"The Last Ride" by Susan K. Marlow

About this book:

  “Andi's newest adventure may be more than she can handle--even with her family's help
  Andrea Carter is turning sweet 16 and life could not be better. She's about to finish school, her sister Melinda is getting married, and her older brother Justin has a new baby to spoil. There will be plenty of time to work with the colt of her treasured palomino horse, Taffy, and best of all, Andi will finally get to work full-time for the ranch she loves.
  There's just one problem: a city-slicker cousin named Daniel. Left there by his father, with a cryptic warning that New York City life has done damage to the young man's character, Daniel wants nothing to do with the ranch. He ignores Andi's lessons, walks away from responsibility, wrecks valuable equipment, and even runs away to San Francisco.
  The Carter family is in a frenzy trying to keep Daniel under control. When Andi discovers a horrifying secret about him, he forces her to stay silent. But all that changes when Daniel's actions put lives in danger. Andi's anger over her loss threatens to destroy not only Andi but her entire Circle C world. Can anyone break through the wall around Andi's bitter heart and help her find healing?”


Series: Book #3 in the “Circle C Milestones” series. (Review of Book #1 Here! and Book #2 Here!) {This series is a continuation of this author’s other series “Circle C Beginnings” (for ages 6-8) and the original, “Circle C Adventures” (for ages 8-14). {More about this new series: “Picking up the story line of Andrea Carter and the Price of Truth, Thick as Thieves sees Andi growing up just in time for her loyal readers to grow alongside her. The Circle C Milestones series will follow Andi from age 14 to 17, as she begins to tackle the more serious issues facing an older audience and--eventually--discovers love.”} }

Spiritual Content- Colossians 3:13 at the beginning; Prayers; Scriptures are quoted and mentioned; Church going; Thanking God; Talks about God & forgiving; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; At one point, Andi stops talking to God (she gets over her anger); Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers; Mentions of sins; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A few mentions of Church & sermons; A couple mentions of miracles;

*Note: A couple mentions of Pandora’s box & Greek mythology.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘biddy’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘shut up’, two ‘doggone’s, and two ‘stupid’s; Two curses are said not written; Daniel disrespects & talks back to his elders; Eye rolling; Blood, Pain, being slapped & mentions of it all (up to semi-detailed); A horse is injured & later put down (up to semi-detailed); A story of another horse that had to be put down (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of gambling, saloons, drinking & whiskey; Mentions of fights; Mentions of stealing & thieves; Mentions of jail; Mentions of threats, pranks, bullies & fires; A couple mentions of a boy who tried to drown a cat (he was stopped); A couple mentions of murders.

Sexual Content- a hand kiss; A couple mentions of kissing; A couple mentions of past boys trying to steal kisses from Andi; Mentions of blushes & complements; Daniel is a flirt; A bit of Noticing & Attraction.

-Andrea “Andi” Carter, age 15-16
                                        P.O.V. of Andi

                                              Set in 1884
                                                        175 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Warning for sensitive horse/animal lovers.}

Oh goodness! Poor Andi! Not only did she have to deal with The Jerk in the last book—in this one she’s got a stuck-up, threat-making cousin and argh! If I had read the previous series about Andi, I’m sure I would be more excited about Riley (though, I’m still excited about him. I like him for Andi.) and sobbing at the sad parts. Still, I did tear up quite a few times reading “The Last Ride”. Which I just realized the title….! Oh goodness. I should have known this book would be sad. Please, oh please, don’t let Book #4 be sad. Or have a cad in it.

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.

*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Kregel Publications) for this honest review.

“That’s Not Hay in My Hair” by Juliette Turner

About this book:

  “New York City life had crammed sidewalks, gasoline-filled puddles, and angry taxi drivers, but Juliette enjoyed the towering sky-scrapers, the half-block walk to school, and the restaurant smells wafting into her bedroom. She had never cared for a horse, let alone a long-horn, when her mother announced their imminent move to a 300 acre ranch in Texas, where they would be caring for three horses, five dogs, twenty-five longhorns, and a cat … all by themselves.
  Juliette couldn’t help feeling excited, even though she’d have to climb a hill to get a bar of cell-phone service. Soon she was running from bats and snakes, rescuing a calf from a twenty-foot ditch, medicating ponies, and having adventures so crazy it’s hard to believe they’re for real—but it all happened exactly how it’s written.”


Series: As of now, no.

Spiritual Content- A few prayers (including The Lord’s Prayer) & a Christian school; A couple Scriptures are quoted & mentioned; A few talks about God; Jules doesn’t have any Scriptures memorized & panics when asked what her favorite one is; Jules’ mom always crosses herself before praying, even though they aren’t Catholic; Mentions of God; A few mentions of Bible reading; A few mentions of Church & Sunday School; A few mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of those in the Bible;

*Note: “Hell’s bells” is exclaimed once; “Holy Moses!” is exclaimed four times; A mention of a place being “hotter than Hades”.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, a ‘bloody’, a ‘heck’, a ‘shoot’, two ‘darn’s, three ‘geez’s, six ‘oh my gosh’s; Eye rolling & a bit of Sarcasm; Pain (up to semi-detailed); A horse is put down (barely-above-not-detailed, but lots of pain for the owners); Many mentions of veterinary stuff, horses in pain & being sick (semi-detailed); Many mentions of animal waste; Mentions of worst case scenarios about cows getting hurt (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of hunting; A couple mentions of dissecting in science class; A mention of a rabbit which was eaten by a snake (barely-above-not-detailed).

Sexual Content- A couple mentions of figures; A mention of a bull that jumped the fence and the owners now have baby longhorns; A few mentions of cows giving birth (up to semi-detailed).

-Juliette “Jules” O’Conner, 11
                                         1^st person P.O.V. of Jules
                                                        235 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Not for sensitive horse lovers. Future Vets will enjoy more.}

“That’s Not Hay in My Hair” had some cute parts, and while I can see younger girls enjoying this book, the writing made it seem more of a collection of crazy things that have happened to the author and her mother. The timeline wasn’t very clear nor fast-pasted. Some things didn’t seem very believable or realistic to me (like Jules’ mom not wanting to shoot a snake with a gun. That’s more than slightly odd to this born-and-raised Texan.) Jules’ mom rubbed me the wrong way most times, acting more like a big sister than a mom, attitude wise. I admire the author being 17 and published, and while I’m sure girls around Jules age may enjoy more, I just didn’t find this book the most enjoyable thing I’ve read.

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 (Zondervan) for this honest review.