"The Summer of Us" by Tori Martin

About this book:

  “Twins, Taylor and Mackenzie, have always shared everything- a love of horses, a disdain for small, yappy dogs, and a cancer diagnosis. After months of grueling treatments, they are in remission and ready to enjoy the best summer of their lives.
Nora Mae is a teenage slave who lived on a Louisiana plantation 170 years ago. Her life is marked by fear and suffering and an indomitable hope for a better future.
When the twins find an old diary hidden on their property, they are drawn into the story of another teen whose life, in some ways, mirrors their own. They discover that joy and sorrow often walk hand in hand and that life cannot be lived without both.”


Series: As of now, no. It seems to be a stand-alone novel. 


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned & remembered; Prayers & Screaming at God during a hard time; Talks about God, why He allowed the girls to be sick (which no one in the book knows why), & Him always being there like the North Star; Most 'H's are capital when referring to God; Taylor & others act out a Bible skit of Esther (the story is summarized through their play); Mentions of God & forgiving others; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of those & events from the Bible; Mentions of Heaven & dancing with angels; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, services, sermons, & preachers; A couple mentions of a Bible; 
             *Note: A mention of being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘shut up’, and a ‘suck’; Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Taylor, Mackenzie, & their older brother tease each other (which their brother says it shows that they love each other); Going through tests, hospitalizations, & pain (semi-detailed); Taylor often thinks about the cancer treatments her and Mackenzie have gone through, being in remission, & the possibility of relapsing or dying; *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, Mackenzie relapses and there’s many details about the new treatment for her; She get very sick and after a near death moment, dies a couple days later; Taylor witnesses all of this and her sister’s death with major grief *End of Spoiler*; Taylor & Mackenzie find a diary of a young slave girl, Nora, which tells about whippings, other slaves being whipped and killed, and overall being treated inhumanly (Taylor & Mackenzie decide to keep it from their parents so they can read it first); *Spoilers about Nora* At the end of the book, Taylor researches and finds out that Nora and all the other slaves with her were beat almost to death by their master and then he shot them all; The master was arrested and the girls say he got what he deserved *End of Spoilers*; Taylor & Mackenzie find a skull and freak-out (later, they try to tell each other that it probably wasn’t a human skull); All about & Many mentions of cancer, cancer treatments, tests, hospitalizations, relapsing and remission, & deaths and possible deaths; Many mentions of slaves, slavery, slave hunters, beatings and whippings, deaths, & the Civil War; Mentions of blood/bleeding, injuries, & sicknesses (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of snooty girls & their rich families (including both Taylor & Mackenzie laugh and make comments about one girl they know, but their relationship gets better towards the end); A few mentions of a hanging (in the Bible and a skit of the book of Esther); A couple mentions of other wars; A couple mentions of bombs & bomb making; A couple mentions of stealing; A couple mentions of a drunk & a bar; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of hatred; A mention of jealousy; 
             *Note: In the diary of Nora, she writes about white folks like her master being scared of losing control of his slaves if they knew how to read and write, the young daughter of the master making her act like a dog, wondering if “fear and degradation” is all that’s in life for a black person like her, being tormented by the young daughter of the master, one of the slaves not being “trodden down” by white people, the master forbidding them from having church (which she writes that maybe it’s because he doesn’t believe they could be spiritually uplifted or is afraid it will give them power and courage), & wonders if freedom is only for white people; Taylor’s family have staff they call servants due to her mom’s aristocrat background, but they treat them like family unlike others around their area; Taylor & Mackenzie pull pranks on their friends & also do pranks with friends to others (harmless, not mean-spirited ones, and do not get in trouble with adults); While Taylor knows it’s a little disrespectful to say it, she comments on her grandparents being horrible (due to her grandmother being a snob); Quotes from Jean Hersey, Susan Polis Schutz, Dominic Riccitello, & Shira Tamir are shared at the beginning of sections of this book; Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of brand names (Red Bull & Coke); A couple mentions of stores/places (McDonald’s & Walmart); A mention of Christopher Columbus; A mention of Disney princesses.
 
 
Sexual Content- Taylor notices the “really cute guy” she’s liked since fifth grade & Mackenzie teases her that he likes her (which makes Taylor blush); Mackenzie wonders if there will be any cute guys at a summer camp; Nora writes about her feelings of admiration for a young man and they due to their five year age gap, he probably doesn’t think twice about her, but she dreams anyway; A mention of virgins when paraphrasing a Scripture from Esther in a play; 
             *Note: Taylor’s grandmother says that a “skinny girl doesn’t make a pretty woman” when she sees how much weight the twins have lost; A mention of alligator mating season.
 
-Taylor Everett, age 13/14
                               1^st person P.O.V. of Taylor (with the Preface in Riley’s POV) 
                                                        160 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Before getting started with this book, I was concerned it would be really sad. And because sad books are not my cup of tea, I pushed reading this one out. To be fair, now after reading this book, I can agree there definitely is a hopeful note at the beginning, some sad parts mixed into Taylor and Mackenzie’s new normal during the middle, but also a pretty sad and bittersweet ending. Not for readers that don’t like sad endings. If you do like sadder endings, have at it. I would suggest having tissues nearby. 

 

One of the parts of this book is the twins finding a young slave’s diary from before the Civil War which I found hard to read about as well and adds to the heartbreak of this book. It gives a realistic view, however, of a girl their age that had a very different life and it is history, no matter how hard it is to read about. 

 

Sensitive readers might have a hard time with this book because of the sadness and topics of death. I was crying towards the end because of it myself. I would suggest parents to read along with their kids who are under age 13, especially if they’re sensitive because this book has a lot of emotions and may stir-up feelings for young readers. I know that this can be part of life for many, unfortunately, but please keep in mind that some may not want to read about a sad topic or it hits too close to home at that particular time. Personally, it was a bit too much for my reading tastes so that why I gave it a lower rating. 

 

 

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.

"Lady Georgiana" by Taylor Paige

About this book:

  “In 1841 England, Lady Georgiana Etheridge knows how to balance being both a noblewoman and a spy. It comes naturally to her, being raised in an aristocratic household of spies her whole life. However, disguising herself as a servant and working in the scullery is completely strange to her, and so is doing an assignment with no assistance or supervision besides the help of her cousin. They weren’t given much of a choice with the assignment, but neither would they have changed it—it’s all in the name of saving Georgiana’s father, falsely arrested for crimes not his own. Georgiana and her cousin are happy to take on servant work in order to find proof of her father’s innocence, but time is of the essence. If they don’t find their proof before his trial, it will diminish any hope Georgiana has of seeing him again.”


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


Spiritual Content- Psalm 37:3 at the beginning & Ephesians 1:3 in the acknowledgments; Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, remembered, & thought about; Prayers & Thanking God; Church going; Talks about God, His will, Him being with us, trusting Him, forgiveness, & praying; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit; Georgiana has long ago decided to trust why God gave her condition (of being unable to speak) to her; Georgiana wonders if God gives people inklings of the future and others’ lives, but comes to the conclusion that God doesn’t do that often (but still finds it interesting to think about); Many mentions of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, His will, Him being with us, & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, a rector, services, sermon, & hymns; Mentions of Christians; Mentions of forgiveness & sin; A couple mentions of Heaven; A mention of paintings of stories from the Bible; 
             *Note: The phrase ‘Heaven forbid’ is said once; A mention of luck. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘drat’, a ‘dumb’, and a ‘kiss up’; A bit of eye rolling; Georgiana “curses” herself for when she thinks she’s made a big mistake; Due to their spying and missions, some side characters have to lie to others (including about fake identities); Georgiana and the others also sneak into a place & have to steal an item for an assignment (her grandfather comments to her cousin about being a capable thief, but cautions her to not use that skill unless absolutely necessary); Georgiana tries to ignore the gossip of the servants; Georgiana and her cousin accidentally eavesdrops on adult family members’ conversations; Mentions of deaths & grief; Mentions of a murder, trying to find the murderer, imprisonment, & a trial/arrest about it; Mentions of crimes, criminals, thieves, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of a kidnapping & being drugged (Book #1 & Book #2); Mentions of poison; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of possible exile or execution for a criminal; A few mentions of a missing (runaway) sibling; A few mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of hatred & jealousy; A couple mentions of fighting & hurting others; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A mention of smugglers; A mention of gambling; 
             *Note: Georgiana can’t speak (she is called mute and refers to it as a disability) and faces a couple peoples’ negative comments and ridicule (including one girl saying she’ll “amount to nothing” and means no offense to Georgiana by saying that; Other girls stick up for Georgiana, though); A few mentions of stillborn babies & losing a child.
 
 
Sexual Content- A few blushes (when Georgiana wonders if she’s trying to impress a young man & later when she’s teased by a family member about the same young man); Georgiana finds a young man’s attentions towards her at a ball to be exhausting; Mentions of jilted couples & other couples running away together; A couple mentions of flirting; A mention of a young woman tarnishing her reputation by running off with a young man.
 
-Georgiana Etheridge, age 16
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Georgiana 
                                              Set in 1841
                                                        298 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

It took me a bit to get into this story and keep track of all the new characters as this third book is 28 years later and follows Elizabeth’s oldest daughter. It was neat to have a generational kind of story and see the original characters’ grown, married, and their own children as the stars of the next book. There’s a family tree at the very end of the book, which would have been more helpful to have at the beginning, I think. By the end of the story, though, I did a happy sigh as it was lovely to see a big, happy family represented in a MG/YA Christian Fiction book. 

 

I really liked Georgiana and her sweet personality. I would almost say this was my favorite book of the series so far. 

 

As a note for parents, I think this book could work as an option for avid readers 10/11+ like the prior books in the series. In this third story, there’s accusations of murder, but there’s no details about it—not even how the person was murdered—and very little other content to note. There’s a couple mentions of servants running away together, but other than some hints to a possible romance for Georgiana in the far-off future, there’s really no romance. It definitely had an emphasis on family love which was so sweet to see.

 

 

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.

"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.