"Elizabeth Gail and the Mystery at the Johnson Farm" by Hilda Stahl

About this book:

  “Libby had just started to relax and accept her new family's love when some strange happenings began to threaten her security. Libby knew she wasn't at fault, but who was the culprit? Would someone solve the riddle in time to keep her from being sent away again.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Elizabeth Gail” series.

Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are read, discussed, & thought over; Being told the Christmas story & Being witnessed to; Church going, Sunday school, & lessons; Talks about God & praying; 'H's are not capital when referring to God or Jesus; Libby shrugs off being told about God loving everyone as “just another of the strange things she had to put up with in her new foster home”; *Spoilers* At the end, Libby is asked by Mrs. Johnson if she loves Jesus and Libby nodded yes which she is glad to hear and encourages Libby that Jesus will be her; At the very end, Mr. Johnson has a serious talk with Libby about making Jesus her Savior, which Libby has been thinking a lot about and he explains about sin and the crucifixion; Libby prays and is now about of God’s family, adding that she’ll really need Jesus’ help to forgive the mean girl *End of Spoilers*; When discussing a mean girl’s actions, Mr. Johnson says she isn’t a Christian and it’s added that she’s been coming to church regularly now (which Susan thinks is because of her crush on her brother); Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, those and events in the Bible, & a family devotional time; Mentions of churches, church going, a Sunday School class, & a Christmas program; A few mentions of a nativity sets; A couple mentions of Blessings & being Blessed.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘dumb’s and two ‘stupid’s; Being lost in a snowstorm, punching someone in the nose, & pain (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); At the beginning, Libby tries to irritate her caseworker by chewing gum loudly; Libby is determined to not love anyone again because it hurts when they no longer want her; Libby tries to act indifferent towards her new foster family because she didn’t want to come live there and can’t be nice (she snaps at her new foster siblings and has a range of emotions because while she wants to be friends, she can’t because it will only make it worse when she has to leave; She says that she hates living there and hates them which makes her foster sister say that they’ll hate her too if she keeps acting like this); Libby thinks that the Johnsons will be like every foster family she’s had and will send her away when they’re tired of her, so she decides to *Spoiler* runaway, but Mr. Johnson finds her as soon as she is leaving and they talk *End of Spoiler*; Libby feels like a burden and that nobody wants her, but tries to believe the Johnsons’ words about them wanting her; As the book continues and routines are made, Libby and her foster siblings act closer to siblings (with Libby only lashing out and crying about them possibly not wanting her or not believing her some of the time); The foster parents think Libby lies to them on different things that happened (when she really didn’t do them) and later apologize for upsetting her (Libby is upset that no one believes her; *Spoiler* It turns out the main girl is causing trouble for Libby, see next Spoiler for information on this *End of Spoiler*); When a mean girl at church is rude to Libby, Libby pinches her and the girl calls her an “aid kid” (which makes Libby upset; Later the girl gets in her face and says she’s nothing, which makes Libby want to yank the girl’s hair out but she instead hits the girl in her nose (the boys laugh at her bloody nose, barely-above-not-detailed; There is a two-page illustration of this scene before the blood); The girl is continuously rude, mean, & hateful to Libby including pushing her and blaming her for events; The mean girl tells Susan that she and Libby aren’t “real sisters” and *Spoilers* when the mean girl blames Libby for something, Susan says that she’s glad they’re not really sisters when she’s upset at Libby; Towards the end, the girl sets Libby up as a thief and want her to leave or her family will press charges against her; Libby will be sent away but the Johnsons hope be able to get her back once it’s all settled down; When one more thing happens and it’s obvious that Libby didn’t do it, the whole family goes over to talk with the mean girl’s family (her mother makes a negative comment towards Libby) and the truth comes out so Libby gets to stay *End of Spoilers*); Libby doesn’t understand why her foster siblings are still being nice to her even after she messed up and aren’t planning to do something mean to her (when a misunderstanding happens later, Libby thinks one of them is getting back at her and yells out that she hates that foster sibling); When Libby speaks angrily, Mrs. Johnson tells her to go to her room and not to speak that way; *Spoiler* Libby gets lost in a snowstorm and wonders if she’ll ever be found or searched for; She’s very upset at the foster sibling that took her outside and thinking the worse about her, but the girl hit her head and was unconscious for a time, which makes them both realize the other wasn’t being mean and apologize to the other *End of Spoiler*; A few hints to other foster families that Libby has had that weren’t great or nice to her & Libby is concerned that her next foster family won’t be nice to her; Libby is concerned that a goose will bite her and peck her eyes out; Mentions of a theft, stealing, & making someone look like a thief; Mentions of Libby punching a girl in her nose, the injuries, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of an injured filly (due to Libby not doing a chore properly) & it’s bloody leg (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of hatred (including Libby and the mean girl both saying they hate the other); Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of a car wreck & death; A mention of Libby slapping a foster brother for teasing her; A mention of the possibility of a dog being run over; A mention of a bar; 
             *Note: Libby last saw her mother five years ago when she promised they would be together, but then her mother away after a month with a “weird man she’d met in a bar”; Libby doesn’t know where her father is because he left her and her mother when she was two; It hurts Libby to think about her parents; *Spoiler* About half-way through, she is told that her father was killed in a car wreck & that her mother would like to have Libby for Christmas, which Libby thinks that “they” will decide if she goes or not; When asked about it, Libby comments that her mother might want her back and could desert her again; The mother ends up taking back the invitation and leaving the country for a year *End of Spoiler*; Libby feels dirty and shabby when she meets her new foster family at their impressive house; Shortly after arriving, Libby’s new foster parents asks if she will call them Mom and Dad, but when Libby shakes her head (though she wants to say yes), they both says she can call them by their first names (*Spoiler* At the very end, she is calling them Mom and Dad *End of Spoiler*); A teasing comment about keeping a friendly goose from “molesting” someone; Mentions of a brand name (Monopoly, Careers, & the game of Life); A mention of butting into a conversation.
 
 
Sexual Content- Seeing a married couple kiss (thrice); Libby notices twice that her new foster brother is “good to look at”and when he smiles at her, she quickly looks away; She thinks similarly about a boy in her Sunday School class & wants him to think she’s pretty; The mean girl hates Libby because she’s always with Ben (her older foster brother) and that he likes Libby more than her; When Libby blows out candles on a cake and one is left, her foster sister teases her about having one boyfriend; Mentions of crushes & liking someone. 
 
-Elizabeth Gail “Libby” Dobbs, age 11-12
                                       P.O.V. of Libby 
                                                       122 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{ Could be possibly triggering or even relatable for those in foster care or adoptees. }

First released back in the late 1970s, I think it would be fair to classify this series as vintage even though it was contemporary at it’s time. ;) 

Libby has a lot of conflicting emotions, bless her, and it gets worse when there’s a horrid neighbor girl causing a lot of trouble for her. I’m not sure why the adults weren’t told every time when the mean girl was being terrible? It got frustrating to me about that, but thankfully it’s a short book so justice would eventually happen soon.

I don’t have many thoughts on this book besides that mean girl being absolutely terrible, but I hope we’ll see her better in future books. 

 

 

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 Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip" by Sara Brunsvold

About this book:

  “Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she’s been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who’s just entered hospice care. But there’s more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she’s not quite ready to cash it in yet. Never one to shy away from an assignment herself, she can see that God brought the young reporter into her life for a reason. And if it’s a story Aidyn Kelley wants, that’s just what Mrs. Kip will give her—but she’s going to have to work for it.”

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

 

 

Spiritual Content- 2 Peter 1:15 at the end; Many Scriptures are mentioned, read, quoted, & repeated; Bible reading; Many, many prayers, praising, & thanking God; Church going & helping at a mission; Witnessing to others (including Mrs. Kip witnesses to a man and prayers hard for his salvation, there is a scene of him apparently seeing Someone after their witnessing, before his death); Many, many talks about God, His will, trusting Him, & witnessing; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; All about many, many mentions of God, His will, & trusting Him; In a flashback scene, Mrs. Kip is mad at God and doesn’t understand why He allowed something to happen and in another scene, she thinks that God is a bully (in the next flashback scene, she’s a new Christian); Many mentions of God, witnessing, & His will; Many mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, books of the Bible, those in the Bible, & Scriptures; Mentions of Heaven & longing to be there; Mentions of churches, church going, Bible classes, Sunday school classes, pastors, worship, & songs; Mentions of mission trips, missionaries, & martyrs; Mentions of angels & God’s hidden warriors; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of a cross necklace (Aidyn wears one, but keeps it under her shirt at work since “newsrooms aren’t exactly harbors of faith”); A few mentions of God’s creation; A few mentions of different Christian denominations; A few mentions of godsends & God speed; A few mentions of Buddhists learning about Christianity because it gives hope; A couple mentions of baptisms; A couple mentions of devotionals; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of someone being like a saint; A couple mentions of a Chris Tomlin song; A couple mentions of a Faith section of a newspaper being the article is code for being “relatively buried”; 

             *Note: A couple mentions of Aidyn and her friend (Rahmiya)’s difference in faith and how they rarely talk about it (the end of the book leaves it open ended about Aidyn talking to her about it); A couple mentions of someone believing in Jesus, but struggling to deal with his own demons and “taking their power for granted”; A mention of a group of people having been through hell; A mention of a godforsaken place.  

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘freaking’, a ‘suck it up’, a form of ‘stupid’, two forms of ‘dumb’; A little bit of (playfully) eye rolling; Mrs. Kips is in hospice care (cancer), has pain, has to take morphine at times, and also needs help going to the bathroom (up to semi-detailed); Seeing signs of death approaching (written mostly in a medical way), seeing someone die, & helping clean them (up to semi-detailed); See an infant that died (up to semi-detailed); In a flashback scene, Mrs. Kips drinks Scotch after her husband’s death (though she doesn’t like it); A nightmare of a child being attacked by a beast (not gruesome, but in a spiritual-way, barely-above-not-detailed); While not technically lying, Aidyn fishes for information by acting like she knows what the other person is talking about; Many mentions of wars, fighting, deaths, families being separated, & Communists (including a new government that wants to murder someone); Many mentions of death, deaths, how they happened, signs of death approaching, & grieving (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a car accident, death, & how it happened (hinted to be drunk-driving, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of pain & injuries; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, someone who “battled the bottle”, & a bar; A few mentions of killers, thieves, and liars; A few mentions of prejudice & trying to help foreigners despite others being small-minded about it; A couple mentions of terrorists & bombs; A couple mentions of the Great Depression; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of smoking & a pipe; A couple mentions of humans being cruel to animals; A mention of the Japanese internment camps in the 1940s; A mention of a possible murder; A mention of illegal dogfights;    

             *Note: Mentions of social media & technology (FaceTime, YouTube); Mentions of Harley motorcycles; A couple mentions of a store & items (JCPenney, Barbie); A couple mentions of Elvis & a song; A couple mentions of car brands; A mention of Starbucks; A mention of McDonald’s; A mention of a brand name (Vuitton).   

 

 

Sexual Content- A bit of Mrs. Kip recalling her husband’s embrace, warmth, and scent (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy (a businessman and a “naïve waitress”); A mention of rescuing young girls from the red-light districts; 

             *Note: A couple mentions of a younger brother’s rancid boxers.

 

-Clara Kip, age 79

-Aidyn Kelley, age 24

                                P.O.V. switches between them    

Set in 2016 & Flashbacks back to other times (1969, 1971, 1975-1979, & 1983)                                                                     368 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{ This book may be a hard read for those who recently lost a loved one due to the many mentions of deaths and death nearing, though, it could also help if the loved one was a Christian.}

To be frankly honest, I had been pushing reading this book off for the last couple of weeks. I was hearing great things about it, but I either wasn’t feeling it or wasn’t sure what to expect. So here I am two weeks later, finally have read this book with dried tears on my cheeks.

What a faith-filled story this was.

This is what Christian Fiction is in the best possible way: a story showing someone’s faith being steadfast during the hard times, not forgetting Him in the easy times, and also witnessing God’s love to others. I adored the message that this book carried.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Aidyn at first (she grew on me about half-way, though), but Mrs. Kips quickly caught my attention. Nearly every word out of her mouth was a prayer or praise to God and it was truly inspiring to read. Part of me wishes that we would have learned a bit more about Aidyn or even more details about Mrs. Kip, but the important details—their faiths—were there. I thought it was interesting to be introduced to a character through one person’s eyes and then when the point of view switches, we learn different things about that same person. I loved the missions aspects of this book and foresee myself going on some research bunny trails soon.

For those looking for a Christian Fiction book that isn’t the normal book in the genre, I highly suggest you check this one out.

 

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 (Revell) for this honest review.

"Heading Home" by Renee Riva

About this book:

  “For eight years, A.J. Degulio has been itching to get back to her beloved Indian Island. It’s home. But a lot has changed: Sailor moves slower, Danny has grown into a man ... and A.J. has a promise to keep but it doesn’t include Danny. When Danny discovers the truth, he’s shocked and hurt. But he won’t stand in the way of what she really wants. What’s a girl to do? She wants to keep her promise and Danny. But Danny has plans of his own. Can they work it out? It will take compromise and laughter before Danny and A.J. figure out that home is more than a place on the map. It’s a place in the heart.”


Series: Book #3 in the “A.J.” series. Reviews of #.5 Here, Book #1 Here, and Book #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are read, mentioned, & talked about; Prayers; Church going, Mass, & sermons; Talks about God, religions, & churches; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; *Spoiler* AJ is considering becoming a sister (she does not become one though) *End of Spoiler*; A church retreat; Many mentions of God & Jesus; Many mentions of churches, church going, preaching, & hymns; Many mentions of Catholics, Baptists, Orthodoxies, & their churches; Many mentions of nuns/sisters, priests, vows, mass, calling, convents, confessions, missions/charity work, & catechism; Mentions of prayers, blessings over food, & thanking God; Mentions of faiths & loving God; Mentions of hearing from God & His will; Mentions of Bibles, reading, & lessons; Mentions of a Bible study; Mentions of a youth group, Sunday school, & becoming a pastor; Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of a Christian camp; Mentions of denominations; Mentions of holy people; Mentions of Mother Teresa; Mentions of saints & saint statues; Mentions of a church’s mosaics; Mentions of Easter; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A few mentions of the Nativity; A few mentions of blessings; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of Spiritual matters; A mention of Billy Graham;

             *Note: A couple mentions of superstitions & bad luck; A couple mentions of Apollo & Hercules; A couple mentions of going to Hell; A mention of a movie with ‘Hell’ in the title; A mention of Greek goddesses.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘duh’, a ‘holy cow’, a form of ‘shut up’, a ‘what the heck’, three forms of ‘dang’, three forms of ‘dumb’, three ‘heck’s, three ‘stupid’s, four forms of ‘darn’, four ‘geez’s, five forms of ‘idiot’, six ‘oh my gosh’s; A bit of eye rolling;

Mentions of almost drowning (in Book #1); Mentions of pain & injuries; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & fake IDs; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of manure; A few mentions of gossip; A few mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of a dog that was on death row & putting a dog down; A couple mentions of a dog that killed a duck (not-detailed); A mention of the Mafia;

             *Note: Mentions of pop culture, TV shows, characters, celebrities, movies, songs, books, & brands; Mentions of Barbie; A couple mentions of Girl Scouts.

Sexual Content- two cheek (goodbye) kisses, a cheek kiss, an almost kiss, a not-detailed kiss, eight barely-above-not-detailed kisses, two semi-detailed kisses; Touches & Hand Holding (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Some Noticing; a ‘babe’, a few ‘hunk’s, and eleven ‘wench’; Mentions of vows of chastity; Mentions of girlfriends, boyfriends, cute boys, breakups/dumping, PDA, kisses & kissing; Mentions of heartbreakers & a two-timer; Mentions of girls laying claims to guys; Mentions of chaperones; Mentions of crushes; A couple mentions of wanting to fall asleep next to someone & wake up next to them; A couple married couples kissing; A couple mentions of men staring at AJ’s sister; A couple mentions of blushes; Some love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: A few mentions of fannies/behinds; A mention of a song about shaking a booty; A mention of the statue of David; A couple mentions of a period.

-AJ Degulio, age 18
                                1^st person P.O.V. of AJ

                                        Set in 1976
                                               258 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

This is completely bittersweet! It’s the last AJ adventure! Wahhh! This was honestly such a fun series & I enjoyed every single one!

I found that in this book, the first 100 pages were so angsty! I was nearly panicking a few times over what was happening. I didn’t laugh quite as much as the previous books (but that’s probably because her family wasn’t in this one so much), but still did laugh at different times. I thought that ending was perfect.

See y’all on Monday 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.

"Dawn's Gentle Light" by Renee Riva

About this book:

  “When an early 1900s love story makes its way from revolutionary Russia to a small town in America, a young girl’s life begins to change.
  Clara Bradley moves from the city to a remote farming town in Eastern Washington—with nothing to offer a young cheerleader but miles of snow-covered wheat fields. She now has no cheer team and nothing to cheer about. But that move brings her an unusual neighbor: an elderly Russian woman who has a love story she is translating into English. Clara’s love of books draws the two together and she becomes immersed in the lives of Nina and Pasha.”


Series: As of now, no.


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned & quoted; Prayers; Going to a chapel to pray and light candles; Going to confessions; Being blessed by & talking to a priest; Celebrating a saint’s day; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, & thanking Christ; Mentions of those & pictures of those in the Bible; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, priests, nuns, lighting candles, & confessions; Mentions of crosses in a cemetery; Mentions of Christmas & the Nativity; Mentions of Resurrection Sunday; Mentions of crosses in a cemetery; Mentions of crossing; Mentions of saints & baptism; A few mentions of Heaven; A few mentions of sins & sinners; A couple mentions of missionaries.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘darn’, an ‘oh my gosh’, two forms of ‘idiot’, and two ‘stupid’s; A bit of eye rolling; Mentions of a car accident, deaths of a set of parents, & injuries; Mentions of deaths from a fever; Mentions of wars, fighting, rebellions, people trampled, & deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of injuries/wounds, blood, & grenades (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a cemetery & “creepy old bodies”; Mentions of stealing; Mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of wine & drinking; A couple mentions of jealousy;

             *Note: Mentions of singers & songs.

Sexual Content- a palm kiss, and a semi-detailed kiss; A bit of touches & hand holding; Blushes; A bit of noticing; Mentions of romance & falling in love; A few mentions of blushes; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of kisses & kissing; A very small amount of love, falling in love, & the emotions.

-Clara Bradley, age 12

-Nina, age 9-15
                                P.O.V. switches between them

                                                  Set in 1908-1909, 1911, 1914-1916, & 1979
                                                        134 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

What an interesting book!
We first start out in 1979 with Clara who’s family just moved to a house across from a cemetery. She’s not overly happy about that, as you can probably imagine. She soon meets a neighbor who tells her a story about a young girl in Russian in the early 1900s. We then mainly follow Nina’s story, but do see Clara again a few times.

I found the history to be interesting and the light romance to be sweet. There also was quite a bit of faith content for such a small book, so that was nice to see. :)

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

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

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.