"Secret Admirer" by Melody Carlson

About this book:

  “Love Is So Much More Than They Ever Knew

Love is in the air, on the slopes and on the dance floor. And the Girls of Harbor View must uncover the secrets of guys, friendship, and what really matters.

Ski Trip - The long-awaited ski trip finally arrives, but events take a downturn when some of the girls go completely boy crazy. Carlie, however, won’t have anything to do with the boys—or her flirtatious friends. Instead, she gets crazy-dangerous snowboarding. What will it take to bring the girls to their senses?

Secret Admirer - As Valentine’s Day approaches, Amy finds herself pursued by a secret admirer, and she mistakenly sets her heart on the wrong guy. When news gets out, Amy is devastated and humiliated, until she concocts a plan to transform the day.”


Series: A collection novel of the books seven & eight in the “Girls of 622 Harbor View” series. Review of the first collection Here!, second Here!, and third Here!


Spiritual Content- 2 Corinthians 4:18 at the beginning; A couple Prayers; A few messages/sermons; Talks about God, forgiveness, & prayers; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God & forgiveness; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, church events, youth group, pastors, & sermons/messages; Mentions of Christians; Mentions of dancing at church (including those who believe it is a sin to dance); A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of a baby Jesus figure; A mention of the Bible; A mention of a Christian dating website.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’, three ‘duh’s, five ‘idiot’s, eight ‘dumb’s, and thirty-nine forms of ‘stupid’; Eye rolling; A broken bone & pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of broken bones, accidents, fainting, & pain; Mentions of hatred (Carlie struggles with this towards Chelsea); Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of the prior book’s trouble with Emily’s biological father (he is currently in jail after breaking and entering); A few mentions of a bully who was released from juvenile detention; A mention of shoplifting; A mention of calling someone a liar;

             *Note: A few mentions of celebrities & a band; Mentions of designer names; A mention of a car brand; A mention of a movie.

Sexual Content- a ‘baby’, a ‘hottie’, and a mention of the ‘hottest’ guy at school; All about many mentions of boys, boy crazy girls, who-likes-who/crushes, flirting, girls wanting (or not wanting) boyfriends, & break-ups; Mentions of a dance & Amy’s plan to get a boy to notice her; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of dates & dating; A couple mentions of girlfriends; A couple mentions of kissing.

-Carlie, 12

-Amy, 12
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        270 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 girls in public school.}

While this series might have seemed a bit dated with mentions of celebrities & MySpace, it did have good messages for girls ages 11-13 who are in public schools and face different challenges. It’s been ten years such this series first came out and I would totally love a little catch-up novella or even a blog post about where these girls are now in their early twenties.

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.

"Raising Faith" by Melody Carlson

About this book:

  “The Ski Trip Is the Least of Their Worries
  Raising Faith: Morgan trusts God to provide her ski trip funds, and works hard to earn the needed money. But when everything blocks her efforts, from her school activities to her grandmother’s life-threatening heart attack, it’s a test of faith against the odds.
  Run Away: As the ski trip nears, Emily’s mom flees her abusive ex-husband and whisks Emily away to somewhere unknown. The girls fear for their friend as Emily struggles with hard lessons in forgiveness.”


Series: A collection novel of the books five & six in the “Girls of 622 Harbor View” series. Review of the first collection Here! and second Here!


Spiritual Content- 2 Corinthians 4:18 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are mentioned; Many Prayers & Thanking God; Church going; Set around Christmas time; Many talks about God, trusting Him, having faith, & praying; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Many mentions of God, trusting Him, having faith, & praying; Many mentions of prayers, praying, a prayer chain, blessings over food, & thanking God; Many mentions of churches/chapels, church going, services, youth group, trips, & pastors; Mentions of being a Christian & forgiving; A few mentions of a miracle; A couple mentions of Bibles; A couple mentions of sins; A mention of a God thing; A mention of a blessing;

             *Note: Mentions of an evil man.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crud’, a ‘crummy’, a form of ‘shut up’, a ‘who the—‘, two ‘idiot’s, and eleven ‘stupid’s; Mentions of curses/cursing (said, not written); Emily’s father’s prejudice comments are cut off before written; A bit of eye rolling & sarcasm; Mentions of Emily’s father & all the bad things he has done (he would hit her mother & brother, though, Emily was never physically beaten she is/was afraid that would happen; a mention of another husband who beat/abused his wife); Mentions of Anne Frank, World War II, & a concentration camp; Mentions of a break-in; Mentions of jails, arrests, & threatening kidnapping charges; Mentions of hatred & anger; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of bullies (Book #1); A few mentions of juvenile detention; A couple mentions of prejudices against rich & black people; A mention of murder; A mention of the possibility of being shot; A mention of thinking someone might have been abducted; A mention of children working in sweat shops; A mention of a slaughtered animal;

             *Note: Mentions of McDonald’s; Mentions of a singer & band; A few mentions of Oprah; A few mentions of car brands; A few mentions of a designer brand; A mention of Disney.

Sexual Content- two forms of ‘hot’; Mentions of a boy liking Emily; Mentions of finding two boys cute & flirting; A couple mentions of a boy crazy girl;  

             *Note: A few mentions of pre-teen/teen girl bodies, developing at different rates, & a girl being bigger on top; A mention of a rear end.

-Morgan, age 13

-Emily, age 12
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        265 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 girls in public school.}

While the first book in this collection dealt with jealousy, the second book dealt with fear, anger, and hatred—and in not the typically pre-teen/middle grade fiction way! I definitely felt like this book was more of a Melody Carlson book with all the action and friendship difficulties. I’ve really been enjoying this series, so I look forward to finishing it next month with a review of the last collection!

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.