"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.

"The Beastie of Brambly Bald" by Amanda Cleary Eastep

About this book:

  “Jack Finch’s plan to gobble up tons of turkey over Thanksgiving Break and work on the Tree Street Kids’ fort has been foiled. Instead, the Finches are traveling to the mountains of North Carolina to visit the grandparents Jack barely knows. Thank goodness his best friends Ellison and Roger are coming with him to the cabin on Brambly Bald mountain. But something is lurking in the forest, and soon Jack uncovers a secret bigger than Bigfoot. When the kids come face to face with a real threat, will Jack find a way to protect his friends? Jack braves danger, finds new branches on his family tree, and discovers what it means to be rooted in God’s great family.”


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


Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are quoted, prayed, & read; A few Scripture are quoted & mentioned in bonus content along with how to be a part of God’s family; Prayers; A couple talks about God & those and events in the Bible; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A couple mentions of churches & church going; A couple mentions of Bibles; A mention of the Holy Spirit; A mention of a missionary; A mention of Veggie Tales; 
             *Note: Mentions of boy calls his mother “Mothership” as her code name over walk-talkies; A mention of superstitions.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘gah’, a ‘gosh’, a form of ‘oh my gosh’, and a form of ‘shut your trap’; Midge calls the others “lily-livered” for being scared of a plan to find Bigfoot; A bit of eye rolling (mostly because of a sibling’s comments); A new character is bossy (which Jack doesn’t plan to take orders from her despite her being older than him); Jack has a few comments about his little sister, Midge (such as giving her candy that will keep her mouth occupied and not talking so much) but are not mean-spirited; Hunting for Bigfoot and the “Beastie of Brambly Bald” in the woods (some of the characters think it’s a bad idea and runaway when they see an animal’s glowing eyes; The group comes across an unnatural footprint; Despite this, Jack doesn’t believe it exists, though, he does freak out once when he thinks he sees it; *Spoilers* It turns out the signs of the Beastie Bald is actually a girl setting it all up to keep Jack and the others away; Jack’s mother grow up believing in the beastie and was very hurt to find out her father wasn’t telling her the truth which has led to their strained relationship for years; Jack’s grandfather did see sightings of the beastie later, however; Towards the end, Midge and Forks sneak out one morning to find the Beastie; At the end, Jack thinks they all believe in it for a moment during a dangerous situation, but Midge knows that it isn’t real and Jack encourages that there’s other mysteries to discover *End of Spoiler*); Facing a bear (the group is scared, but tries to make themselves loud and big to frighten the bear off); A scary moment in a car (Jack’s mother has to swerve hard to avoid hitting something when driving in the dark in the mountains & she’s shaken up by it); Mentions of World War II, war stories, explosions, & a bomb shelter; Mentions of a neighborhood bully (who Jack calls “enemy number one of the Tree Street Kids”); Mentions of some family members not getting along (Jack’s mom talks to him about this because of her relationship with her father); Mentions of hunting; Mentions of pipes, smoking, & tobacco (a grandpa smokes in front of the group of kids); A few mentions of slavery (Ellison says his family can’t trace his ancestors back very far because of slavery and the lack of records by the slave owners); A few mentions of deaths (of parents); A couple mentions of a death of an explorer (bonus content); A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of two girls not knowing their moms; A mention of a concern about a child running away; A mention of when Jack and Midge got lost in the woods (Book #2); 
             *Note: Many talks about & many mentions of Sasquatch, Bigfoot, and another legendary creature called the “beastie of Brambly Bald” (who Midge wants to look for in North Carolina and hopes to see; The group goes hunting for it and also find a diary about someone else looking for it, see spoilers above); One of the Tree Street Kids’ (Ruthie) mom left home years prior, hasn’t seen her since, and she receives a letter from her inviting her to visit for Thanksgiving (Ruthie isn’t sure what to do; *Spoiler* But her mom ends up spraining her ankle and unable to drive to pick up Ruthie *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of brand names (Popsicles, Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Roll sucker, Squeezit fruit drinks, McDonald’s Happy Meals, Pizza Dorito, Mountain Dew, & Ivory Soap); Mentions of books, poems, & authors (quoted- ‘To a Mouse’ by Robert Burns, Little Red Riding Hood, & Hatchet; mentioned- The Boxcar Children); A few mentions of fictional characters (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Superman); A few mentions of Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts; A couple mentions of the Loch Ness monster; A couple mentions of Lewis and Clark; A mention of Red Lobster; A mention of Disney World; A mention of Popular Mechanics magazine.
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Jack Finch, age 10
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Jack 
                                                        244 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’m not usually one for Bigfoot/Sasquatch storylines, but I actually really like how it all worked out in this story. I do think it was mainly because of Midge—she keeps you on your toes! She makes me laugh with her comments and I think Jack is a very good (and kindly realistic) brother to her. He is protective and while there might be on or two times throughout the series that he wishes to go somewhere without her, she always ends up tagging along and is without a doubt part of the group. This series has been very wholesome partially because of that and how the author has written Jack as a character. I’m very much looking forward to reading the next book—and I hope it’s not the last one of the series!  

 

 

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.

"Friends in Strange Places" by Nell Branum

About this book:

  “Every dog needs a good home. And Riley and Noah are on a road trip with Grandma Suzie to meet a fluff ball perfect for their grandma. But when they visit and fall in love with the adorable pooch, will their hopes get unexpectedly dashed? What’s more, the kids’ quest for a canine companion takes a turn when they make a discovery. The town they’re visiting once included a camp for prisoners of war . . . and it’s gearing up for a reunion. Army guards, former German prisoners, and townsfolk together again? Maybe that’s not such a good idea. When suspicion and sabotage begin to take place, the kids, along with a new friend, are on the case. But after they track one suspect into a corn maze, they realize the danger is as high as the corn stalks. Will the friends make it out in time to confirm their suspicions? What began as the best road trip ever is quickly becoming an adventure in trusting God through disappointment and danger—and the kids just might find a surprise ending after all.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Heroes on the Homefront Mysteries” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & talked about; Prayers; Talks about God, Jesus, & loving out enemies; ’H’s are capital when referring to God and Jesus; Mentions of God, Jesus, & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, church events, & Sunday school class; A couple mentions of a man saying he hasn’t thought much about God or praying for a while, but will think about it; A couple mentions of Jewish people; 
             *Note: Mentions of aliens & alien invasions (Noah is planning to make a movie about this and films clips for it on the trip).
 

Negative Content- Being trapped in a corn maze that seems to be on fire; A bit of sarcasm (from a side character); Because of Riley wanting to stop a man from adopting the dog she wants, she tries to find out why he is so suspicious & keeps her eye on him and his surly attitude (this includes one time with her asking him a pointed question and him getting close to her which makes her nervous; *Spoiler* Towards the end, he rescues her and Noah from a fire and they agree the culprit is not him *End of Spoiler*); Riley disappears to snoop and tells her brother to tell their grandma that she’s looking for the bathroom (and truly does look for one when snooping to keep it from being a lie); Riley goes to eavesdrop on adults’ conversation, but because they are yelling, she doesn’t think of it as eavesdropping; Later, she eavesdrops on another conversation; A side character around Riley’s age gets annoyed when her mom makes her to something (she groans and seems annoyed by it); Riley’s father is in the Army and deployed months prior to places her and her family don’t know & she misses him greatly; Riley’s dog passed away a year before the book starts and she misses him as well (barely-above-not-detailed); All about many mentions of World War II, Prisoners of War, prisons where the POWs were kept (including being shot at if they tried to escape), fighting, & deaths (including Riley and a side character not being sure about a reunion of both the POWs and the guards being a good idea which leads to a discussion about it with her grandma; barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of an event being sabotaged (such as vandalism and break-ins, reservations being messed with, items going missing or being stolen, and posters destroyed), crime scenes, & the culprit; Mentions of deaths & grief (including for a great-grandma); Mentions of fires, someone being called a “fire bug” (someone who likes to play with fire), & bombs; A few mentions of guns & shooting; A few mentions of the Great Depression; A few mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of other wars; A couple mentions of the possibilities of burying a body; A couple mentions of the death of a beloved pet dog & grief; A mention of a mob possibly killing their enemies (this is what a POW thought would happen to him); A mention of being concerned about a man being mean to a dog; 
             *Note: When Riley talks to her grandma about the reunion of the German POWs and their American guards giving her the creeps and not understanding why there should be a museum about the awful things that happened during World War II, her grandma tells her that “Museums help us remember what happened in the past, the good and the bad, even greed and hate. And if we remember, we might not make as many terrible mistakes in the future. It’s a museum’s job to show us the truth.”; Mentions of a car brand; A few mentions of The Wizard of Oz & fictional characters; A couple mentions of brand names (Frisbee, Monopoly); A mention of Steven Spielberg; A mention of goat yoga; A mention of Noah walking “zombie-style”.
 
 
Sexual Content- A couple mentions of a couple breaking up (adults); A mention of a man staring at a young woman like “she was a shiny new bicycle on Christmas morning”; 
             *Note: A couple mentions of underwear.
 
 
-Riley Abercrombie, sixth grade
                               1^st person P.O.V. of Riley 
                                                        197 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

After greatly enjoying the first book in this series, “Keep ‘Em Flying”, I’ve been looking forward to reading this second book! 

 

At first, I did think that Riley jumped to conclusions a bit more in this book compared to the prior story, but there was a lesson in that for her by the end about doing such things and thinking the worst about people you want to think the worst about. There’s also a really neat perspective about POWs and their guards having friendly reunions, which I had never heard about or even thought about happening. I was a little concerned going into this book with it discussing POWs, but the author kept it very clean and safe for middle-grade readers for sure. 

 

As a note for parents, Riley and her brother (who is a grade younger) both have their own phones. 

 

I can’t wait to see what the next book in this series will be!

 

 

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.

"Mystery in Crooked Creek Woods" by Amanda Cleary Eastep

About this book:

  “Something fishy is going on in Crooked Creek Woods. Does it have anything to do with the weird lights coming from Ruthie’s neighbor’s yard? Or are the kids’ imaginations running away with them? After all, Jack and Ellison have been hard at work writing a mystery. The Tree Street Kids decide to investigate. Not only do they discover what’s been hidden for centuries in the woods, they also learn about placing their trust in the adults who love and care for them . . . but not before placing themselves in peril.”


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


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is quoted and thought over; A couple prayers; A couple talks about God & Jesus; 'H's are capital when referring to God & Jesus; Jack realizes he’s good at “praying in a pinch” but needs to “remember to pray more often the rest of the time”; Mentions of God & Jesus; A few mentions of praying; A couple mentions of a church’s trunk or treat event (on Halloween); A mention of a church’s VBS program (Book #2); A couple mentions of a Christian school; A mention of a youth pastor; 
             *Note: Midge buys a trilobite at a festival & while the fact note about them does not mention evolution, it says that “these creatures lived in shallow seas long ago but are now extinct” (mentions of trilobites after this as well): To avoid taking about a beloved pet fish’s death, it’s said about the fish going to the “big fish bowl in the sky” (twice); A boy calls his mother “Mothership” as her code name over walk-talkies (twice); A (teasing) mention of UFOs.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘duh’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘holy moly’, and two sassy ‘whatever’s are also exclaimed; A mention of a bully saying words that Jack thinks would get him grounded until 1996 if he said them; The bully also calls Jack and the others “goofuses”, but Jack’s mom hears this and clears her throat “at the mean word”, so Buzz mumbles a sorry; Jack is chased by a man in a clown mask when he is trying to solve a mystery (he notes that being chased by clowns is every kid’s bad dream and when his parents find out about him being in the woods at night, they give him a look that says he is grounded until 2022); Jack is taunted and chased by the neighborhood bully and his goons; Jack feels sorry for a second when he sees one the bully’s goons’ father elbows him hard; Mentions of a bomb shelter from a war; Mentions of thieves, stolen items, & a possible kidnapping (of a pet fish); Mentions of the possibility of people poaching artifacts and selling them illegally; Mentions of injuries & blood/bleeding; Mentions of bullies (which Jack calls the neighborhood bully his arch nemesis and thinks that he deserves that title even though “Buzz [the bully] never seemed to get in trouble for all the mean things he did to the kids in the neighborhood”; Later, he wishes that Buzz was guilty so he would have to pay for being a bully, but *Spoilers* Jack realizes that while Buzz may be his enemy, he is also his neighbor and helps clear his name from being involved in the poaching that is happening in the forest as Buzz wasn’t involved in it; The adults say that Buzz needs better friends and are disapproving of another father who got his son involved in something illegal *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of a bubble pipe & smoking (with a note that actual smoking is really bad for your lungs); Mentions of the possibility of a cat eating a pet fish; A few mentions of a possibly corrupted forest ranger; A few mentions of Jack being chased by the bully and his goons in Book #3; A couple mentions of when Jack and Midge got lost in the woods (Book #2); A couple mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of how to kill a bear; A mention of a boy feeding frogs to his pet snake (Book #2); 
             *Note: Jack’s parents want him to call them on his way home from a friend’s house at night, but he forgets and ends up following someone the opposite direction and has to run back home (but knows he’ll get a “good talking-to” from his mom about the missing call and being late; He gets grounded from video games for a week because of not coming straight home; Later, he feels guilt over not telling his parents the full story about that night); Jack doesn’t want to include his sister as a character in the story he and Ellison are writing, but she comes up with her own character (the crazy villain) anyway (he comes up with an “anti-little sister force shield” in the book that is fumes from a gym bag and an old cheese sandwich); Mentions of a Native American tribe being forced to leave their home by the government in the 1830s (which Jack asks his dad about and if it’s because they were enemies and is told that “Sometimes we’re enemies because we don’t live out Jesus’ second greatest commandment, ‘Love your neighbors as yourself.’ And He said we’re supposed to love our enemy.”); Mentions of books, authors, & fictional characters (‘The Boxcar Children’, ‘The Lord of the Rings’, Agatha Christie mysteries featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, ‘Encyclopedia Brown’, ‘Sherlock Holmes’, ‘Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’, & ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’; Also quotes from C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie characters, & ‘Anne of Green Gables’ are said); Mentions of brand names & items (Popsicle, Tootsie Roll, Lunchable, Snickers, M&Ms, Pixy Stix, Sourhead candy, & Bit-O-Honey) Mentions of Halloween (and also passing skeletons and fairies); A couple mentions of other fictional characters (Power Rangers & G.I. Joe); A couple mentions of Sea World; A couple mentions of a car brand.
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Jack Finch, age 10
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Jack 
                                           Set in 1995
                                                        180 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

One thing I really appreciated about this mystery was that even if Jack and his friends are able to solve the mystery by the end, there are still consequences to their actions and groundings from their parents for doing something like sneaking into the forest at night which they know their parents probably wouldn’t allow. Rather than some middle-grade books that have the result out-way the actions (even if they are actions that parents wouldn’t usually allow) and there’s no mentions of punishments or such, this book shows that even though a mystery is solved (which is a good thing!) it’s not good to keep secrets from your parents. 

 

This wasn’t my personal favorite in the series, but it was overall enjoyable.

 

 

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.