About this book:
“Nine-year-old twins Beth and Ben Chamberlain are moving to a home in the country. Beth's dream of owning a horse could finally be coming true. For Beth, moving is everything she has ever wanted. Ben might be a twin, but his feelings about the move couldn't be more mixed. Sure, there's a big yard and a barn, with all kinds of exciting possibilities. But, what if all of Beth's dreams come true, and the only thing he gets is the short end of the stick? Bad moods turn into bad attitudes and threaten to ruin both of their dreams. The siblings must learn to let God take control of the reins of their hearts before everything is lost.”
Series: Book #1 in the “He Reigns” series.
Spiritual Content- Each chapter starts with a Scripture that is also usually discussed in the chapter as well; In a bonus chapter at the end of the book, the author shares about Jesus and a prayer to pray to welcome Him into your heart; Prayers; Overhearing someone being witnessed to and praying to be saved; Many talks about God, Jesus, Scriptures, putting Scriptures into action, obeying God, witnessing God’s love to others, & trusting God; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Beth prays for God to forgive her and help her forgive someone; Beth and Ben agree that because they belong to Jesus, they should live every day like Jesus wants them to live and pray to have someone to minister to (which they both meet other kids soon after praying this and invite them to church); The twins’ father refers to their new town as “God’s country”; Mentions of God, praising and thanking Him, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit; Mentions of prayers, praying, & answered prayers; Mentions of churches, church going, & inviting others; Mentions of sin & repenting; A few mentions of Bibles & Bible reading.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: A ‘stupid’; Ben is upset and in a bad mood about moving due to feeling like Beth is getting more than him and it isn’t fair (particularly regarding her getting a bigger room and their parents considering getting her a horse; Beth accuses him of being jealous and he yells at her; After this, Ben tells his parents that it isn’t fair and the parents discuss both of these problems with him, which makes Ben realize he is being selfish but still feels hurt; Ben apologizes for his bad mood in the next chapter to his dad); Beth doesn’t like her horseback riding teacher because she scares her and never smiles, but her mom tells her to show God’s love to the teacher; Beth tries to be nicer to the teacher, but is upset when the teacher blames her for something and says she shouldn’t have a horse if Beth won’t be responsible (due to Beth overfeeding her horse and getting colic; After a conversation with her parents, Beth tries again to be kind to the teacher; Beth apologizes for not being kind to her and the teacher also apologizes to her for not being very nice); Mentions of a horse having colic due to overfeeding; A few mentions of abused and neglected horses (no details);
*Note: Beth & Ben come up with a plan to surprise someone and they keep it a secret from their parents (leaving their uncle to convince their parents it’s a good idea); A couple mentions of a brand name (Jell-O); A mention of a song (‘Believe’ by Brooks and Dunn).
Sexual Content- N/A.
-Beth Chamberlain, age 9
-Ben Chamberlain, age 9
P.O.V. switches between them
131 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
It was really nice to see active parents in the middle-grade main characters’ lives and talking to them about God and Scriptures! The parents were encouraging, but also firm with the twins which felt like a healthy and realistic family.
I did find the plot to be simple and a bit random at times, but that’s probably because I am (much) older than the targeted age range! Those around ages 8-12 who especially love horses would probably enjoy this story much more than me.
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.