"In Plain Sight" by Leslea Wahl

About this book:

  “While her father is ready to embrace his job of refurbishing an abandoned lodge in a small Midwestern town, sixteen-year-old Emerson doesn't share his enthusiasm. Moving in the middle of January to such a cold, isolated location feels more like an exile rather than a fresh start.
    Despite Emerson's determination to keep to herself, the cute teen boy whose family owns the lodge draws her out of her shell. When Reid reveals the lodge's hidden secrets, she's captivated by the century-old mystery. As she delves into the history of her new town, Emerson is forced to confront her own secrets.
    Could the intrigue of the past be the spark needed to thaw her frozen heart and help her put her life back together?”


Series: Book #3 in the “Finding Faith” series. Book #1 is “Into the Spotlight” (first published as “An Unexpected Role”) and was reviewed Here! Book #2 was reviewed Here!


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is shared & quoted; Prayers & making the sign of the cross (including Emerson praying for God to be with her and a Guardian angel to help her); Church and Mass going & messages/homilies (including one on Saint Valentine); Talks about God & prayers/praying; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Emerson hasn’t been “fully invested” in her faith for a long time, but goes to Mass to make her Dad happy; Emerson doesn’t think God cares about her family’s circumstances and that He has ignored her prayers, so because she is tired of the “silent treatment” from Him, she’s done reaching out; *Spoilers* Towards the end, Emerson realizes she’s been shutting God out and that while logically she knew God wasn’t to blame for what happened to her family, she felt like her unanswered prayers seemed proof that her life didn’t matter; She realizes a friend is right, though, and God has been watching over her and her family the whole time and prays to God *End of Spoilers*; A quote from St. Ignatius is shared (“If God sends you many sufferings, it is a sign that He has great plans for you and certainly wants to make you a saint.”) and a side character shares it as it comforts her that God has plans for each of us; Mentions of God, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, blessings over food, & characters making the sign of the cross; Mentions of churches, church and Mass going, church events, youth group, priests, sermons, & homilies; Mentions of saints (including St. Valentine, St. Ignatius, and Blessed Julia Rodzinska); A few mentions of a room with an altar & a cross; A few mentions of a “devoutly religious” family and then someone losing their faith; A couple mentions of those from the Bible; A couple mentions of blessings; A mention of Lent; A mention of a nun; A mention of praying the Rosary; A mention of a godsend; 
             *Note: Emerson thinks that Reid must have magical powers to be able to get her to spend time outside in the bitter cold; Emerson later calls Reid “psychic” for figuring something out; Reid says he’s never seen anything “paranormal” at the lodge, but his family did have the place blessed by a priest shortly after buying it; Mentions of ghosts, reported ghost sightings, & rumors of a place being haunted; A few mentions of evil & facing it (during wars); A mention of it seemed like the “demons of war” haunted a man; A mention of some saying a family was cursed; A mention of a devilish grin; A mention of Cupid.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crummy’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘geez’, an ‘idiot’, a form of ‘shut up’, a ‘suck it up’, a ‘what the heck’, and four ‘stupid’s; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Eavesdropping (once); An explosion, Pain, Being shot at, Being held at gunpoint, Being attacked and chased, & Being threatened (up to semi-detailed); Grief & Guilt (including missing family members; Emerson for her mom and sisters); A dog is kicked, whimpers, & is threatened by someone with a gun (and seems to be hurt; *Spoiler* Zuri who was protecting Emerson and while she hates to leave her, she knows that her dog was risking her life to protect her; Zuri is okay at the end of the book *End of Spoiler*; up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths, car accidents, families being torn apart, & grief; Mentions of murders, possible murders, & foul play; Mentions of mobsters/mafia members & disposing of bodies; Mentions of World Wars I and II, fighting/battles, concentration camps, & the Great Depression; Mentions of slavery & runaway slaves in the mid-1800s; Mentions of crimes, criminals, drugs, drug dealers, corrupt politicians and police officers, arrests, & jail; Mentions of Prohibition, a speakeasy, alcohol, drinking, & gambling; Mentions of lies, lying, & deception; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of teens sneaking out at a sleepover (Emerson and her cousin, who later fess up to doing so); A few mentions of hunters; A couple mentions of a serial killer & imprisoning his victims; A couple mentions of a woman drowning & the possibility of another drowning; A couple mentions of divorced parents; A couple mentions of a teen girl having a rocky relationship with her father (from the book “Charting the Course”); A mention of money laundering; A mention of blackmail; A mention of a cigar; 
             *Note: Mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters (‘Persuasion’ by Jane Austen, ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’, ‘Gone with the Wind’, ‘Frankenstein’, ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, & ‘Moby Dick’); Mentions of Alfred Hitchcock movies & characters and events from those books (Rear Window, Psycho, & 39 Steps); Mentions of a brand name (SPAM); A few mentions of other movies & quotes from it (The Princess Bride & The Sound of Music); A few mentions of horror movies (not named ones, but like comments about a place being a perfect setting for a horror movie due to it’s eerie surrounding and desolation); A few mentions of a place rumored to be an insane asylum; A couple mentions of bands/singers (The Beatles & Frank Sinatra).
 
 
Sexual Content- An almost kiss (barely-above-not-detailed) and a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Sparks, Warmth, Butterflies, Nearness, & Smelling (including muscles/biceps, barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); When Emerson first sees Reid, she thinks that in her “previous life—back when things like that seemed important—he would’ve been just my type”; Emerson and Reid hang out alone together and Emerson isn’t sure what her dad will say about it; Later when researching the mystery, Emerson and Reid sit on a bed together, but leave “a respectable distance” between them (a bit later, he hugs her to give comfort, but because it suddenly feels too intimate, she moves out of his embrace); Mentions of couples, boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, & dating; Mentions of handsome and cute guys; A couple mentions of kisses, kissing, & the possibility of a kiss; A mention of a guy teasingly flexing his bicep; A mention of a homecoming date; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Emerson “Em”, age 16
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Emerson 
                                                        201 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve been enjoying books by this author for years now because Contemporary YA is a favorite genre of mine and because I always enjoy a mystery, I’m always interested in the mysteries found in each of her books. This story had a dual mystery—there’s the mystery at the lodge and its history, but also a mystery for the reader to find out about what happened in Emerson’s past. I was probably more invested in the latter, but I was curious about the lodge’s history too. 

 

We also see characters from the author’s other books, “Charting the Course” and “An Unexpected Role”/“Into the Spotlight”, which was a fun surprise! 

 

Not being Catholic, the saints and mentions of them/their stories were a little lost on me, but else wise there was some decent faith content and Emerson struggling with God not answering her prayers. The faith content seemed very natural and paced well for what she has gone through. 

 

Reid was a sweet guy and an overall good love interest for Emerson. I do wish the epilogue would have been a little longer, personally, because I was waiting for that moment! All in all, I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading what the author writes next. :)

 

 

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.

"Charting the Course" by Leslea Wahl

About this book:

  “A ten-day Caribbean cruise might sound like a fabulous way to spend the holidays, but Liz would rather be anywhere than stranded on a ship with her estranged father for his high school reunion.
   While an anonymous note, an onboard mystery, and a cute boy help turn the tide on the unwanted trip, Liz and her father drift even further apart. However, when Liz’s reckless actions create a tsunami of unintended consequences, she recognizes that she’s drowning in pent-up hurt and anger. As her carefully created façade begins to ebb away, she turns to her faith and sets off to chart a new course for her life.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Finding Faith” series. Book #1 is “Into the Spotlight” (first published as “An Unexpected Role”) and was reviewed Here! 


Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are mentioned & discussed; Talks about God, His work for us, & praying; Most 'H's are capital when referring to God; Prayers, Crossing oneself, & Thanking God (and the Holy Family and the saints); Going to a church; Liz’s best friend (Josie) encourages her to pray and come to church youth group, but Liz doesn’t get her enthusiasm for her faith; Josie gave Liz a novena to pray for family healing, it’s explained that “novenas for simply structured prayers that ask certain saints to pray for us”, & Liz prays them for multiple days; Liz says she’s “not exactly” Catholic, as her mom would attend a non-denominational church and her dad is Protestant, but she’s attending Mass with Josie’s families; Liz thinks that her faith is lukewarm and that part of her wants to stay in the “bitter, complaining stage” because in some ways, it’s easier; *Spoiler* About halfway, Liz wonders what’s holding her back from joining the church that “has begun to feel like [her] safe harbor?”; She prays in a church for the Lord to help her to move forward and forgive her father; When she does the next novena prayer the next day, she thanks the Holy Family for the power of prayer *End of Spoiler*; When Liz says that God’s been “less forthcoming with any guidance”, Cole says “God is a busy fella some days”; A discussion question at the end mentions about seeking out a priest to talk to if you don’t have someone to talk with about difficult things; Mentions of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, faiths, & forgiveness; Mentions of those in the Bible; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Christmas, baby Jesus, the Holy Family, and Bethlehem; Mentions of Mass, churches, church going, & youth groups; Mentions of becoming Catholic, confirmations, confessions, priests, Easter Vigils and sponsors, & popes; Mentions of saints, novenas, & a novena to pray for family healing (Liz thinks her family is beyond repair, but tries the prayers for Josie’s sake); A couple mentions of rosaries; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of the Bible; A mention of a cross necklace; A mention of a nativity set; A mention of a shrine to Mary; A mention of sins; 
             *Note: A few mentions of wishing on a star; A few mentions of karma; A mention of a devilishly cute grin.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crummy’, a form of ‘ticked off’, two ‘geez’s, four ‘darn/darn it’s, four forms of ‘heck’, four forms of ‘idiot’, four forms of ‘screw up’, six ‘dumb’s, and fifteen ‘stupid’s; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Liz is not happy to be on the cruise and has a bit of an attitude about it at first (sulky and disrespectful towards her dad and a couple rude adults) *Spoiler* But after praying and confessing, Liz tries to turn over a new leaf and not be snarky or bitter towards her dad *End of Spoiler*; Liz has a few non-alcohol cocktails; *Spoiler* About halfway, it’s revealed that Liz has been stealing items from other passengers, which started when she was younger to get her dad’s attention and then continued into her playing Robin Hood at school, though eventually stopping due to guilt *End of Spoiler*; A comedienne makes hurtful jabs and disses at others; Many mentions of crimes, criminals, stealing, thefts, & thieves; Many mentions of alcohol (including many types & also Liz calling it “liquid courage” for her dad), bars, drinking, having too much to drink, hangovers, & adults socially drinking at parties; Many mentions of divorces (Liz’s parents are divorced and she calls that their “D-day”; Her father walked out on them and since her mother was so distraught, Liz hide her emotions but is still upset about it; She thinks that logically, she should give him a break, but she hates coming in second to his social life and says that he destroyed their family; She thinks that she’s always wanted to cause him pain because of the pain he’s caused her, but feels worse when he’s hurt by her honest words); Mentions of married couples arguing; Mentions of neglectful parents (emotionally and not giving attention to their child); Mentions of cliques, mean kids in high school, bratty teenagers, bullies, & being bullied (Liz); Mentions of gambling, poker, a poker tournament, & casinos (Liz’s dad plays a bit and breaks even at one game); A few mentions of a fight; A few mentions of blackmail; A few mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A few mentions of high school parties; A couple mentions of cheating; A couple mentions of hatred; A mention of grief over the death of a loved one; A mention of jealousy; A mention of rumors; A mention of a slaughterhouse; 
             *Note: Mentions of movies, actresses, & fiction characters (Audrey Hepburn, My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Roman Holiday, Grease, The Wizard of Oz, Oliver, Titanic, Forest Grump, Psycho, Gone With the Wind, The Godfather, Freaky Friday, The Wedding Singer, Die Hard, Singing in the Rain, & Some Like it Hot); Mentions of Broadway musicals & songs (Bye Bye Birdie, &Les Misérables); Mentions of singers & songs (Bon Jovi, Madonna, Van Halen, Billy Joel, Nat King Cole, Police, & Elvis); Mentions of brand names & products (iPod, Ray-Bans); A couple mentions of a play (Pygmalion); A couple mentions of MTV; A couple mentions of books & authors (‘Treasure Island’); A couple mentions of Ken & Barbie; A couple mentions of Pictionary & Jenga; A mention of a zombie; A mention of someone looking like a gypsy; A mention of plastic surgery (judgmental tone).
 
 
Sexual Content- Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Hand holding, Shivers, & Warmth (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Three forms of ‘hot’; At a tango lesson, Liz is told that tango is the “art of seduction” and that if the couples “keep [their] gaze on each other, your bodies will become one” (she blushes); When Cole comes out of the pool, Liz tries to hide that she’s looking at his chest; Mentions of kissing & couples kissing; Mentions of flirting, blushes, & winks; Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends/girlfriends, exes, old flames, & cheating; A couple mentions of all the girls in a high school wanting to run their fingers through a popular guy’s hair; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of making out; A mention of a married couple kissing; A mention of a paramour; A mention of a player; A mention of a fling during a vacation; A mention of someone having a “thing” for another; A mention of a guy being called “a dish”; Some love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: The phrase “hook-up” is used but not in the sexual fling meaning; Mentions of Liz’s father’s ex-girlfriend who was barely older than her; A few mentions of another man having a very young wife; A few mentions of a trashy romance book with a “shirtless hunk” on the cover (a mother is reading it); A few mentions of a woman’s skintight dresses and plunging necklines; A couple mentions of canoodling couples; A mention of older men arguing about what music video was the hottest; A mention of testosterone; A mention of a guy’s muscles; A mention of a woman’s figure.
 
-Liz Kennedy, age 16/17
                               1^st person P.O.V. of Liz 
                                                        262 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Since I’ve enjoyed the other book I’ve read by this author, I was very excited about this new one. Contemporary YA is my original favorite genre and it’s always exciting to see new, clean ones being published. Rather than calling this book Christian Fiction, I would note it as Catholic Fiction as the author, the characters, and the discussions are Catholic based. I have to say that even though the faith changes in Liz felt a bit quick, it was interesting to learn a bit about the Catholic church. I felt like the faith content was very sincere and I really liked that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit were mentioned, because I rarely see both mentioned in Christian Fiction books. 

At the beginning, Liz can come across as…well, a bit much, or even bitter. Which can be totally understandable and even relatable when you think that Liz has been forced onto this cruise and her very strained relationship with her dad. Once she started helping others and focusing not on herself or her problems, I found her to be much better and I enjoyed the story more. Thankfully, that happens pretty quickly into the story. I was actually completely shocked at a twist and didn’t see it coming—which is very unusual for me! 

I’m always down for books that have riddles or treasure hunting themes, and this one definitely kept my interest as I tried to solve the mysteries and riddles. 

One more thing to note: The romance was very sweet and clean (Top tier YA flirting that doesn’t cross a line or have a sexual innuendoes—A+ in my book) and was more of a friendship first. I was squeeing over some parts with the two of them, hahaha! 

Overall, this was a really entertaining story with good lessons and a super cute romance. 
 

 

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.

 

"An Unexpected Role" by Leslea Wahl

About this book:

  “After a humiliating event and overwhelming peer pressure, 16-year-old Josie flees her home to spend the summer with her Aunt on a South Carolina island. Her fresh start turns into the summer of her dreams as friendships grow, romance blossoms, and a series of thefts surround her with excitement. However, when tragedy strikes someone close to her, Josie realizes there are more important things than her reputation. As she sets out to solve the mystery she has become entangled in, she not only realizes the importance of relying on her faith but along the way also discovers who God wants her to be.”


Series: As of now, no.

Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; Scriptures are read, mentioned, thought over, remembered & quoted; Going to Church for mass & a sermon; Going to a chapel; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Josie tried praying before, but when nothing happened to her that she wanted, she stopped (she does try sooner than half-way in this book to pray again); Mentions of God & faiths; Mentions of prayers & making bargains with God; Mentions of churches, mass & praising God; Mentions of a sermon, a priest & thanking God; Mentions of a youth group & leader; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A couple mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of being blessed; A couple mentions of religious refugees; A mention of Hail Marys;  

*Note: A mention of Medusa; A mention of bad karma.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a “you ass…tronomical jerk” is said, written as quoted; a ‘darn’, a ‘heck’, a ‘holy crud-muffin’, an ‘OMG’, two ‘dang’s, two ‘duh’s, two forms of ‘freakin’’, two ‘gosh’s, two ‘shoot’s, two ‘shut up’s, two forms of ‘suck’, three ‘oh my gosh’s, four forms of ‘screw up’, six ‘geez’s, six ‘idiot’s, nine ‘dumb’s, sixteen forms of ‘stupid’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Josie can be rude and disrespectful to her mom (she think her mother ruined her life) and others; Pain & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Lying & Lies; Many mentions of thieves, burglaries, robberies & a scam; Mentions of wars, the Army, hostages & gunfire; Mentions of an accident, injuries, & pain (semi-detailed); Mentions of kidnapping; Mentions of threats & hatred; Mentions of cruel teens, bullies, crude comments, gossip & rumors; Mentions of blackmail; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of wine & cocktails (martinis, daiquiri & virgin drinks (which Josie has the last one); Mentions of a bar; Mentions of high school parties; Mentions of a divorce; Mentions of a fire; Mentions of jellyfish stings; A few mentions of someone peeing on another for jellyfish stings; A few mentions of an attempted break-in; A couple mentions of con-men; A couple mentions of a wife/mother who left her husband and daughter; A couple mentions of poker; A couple mentions of tattoos; A couple mentions of nightmares; A couple mentions of puking; A mention of jail; A mention of roadkill; A mention of brownies laced with laxatives;

*Note: A couple mentions of feminists (they’re called dumb and the cause that chivalry is dead); Mentions of musicals & songs.

Sexual Content- two cheek kisses, a forehead kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, two semi-detailed kisses, and a boarder-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss; Remembering a kiss (up to semi-detailed); Josie thinks she’s going to be kissed and when she isn’t, she’s disappointed; Josie gets tired of hand holding and pecks on the cheek, she wants a real kiss; Wondering about kisses and embraces & when to be kissed; Touches, Tingles & Dancing (semi-detailed); Noticing, Attraction & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; a ‘sexy’ and seven forms of ‘hot’; Many mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends, girlfriends, & breakups; Mentions of dating rules & chaperones; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of a kiss when the kissers’ braces get stuck together; Mentions of noticing; Mentions of dreamy, cute & good-looking guys; Mentions of romances & summer romances; Mentions of flirting, winks & blushes; Mentions of crushes & being interested in someone; Mentions of guys looking at Josie two ways (respectfully and then “I-can’t-get-this-girl-out-of-my-mind”); Mentions of weak knees from a guy’s smile & dimples; A few mentions of seeing others kiss; A few mentions of a girl throwing herself at a guy; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of hormones; A mention of tonsil hockey (kissing); A mention of a guy being checked out; A mention of whispered sweet nothings; A summer romance;

            *Note: Josie (accidentally) hits a guy in the unmentionables, later hits another man there (self-protection) and mentions of Josie hitting his “family jewels”; A mention of a daughter from a set of parent’s “uber-cool loins”; A mention of a baseball hitting a guy in his groin; A mention of a guy swimming in just his boxers; A couple mentions of a guy’s cute butt; Mentions of how good guys look in their baseball pants; Mentions of (and noticing) shirtless guys & their abs (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of a wardrobe malfunction that exposes someone’s backside; A mention of revealing wet t-shirts; A mention of a girl’s bra size; Mentions of a girl’s bikini top flying off while jumping off a diving board (while trying to impress a guy); Mentions of bikinis (and Josie wears bikinis); Mentions of a locker covered in tampons, a girl starting her period while wearing a white skirt up on stage, & that time of the month and sanitary products.

-Josie DelRio, age 16
                                      1^st person P.O.V. of Josie
                                                 250 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add ½ to a full star for those who are in private/public school.}

Okay, this was fun and different from most Christian YA. It reminded me a bit of a Melody Carlson young adult book, but (dare I say) more entertaining and fast-paced. I think this novel reminded me of Melody Carlson's works because of all the mentions of public school cliques, problems and such. Like some Melody Carlson books, there were parts and comments I wasn't a fan of (which was the same story with this author's other YA book, “The Perfect Blindside”), but for those not exactly wanting a super-conservative-Christian read, might be interested in this one. 
At first I was on the fence about Josie--she could came across as self-centered and over dramatic at times—but when she wasn't like that I was on her team. She grew in “An Unexpected Role” and it’s always nice to see character development. On the romance side of things, I, of course, liked Ryan. Ryan was great. :) Which bring me to my next point: baseball. Baseball! There was baseball in this book, y'all! Yes! Baseball is truly the only sport I can watch fully, so I really enjoyed those parts. The mystery was intriguing and I had an idea on who it was. I really like reading first person point of views, so that was definitely a positive to this book. All in all, I enjoyed this one and I'm looking forward to learning about what will be the next YA book that Leslea Wahl writes.

See y’all on Wednesday 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.