kisses (barely-above-not-detailed); Bria thinks Matthias is going to kiss her (twice), but does not when they are interrupted or he hugs her instead; Bria told Matthias in Book #2 that she cares for him, but isn’t sure now what to do with the shift in their relationship; Mentions of dating & boyfriends/girlfriends; A few mentions of kisses & kissing; A few mentions of blushes; A couple mentions of flirting; A mention of jealousy; Light falling in love & the emotions;
             *Note: A mention of a butt.
 
-Bria Averton, age 17
                                1st person P.O.V. of Bria
                                                        500 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Maybe it’s because we’re getting closer to taking down the corrupt system, but I actually got into this third book more than the previous books in the series—despite it being the longest one so far and 500 pages long. I do think that there was a bit too much rehashing of Bria’s emotions (like every time she would think of someone, she would comment on missing that person and wondering about their condition), but there wasn’t too much recalling of the prior books' events, which I approved of due to reading these in a close timeframe. If I had to wait for the next book in the series, I probably wouldn’t have been able to follow along as easily. Especially with a lot of new characters introduced in this book. 

 

One thing I really appreciated in this book was that Bria questions and wrestles with if she even wants to fight against Talionis when she’s given the opportunity to have her dream and a peaceful life. I think that was a very fair and realistic thought and it’s not one I see often in dystopian books. 

 

I also really liked the realistic reactions of Bria when she’s not the leader of a group anymore. She’s never wanted to be a soldier or to fight, but is a part of a battle anyway and has lead her group(s) for a while now. I think I would have a harder time taking orders from others in that situation as well as being left out in the planning, but Bria handles it pretty well overall—and probably better than I would, to be honest. 

 

There’s a lot of waiting, action, and sikes throughout this book. Waiting for plans, action with those plans, and sikes? Well, there’s quite a few scenes of possible deaths or near deaths that end in ways I wasn’t expecting. Because of this, I do think some parts were a little convenient or predictable, but it didn’t distract me too much from the story. 

 

The cliffhanger wasn't as bad as I was anticipating, but if I had the next book now, I would probably read it within a week to get answers. 😉 I’m curious to see how the author will wrap up this series and hopeful for good to—finally—win.

 

 

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.

"In Plain Sight" by Leslea Wahl

About this book:

  “While her father is ready to embrace his job of refurbishing an abandoned lodge in a small Midwestern town, sixteen-year-old Emerson doesn't share his enthusiasm. Moving in the middle of January to such a cold, isolated location feels more like an exile rather than a fresh start.
    Despite Emerson's determination to keep to herself, the cute teen boy whose family owns the lodge draws her out of her shell. When Reid reveals the lodge's hidden secrets, she's captivated by the century-old mystery. As she delves into the history of her new town, Emerson is forced to confront her own secrets.
    Could the intrigue of the past be the spark needed to thaw her frozen heart and help her put her life back together?”


Series: Book #3 in the “Finding Faith” series. Book #1 is “Into the Spotlight” (first published as “An Unexpected Role”) and was reviewed Here! Book #2 was reviewed Here!


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is shared & quoted; Prayers & making the sign of the cross (including Emerson praying for God to be with her and a Guardian angel to help her); Church and Mass going & messages/homilies (including one on Saint Valentine); Talks about God & prayers/praying; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Emerson hasn’t been “fully invested” in her faith for a long time, but goes to Mass to make her Dad happy; Emerson doesn’t think God cares about her family’s circumstances and that He has ignored her prayers, so because she is tired of the “silent treatment” from Him, she’s done reaching out; *Spoilers* Towards the end, Emerson realizes she’s been shutting God out and that while logically she knew God wasn’t to blame for what happened to her family, she felt like her unanswered prayers seemed proof that her life didn’t matter; She realizes a friend is right, though, and God has been watching over her and her family the whole time and prays to God *End of Spoilers*; A quote from St. Ignatius is shared (“If God sends you many sufferings, it is a sign that He has great plans for you and certainly wants to make you a saint.”) and a side character shares it as it comforts her that God has plans for each of us; Mentions of God, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, blessings over food, & characters making the sign of the cross; Mentions of churches, church and Mass going, church events, youth group, priests, sermons, & homilies; Mentions of saints (including St. Valentine, St. Ignatius, and Blessed Julia Rodzinska); A few mentions of a room with an altar & a cross; A few mentions of a “devoutly religious” family and then someone losing their faith; A couple mentions of those from the Bible; A couple mentions of blessings; A mention of Lent; A mention of a nun; A mention of praying the Rosary; A mention of a godsend; 
             *Note: Emerson thinks that Reid must have magical powers to be able to get her to spend time outside in the bitter cold; Emerson later calls Reid “psychic” for figuring something out; Reid says he’s never seen anything “paranormal” at the lodge, but his family did have the place blessed by a priest shortly after buying it; Mentions of ghosts, reported ghost sightings, & rumors of a place being haunted; A few mentions of evil & facing it (during wars); A mention of it seemed like the “demons of war” haunted a man; A mention of some saying a family was cursed; A mention of a devilish grin; A mention of Cupid.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crummy’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘geez’, an ‘idiot’, a form of ‘shut up’, a ‘suck it up’, a ‘what the heck’, and four ‘stupid’s; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Eavesdropping (once); An explosion, Pain, Being shot at, Being held at gunpoint, Being attacked and chased, & Being threatened (up to semi-detailed); Grief & Guilt (including missing family members; Emerson for her mom and sisters); A dog is kicked, whimpers, & is threatened by someone with a gun (and seems to be hurt; *Spoiler* Zuri who was protecting Emerson and while she hates to leave her, she knows that her dog was risking her life to protect her; Zuri is okay at the end of the book *End of Spoiler*; up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths, car accidents, families being torn apart, & grief; Mentions of murders, possible murders, & foul play; Mentions of mobsters/mafia members & disposing of bodies; Mentions of World Wars I and II, fighting/battles, concentration camps, & the Great Depression; Mentions of slavery & runaway slaves in the mid-1800s; Mentions of crimes, criminals, drugs, drug dealers, corrupt politicians and police officers, arrests, & jail; Mentions of Prohibition, a speakeasy, alcohol, drinking, & gambling; Mentions of lies, lying, & deception; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of teens sneaking out at a sleepover (Emerson and her cousin, who later fess up to doing so); A few mentions of hunters; A couple mentions of a serial killer & imprisoning his victims; A couple mentions of a woman drowning & the possibility of another drowning; A couple mentions of divorced parents; A couple mentions of a teen girl having a rocky relationship with her father (from the book “Charting the Course”); A mention of money laundering; A mention of blackmail; A mention of a cigar; 
             *Note: Mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters (‘Persuasion’ by Jane Austen, ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’, ‘Gone with the Wind’, ‘Frankenstein’, ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, & ‘Moby Dick’); Mentions of Alfred Hitchcock movies & characters and events from those books (Rear Window, Psycho, & 39 Steps); Mentions of a brand name (SPAM); A few mentions of other movies & quotes from it (The Princess Bride & The Sound of Music); A few mentions of horror movies (not named ones, but like comments about a place being a perfect setting for a horror movie due to it’s eerie surrounding and desolation); A few mentions of a place rumored to be an insane asylum; A couple mentions of bands/singers (The Beatles & Frank Sinatra).
 
 
Sexual Content- An almost kiss (barely-above-not-detailed) and a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Sparks, Warmth, Butterflies, Nearness, & Smelling (including muscles/biceps, barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); When Emerson first sees Reid, she thinks that in her “previous life—back when things like that seemed important—he would’ve been just my type”; Emerson and Reid hang out alone together and Emerson isn’t sure what her dad will say about it; Later when researching the mystery, Emerson and Reid sit on a bed together, but leave “a respectable distance” between them (a bit later, he hugs her to give comfort, but because it suddenly feels too intimate, she moves out of his embrace); Mentions of couples, boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, & dating; Mentions of handsome and cute guys; A couple mentions of kisses, kissing, & the possibility of a kiss; A mention of a guy teasingly flexing his bicep; A mention of a homecoming date; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Emerson “Em”, age 16
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Emerson 
                                                        201 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve been enjoying books by this author for years now because Contemporary YA is a favorite genre of mine and because I always enjoy a mystery, I’m always interested in the mysteries found in each of her books. This story had a dual mystery—there’s the mystery at the lodge and its history, but also a mystery for the reader to find out about what happened in Emerson’s past. I was probably more invested in the latter, but I was curious about the lodge’s history too. 

 

We also see characters from the author’s other books, “Charting the Course” and “An Unexpected Role”/“Into the Spotlight”, which was a fun surprise! 

 

Not being Catholic, the saints and mentions of them/their stories were a little lost on me, but else wise there was some decent faith content and Emerson struggling with God not answering her prayers. The faith content seemed very natural and paced well for what she has gone through. 

 

Reid was a sweet guy and an overall good love interest for Emerson. I do wish the epilogue would have been a little longer, personally, because I was waiting for that moment! All in all, I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading what the author writes next. :)

 

 

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.

"Friends in Strange Places" by Nell Branum

About this book:

  “Every dog needs a good home. And Riley and Noah are on a road trip with Grandma Suzie to meet a fluff ball perfect for their grandma. But when they visit and fall in love with the adorable pooch, will their hopes get unexpectedly dashed? What’s more, the kids’ quest for a canine companion takes a turn when they make a discovery. The town they’re visiting once included a camp for prisoners of war . . . and it’s gearing up for a reunion. Army guards, former German prisoners, and townsfolk together again? Maybe that’s not such a good idea. When suspicion and sabotage begin to take place, the kids, along with a new friend, are on the case. But after they track one suspect into a corn maze, they realize the danger is as high as the corn stalks. Will the friends make it out in time to confirm their suspicions? What began as the best road trip ever is quickly becoming an adventure in trusting God through disappointment and danger—and the kids just might find a surprise ending after all.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Heroes on the Homefront Mysteries” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & talked about; Prayers; Talks about God, Jesus, & loving out enemies; ’H’s are capital when referring to God and Jesus; Mentions of God, Jesus, & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, church events, & Sunday school class; A couple mentions of a man saying he hasn’t thought much about God or praying for a while, but will think about it; A couple mentions of Jewish people; 
             *Note: Mentions of aliens & alien invasions (Noah is planning to make a movie about this and films clips for it on the trip).
 

Negative Content- Being trapped in a corn maze that seems to be on fire; A bit of sarcasm (from a side character); Because of Riley wanting to stop a man from adopting the dog she wants, she tries to find out why he is so suspicious & keeps her eye on him and his surly attitude (this includes one time with her asking him a pointed question and him getting close to her which makes her nervous; *Spoiler* Towards the end, he rescues her and Noah from a fire and they agree the culprit is not him *End of Spoiler*); Riley disappears to snoop and tells her brother to tell their grandma that she’s looking for the bathroom (and truly does look for one when snooping to keep it from being a lie); Riley goes to eavesdrop on adults’ conversation, but because they are yelling, she doesn’t think of it as eavesdropping; Later, she eavesdrops on another conversation; A side character around Riley’s age gets annoyed when her mom makes her to something (she groans and seems annoyed by it); Riley’s father is in the Army and deployed months prior to places her and her family don’t know & she misses him greatly; Riley’s dog passed away a year before the book starts and she misses him as well (barely-above-not-detailed); All about many mentions of World War II, Prisoners of War, prisons where the POWs were kept (including being shot at if they tried to escape), fighting, & deaths (including Riley and a side character not being sure about a reunion of both the POWs and the guards being a good idea which leads to a discussion about it with her grandma; barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of an event being sabotaged (such as vandalism and break-ins, reservations being messed with, items going missing or being stolen, and posters destroyed), crime scenes, & the culprit; Mentions of deaths & grief (including for a great-grandma); Mentions of fires, someone being called a “fire bug” (someone who likes to play with fire), & bombs; A few mentions of guns & shooting; A few mentions of the Great Depression; A few mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of other wars; A couple mentions of the possibilities of burying a body; A couple mentions of the death of a beloved pet dog & grief; A mention of a mob possibly killing their enemies (this is what a POW thought would happen to him); A mention of being concerned about a man being mean to a dog; 
             *Note: When Riley talks to her grandma about the reunion of the German POWs and their American guards giving her the creeps and not understanding why there should be a museum about the awful things that happened during World War II, her grandma tells her that “Museums help us remember what happened in the past, the good and the bad, even greed and hate. And if we remember, we might not make as many terrible mistakes in the future. It’s a museum’s job to show us the truth.”; Mentions of a car brand; A few mentions of The Wizard of Oz & fictional characters; A couple mentions of brand names (Frisbee, Monopoly); A mention of Steven Spielberg; A mention of goat yoga; A mention of Noah walking “zombie-style”.
 
 
Sexual Content- A couple mentions of a couple breaking up (adults); A mention of a man staring at a young woman like “she was a shiny new bicycle on Christmas morning”; 
             *Note: A couple mentions of underwear.
 
 
-Riley Abercrombie, sixth grade
                               1^st person P.O.V. of Riley 
                                                        197 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

After greatly enjoying the first book in this series, “Keep ‘Em Flying”, I’ve been looking forward to reading this second book! 

 

At first, I did think that Riley jumped to conclusions a bit more in this book compared to the prior story, but there was a lesson in that for her by the end about doing such things and thinking the worst about people you want to think the worst about. There’s also a really neat perspective about POWs and their guards having friendly reunions, which I had never heard about or even thought about happening. I was a little concerned going into this book with it discussing POWs, but the author kept it very clean and safe for middle-grade readers for sure. 

 

As a note for parents, Riley and her brother (who is a grade younger) both have their own phones. 

 

I can’t wait to see what the next book in this series will be!

 

 

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.