"The Keeper of the Tower" by Michaela Bush

About this book:

  “Protect the royal family at all costs, and eliminate traitors in their ranks.
    As Queen Sylvi closes in, the decision is made to use Evangeline to bait a trap for the unstable queen. She finds herself returning to the last place she wanted to her old watchtower, where she was once held captive by Amaranth Argent—Sylvi’s role model.
    But as war approaches Lanaria’s shore, it becomes clear that this battle has been prepared since long before Evangeline’s return to the with enemy sympathizers, it’s up to Horace and select others to root out the evil waiting in their own ranks. Are they already too late?”


Series: Book #5 in the “Legends of Lanaria”. Review of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, Book #3 Here, and Book #4 Here!


Spiritual Content- James 1:12 & Psalm 73:26 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are mentioned and implied; Many prayers; One character calls God “Dhia” as that is His name in her country; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Gabriel wishes that the Lord would smite down their enemies and while he knows he shouldn’t question the Lord’s timing or wish fire to rain down from Heaven on their enemies, it would be nice; A character asks for confirmation about his role in the war and the Lord gives him a clear answer; Another character has dreams she believes are warnings from the Lord, but her father brushes her concerns aside saying that those dreams could be “misdirection from the devil just as much as they are from the Lord”; Many mentions of God, His will and timing, prayers, praying, & faiths; Mentions of a Prophecy; A few mentions of healing through prayer & a character believing that anyone can do it; A few mentions of a character who has dreams that seem to be prophetic; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of a question that will last until eternity; 
             *Note: “Holy mother” is exclaimed once; Horace hates threatening to send one of the villain’s followers to “eternal damnation”, but realizes it’s a sure thing because the person couldn’t “practice darkness with no repentance or hope for a future”; The villain led a cult and indoctrinated her followers; The villain and her apprentices make it seem like they have “dark magick” but one main character calls it “simply a trick, a slight of hand” and another says the villain never had power to begin with; A few mentions of bloodletting and blood rituals & witchcraft (done by the villain’s group); A few mentions of the villain training warlocks for her cause; A few mentions of some believing that a country is cursed (but was actually another country poisoning them); A couple mentions of dismantling a woman’s “wicked items she’d worshipped and burning them” and then a group praying over the space they held those items; A couple mentions of luck; A mention of someone aligning himself with darkness; A mention of a woman thinking of another as a goddess; A mention of an old man seeming to have “some otherworldly sense of knowledge from time to time”.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: A ‘hang it, three ‘shut up’s, and four ‘stupid’s (including in another language); A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Some eye rolling; A bit of sarcasm (negatively, which the character corrects her attitude); Some eavesdropping & lying (due to the upcoming war & characters not wanting to be kept out of plans or knowledge); Aurelie has a couple moments of bitterness or a bad attitude towards someone, but then checks herself; Killing enemies in fights/battles, Fighting, Gunfire, Being attacked, Being knocked unconscious, & Injuries (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Seeing fighting, blood, & deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Some of the characters talk about if they don’t make it through the war & their plans in case that happens; One character thinks he is going to be executed for standing up against the king’s words (he imagines the noose or the guillotine being used); One character wishes that the villain was drowned and later catches herself looking forward to the destruction of the enemy, but tells herself that it is not something to take pleasure or joy in; All about & many mentions of the war looming over Lanaria, assassination plans/attempts, deaths and possible deaths, executions (beheadings with a guillotine and hangings), murders (by slashed throats), & grief (including for a sibling and what is to come); Mentions of near-death experiences; Mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of threats; Mentions of prisons & attests; Mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of deaths from a “manmade ‘plague’” happened (poison); A few mentions of a kidnapping; A few mentions of blood stains (from an event in Book #1); A few mentions of lies; A few mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of slit/slashed throats (as a threat, but also happens to side characters, barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of human trafficking; A couple mentions of children being held prisoner; A couple mentions of a woman’s deep hatred for men; A couple mentions of hunting; A couple mentions of someone trying to cut another’s horse which if the horse’s tendons were sliced, would ensure “a gunshot awaited the horse in the morning”; A mention of a possible massacre; A mention of jealousy;
             *Note: Aurelie prays that Evangeline’s baby doesn’t have any malformation like her due to knowing the pain and shame she’s had because of it (even while also knowing she’s been privileged to live in a country that doesn’t see her as a curse); A few mentions of babies born sleeping (stillborn, which a character recalls being told that is a “glimpse of what the mother will meet when she arrives in Heaven”). 
 
 
Sexual Content- Married couples cuddle/embrace and share some kisses that have no details (a hand kiss, six head/forehead kisses, a nose kiss, two cheek kisses, four+ kisses, and two remembered kisses); 
             *Note: Labor pain (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of nursing.
 
-Evangeline
-Gabriel
-Horace
-Aurelie
-Isla
-Nicolas
-Asta
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        193 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve had books where I’m anxious for the last bit of the book or even in the last quarter, but I think this maybe one of the very few books where I was anxious nearly the entire time reading it. I messaged a dear book friend to deny my fears about the ending about halfway because I couldn’t take the stress. (Thank you, Sarah!) Thus, I felt like a pendulum swinging back and forth between “oh, this isn’t going to go well 😰” and “oh, maybe it will all work out fine and the last book will be pure happiness 😌” for the rest of the book. 

 

And, well, it’s definitely leaning towards one of those two. 😬

 

I don’t feel like I can say too much about this book because this is such an intricate series where the books must be read in order—it’s required, really. 

 

Because it’s been so long since I’ve read some of the prior books of the series, I didn’t remember everyone’s backstories or details besides the couples from the first two books. So some things or comments were a bit murky at times or I was re-surprised by facts I most likely already knew from the prior books. That said, I did remember more as the book continued. 

 

One thing I’ve really enjoyed about this series and was highlighted yet again in this book is the faith content and how natural it is for the characters. I greatly enjoy how the author has written it and how strong it is shown throughout the series. 

 

This book is less than 200 pages, but it’s packed and gearing up for the grand finale that is releasing in November. I can’t wait for it now, but I’m also incredibly nervous after events in this book—particularly at the end. 😭

 

 

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.

"Keep 'Em Flying" by Nell Branum

About this book:

  “Sixth grader Riley Abercrombie is determined to win—even if she has to gulp down her nerves and speak in public. The Historical Society is having a contest with a cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to where her great-grandma once lived. But a winning essay about her brave relative, a Rosie the Riveter in World War II, may launch Riley on an adventure far bigger than she’d imagined. She soon finds herself in a real-life mystery. A famous tool, an antique rivet gun, is missing, and Riley is sure she can uncover the culprit. Chasing clues and suspects with her new friend Marcus through a museum’s vintage artifacts and aircraft, Riley just might discover she needs more than good detective skills. Will she learn to trust God when the wrong person has been accused? Can she be brave in the face of danger like her beloved great-grandma? When the kids’ sleuthing puts them in peril, they’re going to need faith, friendship, and even forgiveness to get them through.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Heroes on the Homefront Mysteries” series.


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is quoted, mentioned, & remembered throughout the book; Prayers; A couple discussions of God & also on forgiving others; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Riley hopes that God is listening to her prayers about keeping her father safe even if “He does have a lot of soldiers to keep up with” (adding that she wishes the Army would just send her dad home and then God would have one less solider to keep up with); Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of Bible reading; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of church, church going, sermons, a pastor, & church events; A mention of being sure that a loved one is having a great time in Heaven; 
             *Note: Religious phrases like ‘for Pete’s sake’ and ‘honest to Pete’ are both said once; Riley recalls a friend in her gymnastics class laughing at her for wearing a T-shirt that had an American flag on it which made Riley tried to tell her stories that her great-grandma told her, but the girl said “what were they trying to prove by having a war, anyway? War is evil. They should have just walked away.” and while Riley agrees that war is evil, she doesn’t agree with her about the walk-away part (Riley told her grandmother this and she also agrees that war is evil, but adds that when “an enemy starts up an attack, you’ve got to either defend your country or lose it”); A mention of aliens (teasing).
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’ and a ‘for crying out loud’; A bit of eye rolling & sarcasm (good natured); A handful of scenes of eavesdropping on adults; Being locked in a closet; Riley’s father is in the Army and has deployed months prior to places her and her family don’t know and she misses him greatly (she also wonders how the Rosies and others during WWII handed their loved ones being gone and missing them, up to semi-detailed); Prior to her father being deployed, Riley’s dog passed away and she misses him as well (barely-above-not-detailed); All about many mentions of World War II, events and groups during the war (including Pearl Harbor bombing and the Battle of Iwo Jima), Rosie the Riveter and soldiers, factories for airplanes/bombers, & air raids; Many mentions of thieves/burglars, a theft/robbery, stealing, stolen items, the crime scene, & the culprit possibly going to jail; Mentions of soldiers being killed, wounded, or captured during events in World War II; Mentions of deaths & grief (including for mothers and a great-grandmother); A few mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of the Doolittle’s Raid mission in 1942 being called a “one-way mission” and not all of the soldiers making it back; A mention of bank robbers;
             *Note: Discussions about & mentions of women being able to do jobs now that wasn’t a choice or commonplace back in the 1940s and it being an option now thanks to the impact of Rosie the Riveter noting that “The Rosies not only helped win the war, but also made it possible for women to keep working in all kinds of jobs after the war—jobs that had always been just for men” and later that back then, there wasn’t many women who worked outside of the house, but if they did “there weren’t as many kinds of jobs open to them as there are today” (such as work in a factory then or even be a plumber or a surgeon now which a couple of women thank Rosies for their influence on that being possible; One Rosie says that Riley is able to wear pants all the time now because of Rosies having to change the dress-skirt fashion for safety in the factories; In bonus content at the end of the book, the author shares that “after the war, many women decided they wanted to continue working.” And that while many women were happy to return home, “many other women decided they liked the challenge of work and the paycheck, and so continued to look for jobs that suited them. So, Rosies opened the way for women of the future to work in many kinds of jobs that previously had been only for men.”); Riley’s grandmother warns her to let the police handle the burglary, but Riley plans to keep her eye out for ways to help them solve it (at the end, her grandma tells her that her sleuthing days are over and she doesn’t want Riley following bad guys or assumed bad guys all over the place; Riley then apologizes to someone she thought was the thief); A few mentions of political figures during World War II; A few mentions of historical songs (‘The Rosie the Riveter song’ and ‘The Boogie Woogie Bungle Boy of Company B’); A few mentions of Sherlock Holmes; A mention of Halloween.
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Riley Abercrombie, sixth grade
                               1^st person P.O.V. of Riley 
                                           193 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This book made me want to stand up and sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ or even ‘America The Beautiful’. It was truly delightful and charming with a strong patriotic story. I was so pleasantly surprised by how many different elements of “Keep ‘Em Flying” I enjoyed!

 

Throughout the book there are “Riley’s Riveting Research Notes” added in with historical details and facts about World War II which makes this great for readers wanting to learn more about this time and/or homeschooler families doing a study on it.

 

I really enjoyed Riley and her personality. She was determined to solve the mystery and help her new friend, but she didn’t overstep besides a bit of eavesdropping (which the speakers were often speaking loudly anyway) and there were no scary or intense moments, which I greatly appreciated! 

 

Whenever I see books about World War II and the impact Rosie the Riveter had, it usually leans to a slightly feminist perspective (even in some Christian Fiction books) and I was very impressed (and glad) that this book didn’t have that angle. I listed some of the comments about how the world changed for working women—and just women working outside of the home in general—in my review above because I want to highlight that this book showed that yes, things definitely changed after the war, but it wasn’t in a “girlboss” or “girl power” kind of way.  

 

As far as the writing style, I thought it was very apt for a girl Riley’s age because while she says “like” in between a sentence, “BTW”, or even saying “IDK”, it never felt over-the-top or overused. I did think Riley saying “IDK” and “BTW” was a little strange as I don’t know anyone who actually says it in a talking conversation, but perhaps some do. As a note for parents, Riley and her brother (who is a grade younger) both have their own phones. 

 

I thought this was a great story and I can’t wait to read and review the next book in the series soon! As an additional comment, for Tenderhearts or Explorers in American Heritage Girls, I’m nearly positive this book could work for a part of some patriotic-themed badge!

 

 

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.

"Ly-Lan and the New Class Mix-up" by Hà Dinh

About this book:

  “Sometimes things don’t turn out the way we plan! In this chapter book series about a daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Ly-Lan navigates her life as a new third grader—complete with old and new friends, unexpected (and disappointing) changes at home and school, and finding a way to thrive.
   Third grade is not starting the way Ly-Lan pictured. First, her best friend Cece is put in another class--even after Ly-Lan prayed they would be in the same one. And then Ly-Lan is tasked with showing the new Vietnamese student around. Ly-Lan wants to hang out with Cece, not play translator to the new girl, and she doesn’t understand why her prayers aren’t being answered. If Ly-Lan is going to survive and thrive in third grade, she must learn to trust in God’s plans, especially when it means making some adjustments to her own.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Ly-Lan Finds a Way” series. 


Spiritual Content- A prayer (that Ly-Lan does with her parents); Ly-Lan shares with her best friend that whenever she needs something, her father has told her to get on her knees, which her friend thinks she means begging, but Ly-Lan explains she means praying and shows her how she prays under a cross in her room to Jesus (there is an illustration of Ly-Lan on her knees praying and a note that she prays with her parents before bed every night); Ly-Lan tells her best friend that her father told her to pray to Jesus whenever she needs help or has a special wish (her best friend says that “that’s cool” and she usually just yells out loud to her parents in hopes one of her parents can get her wish for her); Ly-Lan believes her prayers to be in the same classroom as her best friend has worked since kindergarten, but her mom says she’s not sure that’s how prayers work; When she finds out she’s not in the same class with her best friend, Ly-Lan wonders if she said the wrong name in her prayers; Ly-Lan’s parents tell her that God isn’t a genie to grant our wishes and that sometimes things don’t work out the way we want even when we pray about it (adding that “prayers are like wishes from our hearts, but sometimes our wishes aren’t always the best thing for us. Only God can decide that. We have to trust Him.” and encourage her about trusting God, but Ly-Lan decides that if praying is not going to help and God doesn’t grant wishes, she’s going to take her chances on someone at school who can grant her wish); Ly-Lan doesn’t think prayers will work after her disappointment and wonders what the point of praying is if it doesn’t come true; *Spoiler* At the very end, Ly-Lan realizes the good that can come from being in a new class and prays with her parents *End of Spoiler*; Talks about God, Jesus, trusting Him, & praying/prayers; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of praying & prayers; 
             *Note: A few mentions of magic (in the sense of Ly-Lan thinking her mother can work magic like creating a certain yummy food and could help her out with the classroom problem; Later, Ly-Lan thinks that moms are magical when her best friend tells her something that her mom said that was the same thing her mom said too); A mention of being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Ly-Lan is upset about her hopes and plans not being able to happen (such as being in the same classroom as her best friend or sitting with her at lunch) and thinks “Adults choose everything for kids—whose class we’re in, where we sit at lunch, and who we sit with!” and adds that “today is officially the worst first day ever.”, but she still follows the directions of her teacher; In a moment of being upset, Ly-Lan whines and says a hurtful thing to her best friend (which her friend says to take back her mean words, but Ly-Lan is still upset); *Spoilers* Towards the end, Ly-Lan realizes that she was wrong and writes an apology note to her best friend and plans to make a new friend or two in her new class; Her best friend forgives her *End of Spoilers*; A couple mentions of jealousy.
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Ly-Lan Tran, age 8
                                P.O.V. of Ly-Lan 
                                                        96 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

To get the technical stuf out of the way: I’m not the best judge for the writing quality of beginner chapter books, so I did think it was a bit simple at times, but I think that can be expected. I don’t know how realistic it was for Ly-Lan’s writing skills either. There were a few times of extra exclamation points in a sentence or amazing being said as “AMAZINGGG!!!” by our main character and her friend. 

 

I thought this story was very cute overall and how important it is for Ly-Lan has to learn that it’s okay and even possible to have more than one best friend. The illustrations were adorable and definitely added to a cute charm to the story. 

 

 

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 (Zonderkidz) for this honest review.

 

"The Unlikely Intrusion of Adams Klein" by John Greco

About this book:

  “Are some things in life worth taking a stand for, no matter the cost?
    Fourteen-year-old Adams Klein lives by one simple don’t do anything that might change the course of history. To protect him from a murderous tyrant, Adams was hidden away in the year 2015. A refugee from the distant future, his existence is a secret. But when he witnesses a tragedy unfolding, he can’t stand by and do nothing. Now history is being changed, and Adams and his new friends are being hunted by a villain who’ll stop at nothing to retain his iron grip on the world of the future, even if it means destroying the past.”


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


Spiritual Content- “Thank God” is exclaimed once; Emma thinks her parents are angry at God even though they never say anything about religion; Emma notes how she is one of the only children in town that doesn’t attend church (not even on Christmas or Easter); A couple mentions of Bibles; A couple mentions of fate & miracles; A mention of there not being words when asked why God would allow a child to be killed; A mention of someone telling another to “thank their Maker” about something; A mention of religion being removed from Adams’ world; A mention of being Blessed; A mention of being a good Samaritan to someone; A mention of someone reaching for forbidden fruit (that is illegal); 
             *Note: The Marshal (a dictator and the villain of this story) tells his underlings about the “Ones Out There” and says ““Far be it from me to invoke religion, but do you suppose we are so much more enlightened than those who lived long ago? ….They were called gods, spirits, muses, angels, demons…..The labels don’t really matter. What’s important is that everyone from the Egyptians to the Aztecs to the Babylonians to the Greeks and the Romans believed. From East to West and from North to South, every thriving civilization was spurred on by help from Out There. Could it really be that all of these mighty empires, in many cases separated from one another by great distances of time and space, just happened to hold the same basic belief? Let me ask you: Who is more likely to be wrong—billions of people around the world, across thousands of years, all testifying to the same basic truth that we are not alone, or we who, only recently in the cosmic scheme of things, have chosen to dissent from the tide of history in order to stick our fingers in our ears and ignore the helpful voices calling to us from Out There?””; The Marshal believes that the dreams he has been having are a warning from “the Ones Out There”; A scientist is said to have led humanity into a “new enlightenment” & this is partially because of an item that is said to come close to “bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth”; A conversation about Osiris (an ancient Egyptian god), people worshiping him, and others being “deathly jealous” of those peoples’ devotion to a single deity; Adams’ father tells him that “no matter how tight its grip”, no evil thing lasts forever; A thief is called a “Ghost” of a local lake because no one has seen him in person (Clay calls this “very cool” and a female classmate calls it “romantic”); A few mentions of evil people; A mention of a group acting “deliberate, serious, [and] silent” like they are responding to an alter call (when they’re actually going to steal something).
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, two ‘dumb’s, and seven ‘stupid’s;  Clay is called a “spaz” three times by bullies; Some eye rolling; Killing human-like drones with it’s “blood” spraying everywhere (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Seeing human-like drones being shot and killed, their blood, & the drones melting into the ground (up to semi-detailed); An explosion & people being hurt/dying (*Major Spoilers* The book ends with Adams being killed by the blast and the others being sad or sobbing about it plus his dog resting his head on Adams; In the epilogue, however, he wakes back up after several hours *End of Spoilers*, up to semi-detailed); Falling through a frozen lake, Almost drowning, Saving another from drowning, Fighting, Being shot/shot at, Almost being kidnapped, Being choked, Being held at knife-point, Being held hostage, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Passing out, & Major headaches (up to semi-detailed); Stealing an item (up to semi-detailed); Seeing dead bodies (of human-like drones, barely-above-not-detailed); Adams is expected to kill a drone in school (which because the drone mimics a human being and will show “crimson lubrication fluid” that looks like blood, he thinks it will look, sound, and feel like taking another person’s life); Adams has a school training that involves shooting in a jungle-like setting (he gets shot by a classmate, up to semi-detailed); Adams hates school because he sees it as the Marshal raising up a “programmed and devoted army”from his generation and feels sick at the thought of being chosen for military service; The Marshal (a dictator and the villain of this story) orders for someone’s vocal cords to be removed & wants Adams to be crushed/destroyed; Emma panics and cries that a man is going to shoot someone; Adams, Clay, & Emma come up with a plan to steal an item they need for Adams to return home (this includes lying to others and breaking a display case); Clay is bullied (both on-page with physically being hit and threatened plus remembering past incidents, up to semi-detailed; After that, he decides he will never speak up or draw attention to himself again) & Emma deals with a mean girl and her snide comments; Adam feels grief about being alone with no family; Mentions of a child that was hit by a car and died & grief from the parents (Emma’s older brother); Mentions of drownings & almost drownings (including two kids that drowned and a news report of it); Mentions of deaths & killing drones that look human; Mentions of assassins & ordering murders (including an ordered murder on a teen by an evil dictator); Mentions of wars; Mentions of weapons, being shot/tased, & weapons being aimed at others; Mentions of attacks, rebels, & a possible plan to murder a dictator; Mentions of crimes & criminals; Mentions of thieves, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of boys stealing/robbing a store; Mentions of pain, injuries, blood/bleeding, & passing out (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of being being tied-up & locked in a closet; Mentions of nightmares of dying and blood; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of bullies; Mentions of divorces & parents shouting; A few mentions of prisons & arrests; A few mentions of vomiting; A few mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of a mother who died from cancer; A couple mentions of being robbed & held at gunpoint; A couple mentions of graffiti; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A couple mentions of urine; A mention of enslavement; A mention of someone needing a “new pair of boxer-briefs” during a sports event; A mention of poker; A mention of hunting; 
             *Note: Adams’ father gives him an injection for bacteria and viruses his body will fight in the past timeline (adding that he wished he had a vaccine like this for Adams’ dog that is going with him); The Marshal keeps his grip on the people he rules over by having them to cranial injections to learn more, but also remove information that he deems “inconvenient truths”; A classmate of Clay’s used his name to cover for himself to his parents to have “some time for himself” when he doesn’t want his parents to know where he is (such as when he went to see an R-rated movie); The classmate wants Clay to meet his parents to prove that he is real and while Clay doesn’t want to lie, he does meet him (and there’s no punishment for the boy lying to his parents nor shown as wrong); Emma’s parents are divorced and often hears her parents shouting at each other and tries hard to keep them from being in the same room (she recalls her mother yelling at her father and blaming him for different things; Emma feels jealous of other kids that have parents in a happy or peaceful marriage; Her older brother died when she was little after being hit by a distracted driver and Emma’s parents tried to hold it together for several years, but were too angry and heartbroken; Emma thinks it’s weird that her parents have left his room the same way all of these years; Emma is upset to hear one of her parents is dating and feels heartbroken over the revelation that her dream that as a child of divorce, her parents getting back together won’t happen now; When she has to tell her parents something serious and they are able to be in the same room without fighting, she is stunned and angry that they are able to behave themselves around each other because she’s believed they were “in a sense, victims of their painful memories” and realized they could get along despite choosing not to and she’s been the one paying for their selfishness; A police chief tells the kids something about an open case, but then says he can’t talk about it (this happens a few times and has a sometimes doofus-like personality because of it); A scientist borrows skin calls from his lab rat to test on; A dog is shoved and whimpers; Mentions of a science/technology item that has nanobots which can spy on the person who ingested them, tell others what they are thinking, & can even attack and kill the person’s organs; Mentions of a group & song (‘Here Comes the Sun’ by the Beatles); Mentions of US Presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Grant); Mentions of books & authors (‘War of the Worlds’, ‘Island of the Blue Dolphins’, ‘A Wrinkle in Time’, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin’, ‘Watership Down’, ‘Animal Farm’, ‘Hamlet’, and ‘Crime and Punishment’); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of a woman’s athlete’s foot (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of vaccines; A few mentions of brand names (John Deere, Athena candy bar, & LEGO bricks); A couple mentions of superheroes (Superman & Captain America); A mention of the Marshal ordering for the capital to be “de-Americanize[d]”; A mention of Micky Mouse; A mention of lottery tickets.
 
 
Sexual Content- Emma gives one of the boys a kiss on his cheek (as a goodbye); Adams gives CPR to Emma, but before he “could lock his lips around hers to create a seal”, she coughs up water; Clay has a crush on Emma, who he thinks is the prettiest girl in school and acts awkward around her at first (as he gets to know her, his crush grows and he blushes); Clay doesn’t think he could handle being a host to Adams if Emma has a crush on him; Mentions of dates & dating; A few mentions of crushes & having feelings for someone; 
             *Note: Adams thinks that “girls go nuts over a guy just because he’s from another country and has an accent. I’m from another century. That has to count for something.”; Unlike most of the girls her age, Emma rarely wears makeup and was in “no rush to force her way through adolescence into adulthood”); A girl comments that she would “never eat anything so fattening” when referring to a muffin.
 
-Adams Klein, age 14
-Clay Danvers, age 14 
-Emma Bloom, age 14
                                P.O.V. switches between them & a few others
                                        Set in 2196 & 2015
                                                        276 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This book took me a bit to get into because of the different POVs, the head switching, and trying to figure out the world. I think the author did well enough explaining things and the advance technology in the future setting, though, which left me with little questions on that. 

 

There were a few parts that made me think this book would be better for boys than girls, but it truly depends on the girl. I didn’t personally care for some comments or having the mental image of urine in a urinal, but perhaps that’s just me. In that regard, it felt like what I would usually call a “boy book” meaning that there some comments and/or humor that would probably make a young boy laugh and not bother girls with brothers, but it wasn’t enjoyable to me. 

 

This book might not be the best choice for sensitive readers, mainly because of the villain. He orders for one underling to have his vocal cords removed and orders for our young main character to be killed. He also made some confusing comments on “the Ones Out There” when referring to a higher power, that were odd and I’m not sure what the author was going for. I’ve quoted the section above in the Spiritual Content part of this review because while it’s long, it’s kind of hard to shorten it to get the point across. 

 

There were a few parts I didn’t like seeing a conclusion about—not even referring to the plot that would have a conclusion in the next book, but more so the characters or side characters. Such as a classmate of Clay’s using his name to be able to be by himself when he doesn’t want his parents to know where he is (the classmate looks at this flippantly as he needs time for himself and there’s nothing about the parents finding it out; instead when they meet Clay and hear something heroic about him, they really like him being friends with their son; Perhaps it’s not Clay deceiving them, but he knows better and is helping his classmate lie to his parents and it’s not shown as wrong). Clay is also bullied by boys who steal from a store and because they’ve bullied him before, he decides not to tell anyone and covers what they stole with his own money. Maybe conclusions or justice didn’t happen in these situations because of the short amount of time and characters hurry for other things, but it could give the wrong idea or impression to young readers. 

 

Overall, this mainly wasn’t my kind of book, but I could see some other readers enjoying it.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

 

"The Burning of Rosemont Abbey" by Naomi Stephens

About this book:

  “1956: In the quiet village of Wilbeth Green, the smoldering ruins of Rosemont Abbey set the residents' tongues wagging, and everyone is quick to accuse troublemaker Paul Everly of being the arsonist. Paul has vanished without a trace, leaving only his twin sister, Louisa, certain of his innocence. Fueling her conviction is an inexplicable connection--she felt her twin's death an hour before the abbey went up in flames. Knowing no one will believe her, Louisa embarks on her own investigation, challenging the skepticism of her neighbors and the disdain of her aunt and uncle. Even Inspector Malcolm Sinclair, once Paul's closest friend, is torn between his duty and a lingering loyalty to Paul and warns Louisa to abandon her pursuit. But Louisa is determined to solve a murder no one else believes was committed, even if it means unraveling secrets that could shake Wilbeth Green to its core.”


Series: No, seems to be a stand-alone novel.


Spiritual Content- A hymn is quoted at the beginning; A Scripture is quoted; Prayers; Church going & part of a sermon; Talks about God, those and events in the Bible, sin/sinners; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Louisa says her brother is “as devout as a man in his circumstances is able to be”; Louisa’s brother has a necklace of St. Jude (noted to be the patron saint of lost and desperate causes) that a Catholic priest gave to him at their father’s funeral; Many mentions of churches/abbeys, church going, services, sermons, worshiping, clergymen, & church events; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of sins/sinners, confessing sins, & absolution; Mentions of stained glass depicting scenes from the Bible; Mentions of Catholics and a saint; A couple mentions of benedictions & blessings from a chaplain; A couple mentions of homilies; A couple mentions of the liturgy; A mention of the Lord’s Supper at church; A mention of eternity; 
             *Note: ‘Damning’ is used once as an adjective for being condemned; The phrase “come hell or high water” is used once; Religious phrases/exclamations are said: a ‘heavens’, a ‘heaven knows’, a ‘merciful heaven’, a ‘old devil’, three ‘devilishly’, three forms of ‘thank heaven/heavens’, three ‘what/where/why the devil’, and eight ‘Good Heavens’; Someone says a place is cursed; A mention of Louisa telling her brother that despite his name being of apostolic origin, he had grown up into a “crass, disagreeable young man”; A woman mentions her Catholic grandson throughout the book, originally commenting that he “went and became a Catholic when none of us were looking” (and tells Louisa that if she’s interested in him, she would have to convert); A couple people are called saints for their helpfulness & someone wants to nominate another for sainthood; A man sneers about going to confess his sins (of being with another woman) to a vicar before proposing to a woman; A few mentions of luck; A couple mentions of a statue of a Greek goddess; A mention of a woman saying that it’s “unchristian” to have more than six courses for a dinner party after learning to have less during the war; A mention of someone looking like an avenging angel; A mention of someone doing an evil thing (of setting a church on fire); A mention of there being “the devil to pay”; A mention of being hell-bent to get away from a place; A mention of death possibly being swift like a pair of scissors snipping the body from the soul; A mention of Louisa not believing in omens (but if she did, one would be a bad one); A mention of something perhaps being fate’s influence; A mention of someone’s ghost; A mention of someone being called a vampire as an insult; A mention of a dog being called a “devil dog”; A mention of Greek mythology (Odysseus).
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bastard’ (used in the literal illegitimate child meaning), a ‘blimey’, a ‘hurt like the dickens’, an unfinished ‘pain in the—‘, two ‘balderdash’, two ‘drat’, two ‘hang it all’, four forms of ‘blasted’, three forms of ‘idiot’, three forms of ‘shut up’, and six ‘stupid’s; Curses are said, not written (including by Louisa and others) & mentions of curses said as well; Lies & Lying (Louisa to others including the police officer friend and her aunt; Also including lying to others to get information about the case); Eavesdropping; Harsh and hurtful words are said to Louisa and she also says them to others in moments of anger; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Louisa says ‘drat’ and argues with an elderly woman that it isn’t swearing and she doesn’t need to tell the vicar on her because the vicar would agree with her; Almost dying, Being drugged/poisoned, Being grabbed/attacked, Being held at gunpoint, Breaking and entering into a crime scene, Being chased, & Shaking in fear (semi-detailed); Going to a pub & a fight club (up to semi-detailed); Grief & Stuffing her emotions aside (for a sibling and parents, up to semi-detailed); Seeing a dead body (and being very affected by it, up to semi-detailed); Imagining possible accidental murders (up to semi-detailed); At the very beginning, Louisa physically feels as if her twin brother has died (she recalls hearing stories about twins sensing when their twin is suffering or dying without being right there with them; up to semi-detailed); A man comments on sometimes wishing he had died in the war when he was still handsome instead of praying for the day to come when he can join the rest of his men from the war; *Major Spoilers* The culprit of burning down the abbey has also killed three people by the end of the book by poison, including Louisa’s father and brother *End of Spoilers*; Many mentions of murders, murderers, deaths, grief, & dead bodies (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Many mentions of attackers and attacks, fainting, injuries, stitches, pain, & blood/bleeding; Many mentions of crimes, crime scenes, criminals, a fire, arson, & the culprit (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of blackmail & threats (including some blackmail “for the greater good” to solve a case); Many of the side characters drink alcohol (including at a party on-page) & smoke pipes, cigars, and/or cigarettes; Many mentions of smoking, cigarettes, cigars, & pipes; Many mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, & pubs (including vicars drinking); Mentions of World War II, deaths, bombings, & injuries; Mentions of weapons, being shot, bullets, poisons, & being drugged/poisoned; Mentions of stealing, stolen items and money, & thieves; Mentions of break-ins; Mentions of prisons & arrests; Mentions of gambling & cheating; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars (including when Paul told Louisa that she was a terrible liar and said it like it was “the most pulverizing kind of insult”); Mentions of eavesdropping; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A couple mentions of vandalism; A couple mentions of vomit/throwing up; A mention of novels where people are thrown into bodies of water for knowing too much about a crime; A mention of a con-man; A mention of a nightmare about being trapped in a fire; 
             *Note: Mentions of car brands; Mentions of singers & songs (The Andrew Sisters, Bing Crosby, Fat’s Domino, & ‘Rum and Coca-Cola’); A few mentions of brand names (Dansette, Brown Betty, & Lenthéric); A couple mentions of prejudice towards those with German names after the war (and a family changing their name because of it); A couple mentions of gypsies; A mention of Grace Kelly; A mention of BBC; A mention of Louisa thinking her uncle would send for a different doctor if she told him her concerns about feeling as if her brother died (implied because he would think she’s crazy).
 
 
Sexual Content- An almost (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed) kiss, a throat/neck kisses (barely-above-not-detailed), and two semi-detailed kisses (one going from one’s neck to ear); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Louisa goes into a male friend’s apartment and his shirt is untucked and half unbuttoned which makes her feel nervous and embarrassed; A ‘bastard’ (used in the illegitimate child meaning); Mentions of an illegitimate child; Mentions of affairs (one is also called “illicit affair”); Mentions of a woman being in love with someone else when she got married; Mentions of unmarried couple being in a “compromising position” and while one half is in a “modern” engagement with someone else, the other promises to stop their relationship when he gets engaged; Mentions of dancing & touches; Mentions of romantic feelings for others, dates, & dating; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of kisses & a first kiss; A few mentions of flirting; A mention of a trip with two unmarried couples keeping “everything proper” by having a set of parents come; A mention of “worldly” women; A mention of girls going “a bit mad” for a handsome young man; Some love, possibly falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Louisa Everly, age 26
                                P.O.V. of Lousia 
                                      Set in 1956
                                                    336 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Oh, I have mixed feelings on this book. I liked so many parts about it, but I didn’t like the ending. 

 

This book had a charm about it that could only come from a book set in 1950s England; there were many humorous parts and lots of British phrases that added a delightful charm to the story. At times, it reminded me of a Murder She Wrote episode, just without the cringy 80s hairstyles. 

 

On that note, though, there was mentions of affairs and family skeletons which aren’t my personal favorite thing to be included in a Christian Fiction book. Another thing is that there was a lot of casual drinking and smoking by side characters. Perhaps accurate to the time, but it was nearly every time a side character appeared they were doing one or the other, which felt a little much. 

 

I liked Louisa and Malcom—we don’t get his POV, but because he is apart of her mystery solving parts, I mention him with her—but it was really the vicar and Mrs. Watson that stole the show for me. The vicar has to be one of the best members of the cloth I’ve seen in a book. And Mrs. Watson needs her own book series. Both of them were fantastic and added wisdom and humor to the plot. 

 

With the ending, let’s be honest. I cried with the epilogue. I was nervous about this book because of the sibling grief and that being something I’m all too familiar with. Prior to the epilogue, I actually didn’t see the villain coming and when I had an inkling it could be that person, I pushed it away because I didn’t want it to be that person. That’s what has dropped my rating half a star, because it felt a little far fetched, even if the motivation made sense. 

 

I suppose we can say I overall enjoyed it and would recommend for ages 16+. I will definitely try another book by this author in the feature.

 

 

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.