"Hope Girl" by Wendy Dunham

About this book:

  “With the discovery of her birth father, 12-year-old River has definite thoughts about how her life should turn out--and that certainly does not include any of the challenges that keep popping up!
  It's not easy to decide if she should live with Gram, who has been her family for the past ten years, or with her father, who she's over-the-moon to have just met but knows little about. And when River is diagnosed with a condition that could impact her hopes and dreams and future, she feels overwhelmed and bewildered. That's when River asks God for help and decides to trust him with her dreams.
  As this tender-sweet story unfolds, River learns to persevere and stay hopeful that soon she will be part of a real family. Yes, her dream does come true...but not in the way she had planned!”


Series: Book #2 in the “River” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are read & mentioned; Prayers & Blessing over food; Church going & a sermon about forgiveness; Talks about God, forgiveness, & His plans; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; River’s Gram mentions about hearing “the wind” (could be taken as the Holy Spirit); Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, services, hymns, & a pastor; Mentions of a Bible; Mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of stained glass at a church; A couple mentions of nuns; A mention of Thanking God; A mention of a picture of Jesus; A mention of a miracle.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘gol-blasted’, a ‘gol-darned’, and six ‘stupid’s; Some sibling bickering; *Spoiler* River’s grandmother has an accident and is put on life support; when there seems to be no improvement, the doctor takes her off and River is preparing to say good-bye *End of Spoiler*; River lies, eavesdrops, & runs away/travels by herself; *Spoiler from Book #1* Mentions of Billy’s death & how it happened (barely-above-not-detailed) *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of a fire, explosion, & death (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a child who was abducted, the abductors, & a parents’ separation/divorce; Mentions of injuries, accidents, & burns (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of burglars; Mentions of poison & thinking someone poisoned others; Mentions of jail; Mentions of gossip & thinking low of others; Mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of dead birds & fish; A mention of cigarettes; A mention of tattoos.

Sexual Content- Mentions of catching a couple kissing & a couple talks about not kissing friends; A mention of the birds and the bees;

             *Note: A mention of checking the gender of a cat; A mention of a bra.

-River Starling, age 12
                                P.O.V. of River

                                               Set in 1983
                                                        144 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

While I might not have enjoyed this sequel as much as the first book, I did still really like seeing River and the bunch again. Sweet River has more changes coming to her in this book and there’s some challenges she’ll have to face. I liked “meeting” the new characters and truly adore this cover. It fits a conversation from this story well. I am curious if there will be another “River” book, and it there is, I hope to read it. :)

See y’all on Monday with a special post!

*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.

"My Name is River" by Wendy Dunham

About this book:

  “It's 1983, and twelve-year-old River Starling's life is anything but normal. She was adopted on a whim and came without a birth certificate. Her adoptive parents gave her up to her grandmother when she was only two, but River is certain her parents will come back.
  River's hopes fall apart when Gram uproots them from their farmhouse and decides to move to Birdsong, West Virginia, the most miserable town River has ever seen. There she makes an unlikely friendship with an unusual boy and learns about acceptance, hard work, forgiveness, and the love of Jesus.
  Discover the unforgettable story of one girl's search for a place to call home.”


Series: Book #1 in the “River” series.


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, read, talked about, & referenced; Prayers; Church going, Hymns, & Sermons; Being witnessed to; River’s Gram mentions “the wind” many times (could be taken as the Holy Spirit); Talks about God, praying, & Heaven; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, hymns, & a pastor; Mentions of faiths & Heaven; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & those in the Bible; A couple mentions of a church’s stained glass windows; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of an angel; A couple mentions of sin & sinners; A mention of a ‘Thank God’;

             *Note: A “God Almighty” is said and River gets embarrassed (thinking it’s a sin to say it like that).

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘darn’, two ‘blasted’s, four ‘stupid’s, and five forms of ‘dumb’; A mention that pastors aren’t allow to swear; *Big Spoiler* River’s new best friend dies from an accident near the very end of the book. His body is found (barely-above-not-detailed), also brings mentions of dying & what would it be like. Another boy later confesses to have pushed him. (barely-above-not-detailed) *End of Big Spoiler*; Mentions of murdered birds (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a mean boy breaking a window & threatening another; Mentions of a child being taken & a wife leaving her husband after that event happened; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of smoking, smoke, & cigarettes; A few mentions of a man in jail for murder; A few mentions of a break-in & thieves; A couple mentions of a cat that was hit by a car; A couple mentions of tattoos; A mention of a child drowning (he’s saved); A mention of urine; A mention of mouse waste; A mention of a run-over dog; A mention of dead fish;

             *Note: A few mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of a cigarette brand; A couple mentions of aliens.

Sexual Content- River wonders if her biological mother was a teenager who got pregnant;

             *Note: Mentions of a birth injury when a baby came out of his mother.

-River Starling, age 12
                                1st person P.O.V. of River

                                         Set in 1983
                                                        143 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{ Ratings truly depend on the reader, there is a death that may be triggering for young readers. }

I was expecting this to be a fun, light read of a pre-teen book.

But, oh, it was so much more.

From the opening page, I adored River. She reminded me a bit of April Grace from “Confessions of April Grace” series, and I personally think they would be dear friends—and probably get into some mischief together. River often wonders about both set of her parents, biological and her adoptive parents, which she believes neither loved her. While a few parts could probably be triggering for adoptees, there is a wonderful message of having God be your Father throughout this small book. (It would still probably be best for a parent or trusted adult to read the book before the young adoptee, so content can be cleared as okay and later discussions can happen.)

If y’all have been following this site or any of our social media accounts for any amount of time, you most likely know that I very rarely cry while reading. Due to an expected twist in this story, I actually ended up crying and sniffing. But, I can’t say much due to spoilers! While I liked the very ending (that part I did see coming!), it did leave off in a cliffhanger, so I’m eager to read the next book.

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.