"Mistletoe and Mayhem" by Janice Thompson

About this book:

  “A Wildfire Races toward the Hadley Ranch
     It’s less than a week until Christmas in Mabank, Texas, and just a few days away from RaeLyn and Mason’s wedding on Hadley ranch. Unfortunately, a wildfire with mysterious origin is rapidly traveling across several counties and headed right for the Hadley acreage. Fire fighters rush to put it out before the family homestead goes up in flames, taking the business and the old red truck with it. Their perfect wedding may be ruined, and RaeLyn and Mason are determined to find the source of the fire.”


Series: Book #3 in “The Little Red Truck Mysteries” series. Book #1 Here! and Book #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- Isaiah 43:1-3 at the dedication & author’s note; Scriptures are read, mentioned, remembered, & quoted; Prayers & Thanking God; Church going & a Christmas Eve service; Witnessing a miracle (*Spoiler* regarding to the fire coming right up to the edge of RaeLyn’s family’s property and then the firefighters being able to stop the flames *End of Spoilers*); Talks about God, praying, & miracles; 'H's are capital when referring to God; RaeLyn calls her best friend a “spiritual powerhouse”; Mentions of God, Jesus, & faiths; Mentions of prayers, praying, a prayer chain, thanking and praising God, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & a Bible study; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, services, worship songs, & Sunday school classes; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; Mentions of miracles & divine intervention; Mentions of Christmas nativities & hymns; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A few mentions of a priest; A couple mentions of a revival meeting & people being “slain in the Spirit”; A couple mentions of missions; A mention of a godly couple; A mention of a church denomination; A mention of gaining answers to hard questions one day in Heaven; A mention of a person not being a “religious person” but rethinking that after God saved her sons from a fire; A mention of religious paintings; 
             *Note: Religious phrases like ‘heavens!’ or ‘heavens, no’ are said four times; RaeLyn’s mother comments on owning something before she got married “a million years ago” and RaeLyn’s father mutters “before dinosaurs roamed the earth, apparently”; Bessie Mae comments on a man not knowing what Blue Bell (ice cream) is being “practically a sin” and she’s going to “baptize” him in homemade vanilla; Mentions of luck & being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘duh’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘stupid’, five ‘my stars’s, and ‘good grief’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Pain, Injuries, & Throwing up (up to semi-detailed); RaeLyn and her family have a nearby wildfire & have to soak down their home and property (they all fear the worst happening, but praying for the best & have many emotions about it all, semi-detailed); All about & many mentions of fires, losing home and property, two young boys being separated from their family in the fire, smoke, & a possible arsonist (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a car accident, death, & grief (Mason for his father); Mentions of other deaths & grief (including RaeLyn for her grandfather & a woman for her husband); Mentions of injuries & pain; Mentions of nightmares (including of fires); Mentions of divorces & a man who “traded in wives like old cars”; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of chewing tobacco; A few mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of drinking & AA; A few mentions of lottery tickets & gambling; A few mentions of jealousy; A mention of a woman disappearing on a cruise (implied possible murder by her husband); A mention of a man possibly being an ax murderer or escaped convict; A mention of skin cancer; A mention of cheating; A mention of a child being bitten by a dog & being scarred by it; 
             *Note: RaeLyn’s mother treats her daughter-in-law coldly because of her and the son eloping without telling anyone (*Spoiler* Towards the end, her mother says that she didn’t see what a good person the new daughter-in-law is and now realizes it *End of Spoiler*); RaeLyn’s father always gives his (adult) kids a lottery ticket in their Christmas stockings (which their mother scolds him for because neither of them believe in gambling); Mentions of stores (Walmart, Brookshire Brothers, & Amazon); Mentions of brand names & items (Blue Bell Ice Cream, Life Savers, Tupperware, Barbie, Radio Flyer wagon, John Deere, Gucci, & FaceTime); Mentions of celebrities/singers & songs (John Wayne, Carmen Miranda, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Ricardo Montalbán, Cesar Romero, Marilyn Monroe, ‘I Will Always Love You’, ‘I Loved Her First’, & ‘Celebration’); A few mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of social media platforms (Facebook & Pinterest); A mention of the Wizard of Oz; A mention of a musical (Annie Get Your Gun); A mention of an Academy Award; A mention of a football team; A mention of buying something being “cheaper than therapy”.
 
 
Sexual Content- a fingers-to-lips touch, a nose kiss, a forehead kiss, three cheek kisses, three not-detailed kisses, and twelve barely-above-not-detailed kisses; Remembering kisses (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing married couples kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Flutters, & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); RaeLyn blushes when others bring up about wedding nights; Towards the end and after their wedding night, RaeLyn’s heart rate quicks at the sight of Mason coming out of the shower in nothing but a towel (no noticing anything else and that’s all that is said in this scene); 1 ‘hottie’; Mentions of wedding nights & honeymoons (all that is said or implied are: the couples blushing, couples needing their privacy, saying “ooh-la-la” about their wedding night, another couple saying that they had a wonderful wedding night and the wife comments on making the mistake of wearing a silk nightie while having silk sheets, RaeLyn is given the advice to make sure she eats at the reception to have energy, RaeLyn says about going on a honeymoon for “a week of R&R” and Mason adds “among other things”, another woman comments about “what’s the point of a weddin’ night if you’re not gonna muss your hair?”, & RaeLyn calls her wedding night “blissful” and going to adopt the other ladies’ phrase “ooh-la-la”); Mentions of married couples kissing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a handsome man being called “dreamy” and a Casanova; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, & dating; Mentions of blushes; Mentions of crushes; Love, being in love, & the emotions.
 
-RaeLyn Hadley, age 27
                                1^st person P.O.V. of RaeLyn 
                                                        256 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Aww, I’m so sad this series is over, but this book was such a great ending to such a fun trilogy. I’m not usually one for reading Christmas books before November, but I made an exception for this anticipated one!

 

The mystery took more of a backseat in this book with the preparations of RaeLyn’s wedding and all the planning of it. I really liked the second book in this series, but I would say this was my favorite of the trilogy. It felt so much like a Janice Thompson book—and of course it does, it’s written by her!—but it reminded me of all the elements that I love about her books: faith-filled main characters, Texas charm, small towns, big families, humor, and the characters going through the ups and downs of life. I’ve said before that this series reminds me of the “Brides with Style” trilogy, but this book particularly reminded me of the “Weddings by Bella” series with the main character planning and having her wedding in it.

 

There was a lot of emotions in this book with the nearby fire, but also all of RaeLyn’s feelings on her upcoming wedding which include joy and excitement, but also realizing that life is fixing to change in a big way and savor the current moments. 

 

I would suggest this book for 16/17+ because of the very vague mentions of wedding nights.

 

 

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 Publisher (Barbour) for this honest review.

"Gift of the Tiding Bearer" by Grace Soto

About this book:

  “An imposter rules the throne. A prophecy remains unfulfilled. The light is nearly gone.
    In the kingdom of Tenebra, allegiance to the true King has been all but obliterated by a jealous rival. Only a handful of faithful subjects remain to challenge his authority and spread the truth; these are known as the Tiding Bearers. But after years of brutal slaughter, the rebels are hardly more than a legend and nothing stands between the false ruler and his ultimate victory—until a new generation of heroes takes up the cause, from the unlikeliest of origins…
    A crippled slave, a spoiled heiress, and a disgraced prodigy, drawn together by the message of a mysterious stranger, set out on a quest that promises them unmatched power, wealth, and wisdom. What they didn’t dream of was an enemy who would stop at nothing to stop them and a choice that would change their world forever.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Tiding Bearer” trilogy. 


Spiritual Content- Jeremiah 9:23-24 at the beginning; Scriptures are also quoted, remembered, referenced, & thought over (including Isaiah 41:10 being said to be the Giver’s pledge); God is often called the Giver in this book & Christians are called Tiding Bearers; Talks about God/the Giver, gifts from Him, mercy, & the characters’ heart’s desires; Most ’H’s are capital when referring to God; All three main characters meet a mysterious woman who quotes Scriptures and tells them to follow the Path to the key of life, to not stray from the Path, trust the Giver, & about the gifts from the Giver; The physical gifts the characters receive from her change into something else (*Spoilers* They all receive a special stone: Mavis’ turns into a necklace, Doran’s is a sword with Isaiah 41:10 on it and makes him feel courageous when holding it (later realizing it’s the words and not the sword), and Errol’s turns into a key that is able to unlock anything he tries; Soon after, Mavis wonders if their items are giving them the desires of their hearts when an opportunity she wants appears; They get distracted by this and realize that they were warned this would happen; Mavis thinks that God must be disappointed in them for their actions; After making a mistake, Doran hopes he can show the Giver what he has learned through the experience *End of Spoilers*); When hearing about Tiding Bearers being attacked, Doran wonders why the Giver didn’t protect His faithful followers; Doran recites the Gift’s pledge and adds to help him make his enemy pay; *Major Spoilers of the Ending* At the very end, the trio go to the mountains and meet the Giver Himself who is described as “so tall that His mighty white head nearly touched the ceiling, and His shoulders hulked like distant mountains, snow capped by His bright robes. His voice was as powerful as the roaring ocean I’d heard off the cliffs on the coast, yet as gentle as the evening breezes rustling through the grass on the plains”; Doran is healed by Him and the other two also have special moments with the Giver and they feel peace and joy in His presence *End of Spoilers*; A few mentions of prayers & praying; 
             *Note: The villain (also called “the deceiver”) is able to do illusions (through incantations) & is a master of manipulation and deception (*Major Spoilers* Towards the end, the trio are taken to his castle and experience the illusions (such as guards disappearing into thin air and one is described as an “unholy concoction”, & the villain saying that he is in control and their God can’t save them); He also makes it where each one of the trio can see the other’s deaths and Doran sees the illusion of blood covering himself from all those he loved, but each of their gifts from the Giver shows the truth and they have to trust in that; The villain accuses that God wouldn’t want to ally Himself with someone like Doran); A fire happens and Doran leaves the deceiver in the flames *End of Spoilers*); The villain tries to manipulate Doran especially and says that the Giver is a charlatan (also adding that Doran has gotten this far due to his own skill and intelligence, not “the Imposter and his so-called gifts”); Others call Doran (who was born with one leg shorter than the other) “cursed” (when Mavis finds out about this, she repeats it in a tone of awe, but then comments that it makes sense because of their luck turning sour quickly); One group seems to place a high importance on “Bounteous Earth” for the answers to their questions and believe the stars to be an external source of wisdom (implying they worship them); Errol says he and his people worship Reason and Logic instead; Fiction fantasy phrases are said: Doran saying that “Fury” granted him something, something happing when “Mount Fury freezes over”, something being “Fury’s fortune” or a miracle, “Shadows knowing” someone needs help, Doran asks for “Fury” to give him strength, ‘stones bury us all’, and ‘Fortune help me’; In a moment of anger, Doran asks “Fury” why he isn’t dead and prays for Fury’s inferno on someone; Doran also swears “on Fury” that he is telling the truth; Errol calls Mavis a “golden-haired goddess”; The group visits a town that has a “goddess of pleasure” with a temple overflowing with offerings to her; The trio takes part in cheers to the city of pleasures (called Myway), Mavis saying that she’s never felt so “happy and free as Myway has made” her; Mentions of gods & serving them; Mentions of the “goddess of pleasure”; Mentions of luck; A few mentions of superstitions & superstitious people; A few mentions of curses & wishing curses on others; A mention of a place having an “almost holy glow” to it; A mention of lucky charms; A mention of counting lucky stars (which is implied that one group of people do seriously); A mention of Errol calling himself “wickedly handsome”.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘biddies’, a ‘putz’, two forms of ‘blast/blast it all’, eight forms of ‘shut up’, nine ‘blasted’, eleven ‘bloody’, and sixteen forms of ‘stupid’; Fantasy-world curses: a ‘my stars’, two ‘stars above’, two ‘cursed heavens’, a ‘blasted Reason’, a ‘by Reason’, four ‘what in Reason’, two ‘Fury’s inferno’s, two ‘hurts like Fury’s, five forms of ‘where/what/how in Fury’, eight ‘Fury’s, eleven forms of ‘what/why in Fortune’, and fifteen forms of ‘bloody/smoldering Fury’;  Other fiction phrases like ‘fury’s wrath on you’, ‘Mount Fury consume us all’, and ‘for Fury’s sake’ are all said up to twice each; Insults like “may his corpse feed a thousand vultures”, “may his bones bleach white in the desert”, “may a thousand worms make a feast of him”, “maggot-infused corpse of a man”, and “maggot” are all said; Mentions of curses (said, not written; including by Doran and Errol; When Errol curses at Doran, Doran responds to teach him to swear in Errol’s region and he’ll have strong words for him as well); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Some lying (due to keeping secrets from villains); Lots of fighting/fights, being attacked and beaten, punching, being held at sword/knife-point and holding others at sword-point, being choked, being chased, injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & passing out (semi-detailed); An earthquake, A fire, Being trapped in a cave-in, & Seeing dead bodies around (including of a child, up to semi-detailed); Seeing fighting/fights, people being beaten and stabbed, & other people nearly killed and killed (semi-detailed); Thinking they saw a murder & Grief (x4, up to semi-detailed); Going to a tavern, accidentally getting drunk, & gambling (*Spoiler* Errol gets drunk and also drags Doran to a gambling den where he also gets drunk; They both regret their actions and have hangovers afterwards; Doran says it will never happen again and Errol later refers to himself as a reformed gambler *End of Spoilers*; semi-detailed); Doran has been a slave most of his life under a cruel master that killed Doran’s family (including his grandmother that was killed in front of him) and Doran wishes throughout the book to be able to take revenge on the man and kill him (*Spoiler* As the book continues, he wonders when the man’s hold on him will be broken and thinks it would have been better to die in the mines; Doran imagines himself standing over the man’s bloody body, but the stone from the Tiding Bearer feels heavy in his pocket when he does; Towards the end, Doran is cut on his face by the man and the man torments him with more pain to come; *Main Spoilers* Towards the end, the villain gives Doran the opportunity to execute the man, but Doran does not (though he does draw blood with the sword he is given) and the man is murdered off-page; The villain tells Doran that he will never feel peace unless he does it, but Doran tells the villain that he is aware that he is trying to manipulate him *End of Spoilers*; all up to semi-detailed); Doran has nightmares and memories of the murders of loved ones (PTSD-like, semi-detailed); Mavis slaps Doran in a moment of being upset, but shortly after apologizes for doing so; After being betrayed, Errol wishes to make someone pay for their actions against him; A few side characters are eager to beat someone up or kill them; Many, many mentions of deaths, murders, fighting/fights, weapons, threats, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (including phrases like “running someone through”, slitting throats, and gouging someone’s eyes out, semi-detailed); Many mentions of slaves & slavery (and how mistreated they are); Many mentions of gambling, betting, alcohol, drinking, drunks, getting drunk, & taverns; Mentions of executions; Mentions of old women and pregnant women being beaten and killed by villains; Mentions of threats of harm & death; Mentions of earthquakes, cave-ins, & people suffocating; Mentions of a group of “supposedly dangerous revolutionaries”; Mentions of kidnappings, kidnappers, & ransoms; Mentions of crimes & criminals; Mentions of bandits, thieves, & stealing; Mentions of gangs, thugs, & con-artists; Mentions of cheating; Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deceit; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of prison; A few mentions of vomiting; A mention of someone threatening to harm a horse; 
             *Note: Doran was born with one leg shorter than the other and is called a “cripple”, “defective”, and “cursed from birth” (which Doran notes his case is considered to be a “curse worse than stillbirth” in his region; Another offers to kill him, calling him a “disfiguring boil” on the area; Doran wonders if his parents ever thought about disowning him); Errol betrays his friend’s secret to get ahead; Errol can be arrogant with his knowledge & someone warns him about it; Mentions of PTSD-like symptoms by those who have been through trauma.
 
 
Sexual Content- Seeing a kiss in a play & Being jealousy; Men kiss Mavis’ hand (as a greeting and while flirting); A few touches, embraces, dancing, & blushes (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of “companionship inns” during a pleasure festival a town is having, the place having many women, & women offering men “delightful company”; A few mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of some men might want a pretty girl as their slave; A couple mentions of a girl looking at a man like a love struck puppy; A mention of Errol wishing he was writing “rejections to dozens of love confessions from beautiful women”. 
 
-Doran
-Mavis, age 16
-Errol
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        375 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I didn’t know when I added this book to my reading list for the year that it was an allegory and as some you normally struggles with those, I’m glad I didn’t because I wouldn’t have read it most likely. “Gift of the Tiding Bearer” was a strong allegory, but I was able to follow along well despite my usual challenges with the genre.

 

This book starts out a bit intense with the POV of one of our main characters that is a slave and frequently being mistreated and beaten. Somehow despite this though, those parts still had a hopefully note to them and while I felt horrible for Doran, it didn’t make those parts feel horribly sad. More like stoking a righteous anger against the villains he is facing in a way? His POV is the only one in first person, which gave it more of a personal story and I would say more lessons as well. There was a bit more blood and fighting than I personally prefer to read about, but I’ll admit to having a low threshold for that kind of thing. It definitely didn’t feel gory, though, or like the author was determined to show all the bad things to heighten the light that would come (like I’ve seen other authors do), which I appreciated. 

 

While our female main character, Mavis, is a bit of a spoiled brat at times, you can truly tell it’s because of how she was raised and the lack of attention from her parents. I overall liked her and seeing her growth. Realger was my favorite character, though. 

 

Errol had his moments of being an arrogant and annoying jerk when we first meet him. I really didn’t like him for a while, but he eventually got better and bothered me less. 

 

The allegory elements of this book reminded me very slightly of the children’s edition of “Hinds Feet on High Places”that I read when I was young, but I think most would compare it to “The Chronicles of Narnia” or similar books. Personally, I still haven’t read Narnia, so I can’t compare it to that, but from what I know of those books, I think it’s got similar elements and fans of either book would probably enjoy this one as well. 

 

As far as the world building, it was a very unique setting. I would have preferred to have more details up front about all the cultures and all those elements, however, as it was really a learn-as-you-go type of style (which I don’t usually like for fantasy books). These elements were very fleshed out, but because there was so many of them and all the different places and cultures were shared here and there throughout the book, I had a hard time keeping track of it all. By halfway through I hit my stride in it and became more invested in these characters and their mission. I definitely had moments of wanting smack some sense into the characters for some of their poor decisions, but it was all for the sake of lessons and learning for them. 

 

I wasn’t sure about continuing the series, personally, but I saw that it seems like it’s about Mavis more, so I think I probably will see about reading it as well.

 

 

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.

"Seeds of Suspicion" by Elizabeth Penney

About this book:

  “It’s Blackberry Festival time, and the whole town is gearing up for the chefs’ cook-off and other exciting events. But right before the big weekend, Hannah Prentiss is disturbed to hear about prowlers roaming the grounds and items going missing from her friend Elaine Wilby’s hundred-year-old-farm. The incidents seem to coincide with an article in the local paper about another festival, held ninety years ago, when the newly crowned Onion Queen disappeared without a trace.
    Elaine believes someone might be after her family’s special heirloom onion seeds. The uniquely flavored vegetable was grown on the farm decades ago but has long since disappeared.
    Could the perpetrator have a connection to the long-lost seeds… and to the missing Onion Queen?”


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


Spiritual Content- Ephesians 4:15 at the beginning; A couple Scripture are quoted & referenced; Thanking God; Church going; A few talks about God & praying; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, hymns, Sunday school, a woman’s group at church, & a pastor; A mention of Bible reading & a morning devotional; A mention of doing something the Christian way; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck.
 

Negative Content- Some eye rolling; All about & many mentions of thieves, thefts, stolen items, robberies, intruders, break-ins, & trespassing; Mentions of crimes, criminals, & jail; Mentions of someone being attacked & injured; Mentions of a fight & a man punching another; Mentions of a dog getting injured (twice) & stopping in front of a moving vehicle (but is okay); Mentions of lies, lying, & deceit; A few mentions of the Great Depression; A couple mentions of death (Hannah’s mom & another’s father); A couple mentions of farm accidents & injuries; A couple mentions of rumors; A mention of a child disappearing being a nightmare for parents; A mention of a car accident; A mention of tobacco; 
             *Note: A few mentions of car brands; A mention of a brand name (Kewpie dolls); A mention of a movie (Tarzan). 
 
 
Sexual Content- Hannah notes that while she insists she doesn’t want to date right now (despite her family and friends trying to set her up on blind dates), she wouldn’t mind getting to know the town’s fire chief better; Mentions of girlfriends/boyfriends, dating, & dates; Mentions of a couple falling in love & her parents not approving of the man (due to wanting her to marry a rich man); A few mentions of a man trying to give a woman a kiss (that she doesn’t want so she pushes him away); A mention of chaperones.
 
-Hannah Prentiss, age 35
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                           Contemporary & Scenes from 1932 
                                                        275 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

While I might not be a fan of onions, I do enjoy gardening and learning about heirloom seeds, so I found this mystery very interesting! Add in the fun of the town’s blackberry festival—which totally made me crave blackberries the whole time I was reading—and it was a fun book! 

 

I will say that this one started off a little strong and quickly jumped into the plot. A few things that were mentioned felt like I should have already knew the information, but I don’t recall them being said before (such as Elaine having a large garden or adopting a dog). But besides the slightly rough start, the pacing worked else wise. I didn’t care for the almost-dual-time-period historical parts, personally. There was a lot of jumping to conclusions and some slightly questionable advice in those scenes. I almost dropped my rating to 3.5 because of it, but I did really enjoyed the rest of the book. 

 

I was absolutely thrilled at the end of the book because it had a recipe for the blackberry pizza recipe that Hannah references and makes throughout the whole book! For half the book, I was picturing it to be the blackberries on top of pizza, but it’s actually a blackberry sauce instead of tomato sauce. I think I would rather try them on top of the pizza as I don’t know about this no-tomato sauce concept. But regardless, I was excited the recipe was shared because I was expecting it to be the blackberry jam cake one instead. I definitely plan on trying this pizza! ;)

 

 

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.

"A Summer to Treasure" by Leslea Wahl

About this book:

  “Teenage siblings Luke, Celia, and Austin are dreading their summer vacation. A month cooped up in an RV, touring around the Southwest, with their parents, grandmother, and each other? Pure torture.
    But when Grandma reveals the real reason for the trip, the journey becomes an unexpected adventure. As they travel through breathtaking canyons, the teens develop new friendships, deepen their faith, and join together to solve a decades-old mystery.
    And if the siblings can put down their phones long enough to enjoy the incredible journey, they might just discover that their relationships with each other are truly the greatest treasure.”


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


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned; Prayers (including a prayer with “Blessed Mother, please be my intercessor” and Austin telling the Lord that He “were lucky You didn’t have any siblings”) & Thanking God; Going to churches; Talks about God, His plans for us, & prayers; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; When her grandma says about God having a plan for all of us, Celia thinks that’s a “nice inspirational saying”, she isn’t sure she believed it; Luke is fascinated by the staircase at Loretto Chapel (which is wondered to be a miracle done by Saint Joseph) & a crucifix at another church; When her grandma suggests for Celia to start a prayer journal, Celia thinks that she doesn’t need to track of the answers to her prayers because “All year she’d been praying and either God wasn’t listening or was stubbornly sticking to His answer of no” (but she does try to share all her anger and frustration through prayer and it felt pretty good); When a guy asks Celia about someone claiming that Catholics worship Mary and the saints, she explains that Catholics like her respect and honor Mary, that they ask Mary and the saints “who are closer to Jesus than we are” to pray for them “just like you’d ask a friend to pray for you”, & that in the Hail Mary prayer they pray with her rather than to her (which makes Celia realizes that she should have been asking “Jesus’ heavenly buddies” for help and that her confirmation saint could surely help her); Towards the end, Luke realizes that he has drifted from God and the trip has made him feel closer to God; Mentions of God, His plans for us, His creation, & talents/gifts form Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, answered prayers, making the sign of the cross, & a prayer journal; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & Scriptures; Mentions of Catholic churches, church going, church events, youth group, Mass, priests, monks, nuns, rosaries, & confirmation classes; Mentions of Catholic saints & relics belonging to saints (a discussion question at the end of the book also shares about researching these); Mentions of miracles & possible miracles (Grandma says that miracles still happen and there are many surrounding the saints especially); Mentions of cross necklaces; A few mentions of church camps; A few mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A couple mentions of religious music & Christian music; A mention of a guardian angel; A mention of incense at a church;
             *Note: At a church, Luke hopes that Celia has “finally come to terms with whatever demons” that had been haunting her (due to her attitude that past year); Luke’s girlfriend texts him saying she feels bad that his family was “dragging him to boring religious sites”; Luke recalls his friends making snide comments about the “churchy” kids at school which was part of the reason he stopped going to youth group (also adding that “just because his friends didn’t go to church didn’t mean they weren’t good guys”); Austin quips that girls “really are the root of all evil”; A few mentions of luck & being lucky; A few mentions of aliens; A couple mentions of ghost stories & a ghost; A mention of a zodiac sign; A mention of karma; A mention of the Stone Age (in a joke); A teasing mention of a goddess.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah blah blah’, a form of ‘crud’, a ‘dang’, a ‘good grief’, a ‘holy mackerel’, a ‘shut up’, an ‘oh my gosh’, a ‘what the heck’, two forms of ‘screwed’, two forms of ‘sheesh/geesh’, three forms of ‘idiot’, four forms of ‘darn/darn it’, four ‘geez’s, seventeen forms of ‘stupid’, and nineteen forms of ‘dumb’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm (some are done in annoyance rather than just teasing); The siblings sneak out without their parents’ permission (for the sake of fulfilling their grandmother’s mission; Later they avoid telling them about another dangerous event by deciding to hold off on it because their parents couldn’t handle the truth right then); Celia also thinks that there’s a reason why her family didn’t know the things they didn’t know about her because “some things were personal and private—and should stay that way”; Austin accidentally eavesdrops on her grandma’s conversation; Being trapped in a storm on a lake, Major pain, Injuries, & Passing out (semi-detailed); Concern over a grandma possibility being sick; Mentions of the possibility of the sibling’s grandma being sick, their worry for her, & heart attacks; Mentions of pain, injuries, passing out, & a surgery needed (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of a high school party with drinking and drugs; A few mentions of stealing (but one time it’s deemed as good because it was rescuing an abused dog); A few mentions of a man often cursing at his animals and kicking his dog; A couple mentions of an accident & deaths; A couple mentions of wars; A couple mentions of possible drownings & flash floods; A couple mentions of gangs; A couple mentions of drunks; A couple mentions of alcohol; A mention of Civil War soldiers going through amputations; A mention of someone being a buzzkill; 
             *Note: There’s a lot of sibling bickering and negatives thoughts/comments towards the other (Such as: All three of them thinking of another sibling as their parents’ favorite-child and find it annoying; They all often find each other annoying and lash out; Celia has become a loner at school and Luke makes negative comments about it (*Spoilers* At the end, she shares with her siblings that her friends dumped her for a new friend group so she decided to spend her time alone; After reading a Scripture her Grandma recommended, Celia realizes that she should pick friends with similar beliefs *End of Spoilers*); Wanting to ignore the other and their comments; Calling each other ‘losers’, ‘witch’, ‘twerp’, and ‘dweeb’ (the last one their mom overhears and scolds for saying); Austin feels like he’s been brushed off by his older siblings & is often compared to his siblings by adults (*Spoilers* At the end, he tells them about this and that they treat him like an annoying nuisance; They plan to do better from now on and hang out with each other more *End of Spoilers*)); Mentions of TV shows, movies, an actor, & author (Lone Ranger, Jeopardy, & The Lord of the Rings, Orlando Bloom, & J.R.R. Tolkien); Mentions of fictional characters (Nancy Drew, Huckleberry Finn, Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo, Batman, Angry Birds, & the Hulk);A few mentions of zombies (mostly related to video games); A few mentions of Indiana Jones; A few mentions of a teen slasher movie; A couple mentions of Alzheimer’s; A mention of Disneyland; A mention of National Geographic magazines; A mention of a brand name (Red Bull); A mention of yoga.
 
 
Sexual Content- An almost kiss that is a forehead kiss instead (Celia thinks she’s going to get her first kiss, barely-above-not-detailed); Some touches, embraces, dancing, shivers/flutters, nearness, & smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Flirting & Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Luke’s girlfriend is clingy & shows PDA in front of his family (which makes him uncomfortable); Grandma talks to Luke about dating someone that you have things in common with, but most importantly sharing the same beliefs and values; *Spoilers* About halfway through, Luke meets another girl on the trip that he is able to talk to about anything and realizes he needs to break-up with his girlfriend when he gets back; There’s obvious attraction between Luke and the new girl and they plan to keep in touch, but Luke says he was already thinking about breaking up with his girlfriend before meeting her; Celia and Austin say they never liked Luke’s girlfriend and comment on her appearance *End of Spoilers*; Celia dances with a “dreamy” cowboy and while she knows he probably flirts with lots of girls, she doesn’t care and wants to enjoy the attention; Celia goes on a date with a guy & when father is not happy when he thinks they have sneaked off alone; Austin gives a note to himself that girlfriends are “so not worth the headache” when hearing about his brother’s girlfriend; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, dating, & breakups; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of crushes & cute boys (one that Celia calls ‘dreamy’ and a ‘dreamboat’); A mention of a high school party with couples making out; A mention of a summer fling; A mention of hormones; 
             *Note: A teasing mention of a buxomy maiden; A mention of urinals.
 
-Luke Webber
-Celia Webber
-Austin Webber
                    P.O.V. switches between them & letters/diary entries from their grandma
                                                        305 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I really enjoyed the summer setting and family road trip element of this book. However, I do think it’s probably my least favorite by this author for a couple different reasons and because I’ve enjoyed other ones more. 

 

It actually took me longer than normal to read this book and I think it was due to the main characters’ attitudes. The siblings bickering was kind of uncomfortable? Sort of like when you’re at a friend’s house and they start arguing with their brother or sister and it’s just awkward for you? It was like that and I didn’t care for it. 

 

The characters’ epiphanies (for lack of a better word) about their problems at the end felt a little too adult-ish or like something a mom would say, not a teenager. Because of this, the ending—while good—was a little off to me and felt a little rushed. I wanted the siblings to understand the blessing they could be to each other sooner, but their emotions and own selves’ with their own problems got in the way of that for the large majority of the book. 

 

There was more Catholic Faith content and discussions in this book than the other ones I’ve read by Leslea Wahl. Because I’m not Catholic, those parts were lost on me, but it was good to see the character growth from Luke, Celia, and Austin.

 

 

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.

"Jack and the Red Giant" by Amanda Cleary Eastep

About this book:

  “Jack Finch is seeing stars.
    And it has nothing to do with Christmas. Snowball wars are being waged against the Tree Street Kids, and Jack has taken a hit to the eye from one of Buzz Rublatz’s polar projectiles. Jack plans the perfect defense–the Abominable Snowman-ator. But building your greatest invention is tough when you’re also practicing for the starring role in the school nativity play. One cold, starry night, a neighborhood catastrophe disturbs the peacefulness of the snow-covered streets and twinkling lights. What's that terrible orange glow down the block? And does Buzz know more about it than he’s telling? Jack is determined to find out. But, first, he needs a Christmas miracle. Will Jack find room in his heart to welcome an unexpected addition to the stage and his home? To Jack’s surprise, he gives the neighborhood bully a greater gift than either of them could have imagined.”


Series: Book #6 in the “Tree Street Kids” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, Book #3 Here, Book #4 Here, and Book #5 Here!


Spiritual Content- Many Scriptures are referenced, mentioned, & quoted (including during a play); Prayers; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Set around Christmas; Some of the Tree Street Kids are in a Christmas play (at their Christian school), they go to practices for it, & one of the last chapters is the play; A couple Christmas songs/hymns are sung; Many mentions of the Christmas play; Mentions of God, Jesus, & loving your enemies (which Jack thinks is one of the hard things Jesus said to do and sometimes feels like a stretch); Mentions of those & events in the Bible (including those involved in the Nativity during the Christmas play); Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, services, Sunday school, pastors, & sermons; A couple mentions of Catholic church & Ruthie’s grandmother going to a midnight Christmas Eve service (which Jack thinks that it’s hard to imagine being at church that late at night); A couple mentions of a Christian school; Mentions of Christmas songs/hymns; A couple mentions of Christmas manger in someone’s yard; 
             *Note: Rodger’s dad says he isn’t a religious man, but says his grandmother used to say you never know when you’re showing hospitality to angels unawares (referencing a Scripture); Midge implies a star is a “eight bazillion years old”; A few mentions of aliens; A few mentions of Santa; A couple mentions of centaurs; A mention of Ellison being into Greek mythology; A mention of being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘wicked’ (as an adjective) and a ‘wimp’; Some eye rolling; To keep their plans a secret from Buzz, the Tree Street Kids lie to him; Jack avoids lying to his parents when they ask him a direct question by trying to be nonchalant; Being hit by a snowball (in the eye), pain, & passing out (Jack later panics that his eyeball is hanging out and Midge thought he was killed, barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing a house on fire (up to semi-detailed);  Jack’s grandma comments that she hopes the boy that gave Jack his shiner also left the snowball fight with one, but his grandfather gently scolds her while saying “we don’t do know what Buzz’s life is like that makes him take it out on other kids” (the grandma comments that some people are just born mean, but his grandfather replies that thankfully the Lord has compassion on all He has made and so should we; *Spoilers* Towards the end, Jack and the others have a snowball battle with Buzz and his goons, but it ends with injuries and broken items; Jack realizes that he has kind of acted like an enemy to Buzz and they end up having a truce at the very end *End of Spoilers*); Jack calls Buzz his arch nemesis & a bully (Buzz and his friends call Jack and the others nerds); Because of the fire, *Spoiler*s Buzz comes to stay with Jack’s family which is very challenging for Jack; Jack starts to think that Buzz started the fire when he sees him messing with a cigarette lighter; At the very end, misunderstandings are cleared up and Jack and Buzz become new friends *End of Spoilers*; Jack wonders if he is going to get pummeled by Buzz; Mentions of a fire, a house on fire and the damage, a family being displaced, & a person being badly injured (including some concern about the family’s pets); Mentions of bullies & bulling (including a brother bullying/threatening his younger brother); Mentions of someone smoking, a cigarette lighter, & a boy playing with one; A handful of mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of World War II, the Civil War, & a bomb shelter; A few mentions of injuries & a possible concussion; A couple mentions of hatred; A mention of declaring war on someone; A mention of a tornado (Book #1); 
             *Note: Jack & Midge tease each other & lovingly annoy the other (never in meanness); Mentions of books, poems, characters, & authors (quoted- ‘The Aeneid’ by Virgil, ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupèry, ‘The Last Battle’ by C.S. Lewis, ‘Bright Evening Star’ by Madeleine L’Engle, & quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Albert Schweitzer; mentioned- ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ & ‘A Wrinkle in Time’);Mentions of brand names (Green Pop, Mountian Dew, Sourhead candy, Cola, Dorito chips, Cheerios, & Flintstone vitamins); A couple mentions of sports teams & athletes (William Perry); A couple mentions of Disney World; A mention of Mickey Mouse; A mention of Ruthie who hasn’t seen her mom in a long time; A mention of a Trunk-or-Treat; A mention of a skull and crossbones being “manly” (according to Ruthie).
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Jack Finch, age 10
                               1^st person P.O.V. of Jack 
                                                        145 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This book felt a little bittersweet as I don’t know if it’s the last one for this series or not! The “Tree Street Kids” series has been such a delight and while I would love more books following this friend group, this sixth book would also be a great place to end it. Resolution with the Jack vs Buzz problem & the end of the year 1995 (when all six books were set). I was bummed this book was so much shorter than the rest of them, but the story inside ended up being a good length with the message it carried. It was fun to see a Christmas play and learning to love your enemies. I was very proud of Jack at different points and Midge also made me laugh while reading. I hope this won't be the final book, but I have greatly enjoyed my time with these characters.

 

 

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.