"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.

"A Likely Story" by Roseanna M. White

About this book:

  “All of Blackberry Valley is buzzing when a novel hits the shelves featuring their very own town! Hannah Prentiss isn’t the only one who quickly snatches up a copy and sits down to read…nor is she the only one who is shocked to realize that this novel isn’t mere fiction. It uses the real names of real families from the area—and apparently digs up the real dirt of those families from years gone by.
    When the end of the book mentions a treasure buried somewhere in town, everyone is determined to find the author and demand answers. As Hannah and her friends piece together the mystery of long-forgotten town secrets, she’ll learn more about the ancestor she is named after, her great-grandmother Hannah Jane.
    Could learning about her family’s past be the key to unlocking the truth behind the author’s identity and the so-called treasure?”


Series: Book #4 in the “Mysteries of Blackberry Valley” series. Reviews of Book #1, Book #2, and Book #3!


Spiritual Content- Romans 12:14-16 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are referenced & remembered; A couple Prayers; A couple talks about God; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, church groups, services, sermons, & pastors/reverends; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A mention of hymns; 
             *Note: Religious phrases such as ‘heaven knew’ is said twice; A mention of Santa.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: A ‘dumb’, two ‘stupid’s, and two ‘idiot’s; Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Mentions of a murder in a story, the body being found, & the murderer (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths & grief (including for parents); Mentions of crimes, criminals, thieves, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of fires & a couple barely making it out alive; Mentions of gambling & a woman who has a gambling addiction (*Spoilers* She receives help from a pastor who struggled with the same thing and he helped her learn new ways to fight the compulsions to gamble *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deception; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of mental asylums & their often horrible conditions; A couple mentions of deaths from a car crash; A couple mentions of World War II; A couple mentions of the Great Depression; A couple mentions of being threatened; A couple mentions of smoking; A mention of a near miscarriage; A mention of a woman being abandoned as a child and raised in a home for orphans; A mention of embezzlers; A mention of shop-lifting; 
             *Note: In the historical time period, Annabeth feels like others are belittling her, but tries to correct herself that it’s her own insecurities bothering her; Mentions of people with deformities being ostracized & some believing Annabeth’s shouldn’t have been allowed to have children (because of their “issues”; Her father had a large birthmark on his face and her mother was deaf; She refers to herself as being the daughter of the town’s pariahs and recalls her father being accused of being a thief); Mentions of sanitoriums, signs of OCD like chapped hands from overwashing and picking at one’s hands, & OCD sometimes having “the potential to carry a genetic component”; Mentions of medication and therapy that helped others with OCD and ADHD; Mentions of Norman Rockwell illustrations; A few mentions of prejudice & the possibility of parents being against their son’s girlfriend due to her social standing; A mention of a car brand.
 
 
Sexual Content- Some hand holding, butterflies, nearness, smelling, & noticing (all in the historical time period; barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Hannah says she has no time for a relationship; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, & dating/courting; Mentions of handsome and cute guys; Mentions of crushes & blushes; A mention of a woman being caught kissing a man who wasn’t her fiancé; Light love, falling in love, & the emotions (historical time period); 
             *Note: A couple mentions of butting into a conversation.
 
- Hannah Prentiss
                                P.O.V. mostly of Hannah
          Mostly contemporary, but also seven chapters from 1936
                                                        244 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Both the third and fourth book in this series was different than the first two books of the series so far because of the almost dual-time period elements. I actually didn’t like the 1930s part at first because I couldn’t tell if this was suppose to be the actual history of the area or if it was from the fictional book that was just published that Hannah and others are reading in the current time. However, as the book continued (and we find out it’s the actual history, not the fictional story), I definitely got more interested in the historical time period--more than even the contemporary setting! 

 

I do want to note that all of the other Guidepost mysteries I’ve read (in this series and a handful of other series) usually do not have to do with murder—they are just good ol’ mysteries—but this one did have elements/mentions of a murder because of the book the woman in the 1930s (the dual-time period parts) is writing. So, if you are sensitive to that kind of content, you might pass on this book. I don’t think you would miss anything major from this book if you did skip it, there would probably just be a few references to events in future books, but nothing really major happens. The murder mentions are not detailed (we’re not even told how the woman was murdered), but there is a few mentions of someone finding the body in a ditch. 

 

As another note, there were some mentions and a few conversations about “mental illnesses” like OCD and being in a sanitorium along with also a few conversations about a woman’s gambling addiction. These parts brought down the light-hearted style that I often expect from these mysteries, but they weren’t super heavy which I was thankful for. 

 

There were a few parts that had repeated information close together or Hannah saying odd things (like “app” instead of “appetizer”), but it wasn’t too distracting. I enjoyed Hannah and Lacy’s best friend banter and their teasing, it made me laugh a few times and added to the story. This wasn’t my favorite of the series, but it was still a decent one.

 

 

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.

"Where Darkness Cannot Follow" by A.M. Daylin

About this book:

  “She’s the kingdom’s only hope, but can he keep her alive?
    Marked by the Bronze Crescent said to corrupt one's soul, eighteen-year-old Ezro Valorian is among the few able to fight the vicious netherbeasts ravaging Paran'dan. But when the family he's suffered to protect betrays him for his treasonous beliefs, Ezro loses everything he's risked his soul for. 
    Desperate for purpose, he pursues a lost traveler, hoping to rescue her from the dangerous beasts in the desert. However, when he finds her, he learns she's more than a traveler. She's Vaeryn Seraphine, a descendant of their kingdom's slain protector, and she's seeking her family's divine power so she can restore the order of the Luminors and save the kingdom. But to reach this hidden power, Vaeryn must traverse a perilous canyon, and without the Bronze Crescent, she is defenseless against the beasts therein.
    Ezro offers his aid, and the two begin the dangerous quest. But is one man enough to face a canyon of monsters?”


Series: Book #1 in “The Luminors” trilogy. 


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is possibly referenced (about laying one’s life down for another being the surest sign of love); A quote by St. Francis of Assisi at the beginning; The God-like character of this world is called the “Illuminant”, his people are called the “Faithful”, and his anointed rulers are the “Illuminarchs”; “Raphós” is the spirit of the Illuminant and appears as a bird when Vaeryn or other Luminors need him (but Vaeryn has a couple moments of being upset because she feels like the spirit has forgotten her due to the lack of aid; *Spoiler* At the end, he is seen in a human form & transports a character to another place by a single touch *End of Spoiler*); It’s said that the Illuminant spoke to the hearts of several men and women with strong faiths to find the first Illuminarch; “The Book of Illuminance” is the book of the Illuminant; Prayers to, thanking, & praising the Illuminant; Reading The Book of Illuminance; Talks about the Illuminant, him choosing Illuminarchs, & anointing his people; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to the Illuminant; Vaeryn comes from the line of the last Illuminarch and is on a journey to find the portal to the sacred realm where Illuminarchs are anointed in “the Light of the Luminors”; Vaeryn tells Ezro about a family tradition of telling one’s burdens to a tree and feeling relieved when it looses it’s leaves (which is symbolizing surrendering one’s burdens to the Illuminant); Ezro doesn’t think that the Illuminant will answer his prayer due to the mark on his wrist; *Major Spoilers* When in the Etherium (holy realm of the Illuminant), instead of Vaeryn, Ezro is chosen to be the next Illuminarch (which he protests about, but Vaeryn supports); He goes through a test and receives the Illuminarch glowing marks on his skin *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of the Illuminant & his will; Mentions of “The Book of Illuminance” & reading it; Mentions of prayers & praying (to the Illuminant); Mentions of “Etherium” (a holy realm) & portals to it and other places; Mentions of the Illuminant’s people (“Luminors”) being anointed by the Illuminarchs; Mentions of those who believe in the Illuminant being hanged for their faith; A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of blessings; 
             *Note: Ezro thinks that “all hell” will be upon him and Vaeryn soon during their journey; The current queen is from “the netherworld”, called a “netherwitch”, is known to have a wicked personality, & expects others to worship her like a goddess (going as far as requiring people to honor statues of her in ceremonies); Some believe her to be a former helper of the Illuminant; There is a necromancer (which wears a deer skull) who traps spirits of those he has killed to do his fighting (he also has ghost-like coyotes; up semi-detailed); Normal weapons do not work against the necromancer or his spirits and require either the Illuminant’s light or nethermagic to defeat; Ezro is able to fight against the spirits and kill them, releasing the necromancer’s hold on them; *Spoilers* Ezro is able to defeat the necromancer and his bones are scattered and try to connect together again, so Ezro grabs the necromancer’s staff which tempts him with anything he wants, but ultimately sees the trick and rejects it, breaking the staff into two *End of Spoilers*; The guards for the queen and country are “marked” with a tattoo that includes a drop of magic from the netherworld so they can use certain weapons and tools to defeat the “netherbeasts” (monsters); Ezro uses the magic of the tattoo to ride a “terraglider” (motorcycle-like vehicle) & infuses he magic into his weapons to fight against the necromancer and his spirits; The tattoos usually make the wearer mean, but Ezro explains it only builds on the darkness inside of someone and increases an impulse to act on it (Ezro fights against the “wicked” thoughts that come from it; Vaeryn remembers a friend being angry with her which he said was because of the mark); Mentions of netherwitches, “witchlords” (which are the strongest rulers of the netherworld), one being trapped by a Luminor in a prison of pure light, & their powers that include physiological and psychological ones (such as reading minds and searching memories); Mentions of the necromancer & how he has trapped spirits of the people he has killed to fight for him (also called ghosts); Mentions of “nethermagic” (dark magic); Mentions of the “netherbeasts” (monsters) & how they are attracted to those who believe in the Illuminant (it’s believed that until all of the Faithful are wiped out, the beasts will continue to come from the netherworld); Mentions of evil & being tempted to do evil to others (in revenge); A couple mentions of luck & being lucky; A mention of a threat to send someone to “the Elysium” (implying killing the person).
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a form of ‘shut up’, and six forms of ‘stupid’; Other in-world/fictional phrases or curses are said: a ‘noble’, a ‘stars be dimmed’, two ‘graces know’, three forms of ‘how/who/what in the lands’, four ‘stars know’s, five ‘stars’, and eleven ‘graces’; Some eye rolling; Some lies & lying (due to safety concerns and Vaeryn asks Illuminant for forgiveness; Ezro wonders if lying counts when it is to protect someone else and thinks about his mother who lied to protect him years prior); Killing and Fighting (against people, spirits, monsters, & the necromancer), Knocking others out, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, & Passing out (semi-detailed); Seeing killings, fights, someone being stabbed, someone being choked, blood/bleeding, & passing out (semi-detailed); Monster-like beasts are seen on-page & fought, attacked, & killed (up to semi-detailed); Vaeryn recalls seeing the bloody death of a close friend & feels major guilt over his death (semi-detailed); Ezro thinks he is going to die & accept the possibility (due to possibly entering a sacred place with netherworld magic in his blood); Ezro’s grandfather hits & threatens him (barely-above-not-detailed); Ezro has the thought of how easy it would be to inflict pain back on his grandfather for all the beatings and treating him like a slave, but doesn’t do it because he knows he would be arrested for it; Many mentions of monsters & the monsters killing and attacking people; Mentions of deaths, bodies, & grief (including Ezro for his mother & Vaeryn for a close friend which she feels guilt over); Mentions of the possibility of deaths (including suicide, drowning, and hangings) & dying; Mentions of executions (hangings) & arrests (of those who believe in the Illuminant); Mentions of slaves & masters; Mentions of thieves/bandits & stealing (including Vaeryn stealing something from her father); Mentions of injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, poison, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of alcohol, drunks, & taverns; Mentions of lies, lying, & deception; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of a man being crippled from a wolf attack; A few mentions of hunting; A mention of a wife who ran away from her husband; 
             *Note: Ezro’s father and grandfather mistreat and abuse him (such as Ezro thinking that his father doesn’t want him and talks to him as if he’s “a waste of space”, Ezro wanting to stick weapons through them instead of making the weapons, Ezro feeling like a slave and not a family member, his grandfather throwing stuff at him, & Ezro recalls his grandfathers beatings that left scars (all up to semi-detailed); Mentions of Ezro’s grandfather’s hateful words and violent outbursts); Ezro has negative thoughts about himself and being worthless to others; Vaeryn recalls snapping at her mother (because she didn’t like what her mother was saying) & feels guilt over it.
 
 
Sexual Content- A border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss; Remembering a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Flutters, & Nearness (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Ezro and Vaeryn almost share a room at an inn (which Ezro thinks he will be sleeping on the floor), but get a second room instead; Ezro has to loosen Vaeryn’s clothes when she’s ill, but she wakes up to do it herself; Mentions of a controlling and unhealthy relationship; Mentions of crushes; A couple mentions of jealousy; Very light love, possibly falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Ezro, age 18
-Vaeryn
                   1^st person P.O.V. switches between them (Epilogue in another’s)
                                                        252 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This book was a bit of a wild card for me. All I really knew about it going in was that it was Christian YA Fantasy, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Personally, I ended up liking some parts and not enjoying other parts. 

 

For the beginning part of the book, I was pretty confused different details, like the setting and what time period this book was supposed to be set in. At times it felt historical or medieval because of the guards and blacksmith mentions, but the mentions of a “terraglider”—which uses the magic of the world to work—confused me. I think there could have been a hundred more pages to build and explain the world more. It took me a while to get into this book because of this, but I kept reading to see if I would enjoy it more. Eventually I hit my stride and was able to just go along with the plot. 

 

While I liked some of the faith content elements, I did find it odd that their “The Book of  Illuminance” would have their past rulers’ pictures in it. That was needed for the plot, of course, because of Vaeryn but actual Bibles don’t have that, so some of the faith content wasn’t a perfect match to actual Christianity and other parts were more of a representation of Christianity—though Jesus or a version of His name is never said. I think I would have preferred one or the other rather than I mix of the two, but that’s a personal preference. 

 

I wasn’t sure about the romance part of this story because I can’t say I connected with the main characters for the first half of the book, but by the end, I liked how it was going and Ezro’s sweetness towards Vaeryn.

 

I don’t really have any major content notes to share for this book, but there is definitely the theme of Light vs Dark, Good vs Evil throughout the story and world. I’m leery about anything that has to do with witches or necromancers, so I was very hesitant about continuing this book once those entered into the plot. It’s definitely shown as evil, which I appreciated, but also didn’t love reading about. You could almost say there was a spiritual warfare element to the book because of that. 

 

Overall, this book was very different than I thought it would be, but I did like the ending and what all happened. There’s also not a big cliffhanger either, so that was a nice surprise since this is book one in a trilogy. I think this book may have been a miss for me, but other readers who are more adventurous in their fantasy reading or like spiritual warfare elements would probably enjoy it much more.

 

 

See y’all on Wednesday 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.