"Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World" by Deb Brammer

About this book:

  “When Amy's family moves to Taiwan to begin missionary work, she is determined to be a good missionary. But the neighborhood girls laugh at her, and Sunday services at the Chinese church become an ordeal. It seems that the only place she feels comfortable is at the English-speaking school with her peanut butter friends.”


Series: As of now, no.

Spiritual Content- All about being missionaries & the mission field; Prayers, blessings over food & thanking God; Scriptures are read, mentioned & thought over; Church going & singing; Trying to witness & explain about Heaven and Jesus; Talks about God, Jesus, Heaven, Christians, witnessing & mission work; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Amy & her family are new missionaries; Amy’s middle name is Carmichael, her brothers are named after Hudson Taylor & Adoniram Judson; Many mentions of missionaries, famous missionaries, the mission field, a mission board, mission work & witnessing; Many mentions of churches, Sunday Schools, lessons/services, songs & starting a church; Mentions of God & His plans; Mentions of prayers & thanking God; Mentions of winning souls for Jesus & being begged to tell the gospel; Mentions of the Bible, what it says & Scriptures; Mentions of events & those in the Bible; Mentions of Bibles & reading; Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of tracts & handing them out; Mentions of Christians; A few mentions of Christian holidays & the roots of them; A couple mentions of God’s creatures; A couple mentions of devotionals;

*Note: Talks about & Many mentions of Buddhists, how they worship, ghosts/spirits, idols, gods, superstitions, & other religions; A few mentions of temples.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: three ‘dumb’s and six ‘stupid’s; Friendship troubles & many mentions of gossip, a bossy girl, snubbing another, & being rude, mean and teasing; Mentions of foul smells; Mentions of meats & animal organs (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dissecting worms & eating them; Mentions of soymilk looking like brain juice; A few mentions of pig blood’s soup; A few mentions of a fruit that looks like an eyeball; A few mentions of butchering chickens (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of people butchering & eating dogs (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of frog guts; A couple mentions of divorce & parents fighting; A mention of tobacco; A mention of wine;

*Note: A mention of a 6^th grade girl wearing make-up.

Sexual Content- A couple mentions of Amy Carmichael risking her life to rescue little girls sold as slaves to temples; A mention of a mom saying to her son that he may want girls to be his friends someday (he’s not so sure about that);

             *Note: A mention of someone butting in to a conversation.

-Amy Kramer, age 12
                                      1^st person P.O.V. of Amy
                                                 179 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add up to Two Stars for missionary kids or girls interested in the mission field.}

This was really cute…though, I might be a bit biased. Y’all know I love China. ;) This book, while set in Taiwan, an island off of mainland China, reminded me many times of my trip to China earlier this year. There were great lessons & quite a bit of Spiritual Content which was a good thing for a missionary family book. A neat surprise while reading where the handful of illustrations within this book and then the games & craft at the very end was a neat bonus as well. I also love that Amy and her brothers were named after famous missionaries!

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.

"Riley Unlikely" by Riley Banks-Snyder

About this book:

  “Riley Unlikely is the inspiring story of Riley Banks, who first traveled to Kenya at age 13, and has been back every year since bringing backpacks of school supplies and hygiene kits for young girls, developing relationships and friendships, and is currently, as a young millennial, raising money to build a complete learning complex in Kibwezi, Kenya for those who have nothing.
  At age sixteen Riley learned that, because of a rare medical condition, she would never be able to have her own children. Devastating news to most young women, especially those who love children and have always dreamed of having their own family. But Riley’s response was: Kenya has given me a thousand children.
  Riley’s stories of her trips to Kenya, her struggles to figure out how to best serve and care for these people she has fallen in love with, and her own unexpected health issues are funny, compelling and gripping. Readers will find that God writes surprising stories in the lives of those who follow Him. Hard to put down, Riley Unlikely will inspire you to pursue your dreams and make a difference in your own world—and around the world.”


Series: No.

Spiritual Content- All about God, His love, plans, believers, sharing about God, missionaries & the mission filed; Prayers; Scriptures are quoted, mentioned & talked about; Many talks about God & His plans; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Mentions of prayers; Mentions of churches; Mentions of places, those & events in the Bible; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of wondering why God would let something happen; Mentions of creations; Mentions of Israel & gaining Biblical knowledge; A couple mentions of VBS;

*Note: A few mentions of other religions.

Negative Content- Mentions of bombs, terrorism & deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of someone being attacked, their injuries & murder (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths; Mentions of pain & passing out; Mentions of bathrooms & human waste; Mentions of body odor & foul smells; Mentions of bullies & ugliness; A few mentions of bladders & wetting a pair of pants; A few mentions of killing & eating chickens; A mention of pulling cockroaches out of ears;

*Note: A mention of Justin Bieber.

Sexual Content- A couple mentions of AIDS; A couple mentions of unwed teenage pregnancies; A few mentions of absentee dads; Mentions of guys, dating & relationships; Mentions of Planned Parenthood, birth control & abortions; Many mentions of & Talks about periods, feminine hygiene products (pads & tampons), girls becoming prostitutes & being paid for s*x by perverse men so they can afford hygiene supplies, also mentions of undies, pregnancies, birth control & HIV;  

            *Note: A few mentions of modesty; Mentions of a monthly period, being a “late bloomer”, a disease/syndrome where a woman is born without a uterus, reproduction & infertility.  

                                                {Non-fiction}
                                                        176 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I don’t remember when or how I stumbled upon Generation Next on Facebook, but it’s been a year or two of following the organization. Reading Riley’s story & how that non-profit came to be was so inspiring and I just loved this part near the end:

“When you’re serving just because you can, the work is useful and beneficial and good. But you’ll stay committed to it only as long as it stays convenient. By contrast, when you’re serving in a capacity where you feel called, you’ll move heaven and earth if you have to, to see it through.”

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 for this honest review.