"Blue Ribbon Trail Ride" by Miralee Ferrell

About this book:

  “Thirteen-year old Kate and her friends came up with the perfect way to raise money for her autistic younger brother and others to attend summer camp—a horse scavenger hunt! As local businesses donate money and prizes, Kate keeps the entry fees in her mom’s antique jewelry box.
  But when the box and the money disappear, Kate and her friends must unravel the clues, hold on to hope, and solve the mystery along the Blue Ribbon Trail Ride.”


Series: Book #4 in the “Horses and Friends” series. (Review of Book #1 Here! Book #2 Here! and Book #3 Here!)

Spiritual Content- A few Prayers; A bit of witnessing; Talks about God & prayers; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; A couple mentions of the Bible & a Scripture; A couple mentions of miracles & being blessed; A few mentions of Church; Mentions of prayers & praying.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘wimp’, two ‘dumb’s, five ‘stupid’s; All about a box of money that was stolen & the thief; Kate & her friends plan things without her parents knowing & get into a bit of trouble; A few mentions of when Melissa was snooty; A couple mentions of divorce & drinking a lot; A couple mentions of vomiting & using the bathroom; Mentions of horse manure; Mentions of an older brother hitting & picking on his younger brother.

Sexual Content- A mention that Kate doesn’t have or want a boyfriend; A couple mentions of a girlfriend and guy who stole a girlfriend.

-Kate Ferris, 13
                                         P.O.V. of Kate
                                                        208 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Very fun! I really like all the dialogue in “Blue Ribbon Trail Ride”. Quite a bit of Spiritual Content, which was really nice. Jake is so cute, and I hope he’ll be in any further books in this series. :)

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 Publisher (David C. Cook) for this honest review.

"Samantha Sanderson Without a Trace" by Robin Caroll

About this book:

  “Sam Sanderson is an independent, resourceful, high-tech cheerleader. She dreams of becoming an award-winning journalist like her mother, so she’s always looking for articles to publish in her middle-school paper (where she secretly hopes to become chief editor). With a police officer for a father, Sam is in no short supply of writing material.
  In the fourth book of the Faithgirlz Samantha Sanderson series, Sam’s friend Tam Lee is missing. As the days pass, all clues seem to point to something sinister in Sam’s opinion. Sam must decide whether to do what everyone wants her to and let law enforcement continue to work as though Tam is a run-away. Or should Sam follow her heart and keep poking around looking for more clues?”


Series: Book #4 in the “Samantha Sanderson” series. (Which is part of the Faithgirlz line) {See reviews of Book #1 Here!, Book #2 Here!, and Book #3 Here!}{A bit more about the series: “The Samantha Sanderson series is about an ordinary girl with extraordinary dreams. Each book touches on a crime straight from headlines, from bomb threats to bullying, while following Samantha and her friends as they navigate middle-school and questions of faith.”}

Spiritual Content- Prayers & Blessings over food; A bit of witnessing; Talks about God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Church & Youth group.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘duh’, a ‘heck’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘shut up’ and five ‘stupid’s; Some sarcasm; All about missing children & abductions; Mentions of child predators & kidnappings; Mentions of skipping school; A couple mentions of drugs & alcohol; A couple mentions of abuse; A couple mentions of divorce; A mention of the bomb threat in Book #1.

Sexual Content- Butterflies; A married couple kiss; Mentions of crushes & cute boys.

-Samantha Sanderson, 12
                                         P.O.V. of Sam
                                                        217 pages

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New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add 1-2 stars for girls in Public & Private School.}

Okay, that was great! These Samantha Sanderson books keep getting better and better!

A note to moms possibly concern about the abduction part of the plot--*(Big Spoiler* While there are many mentions of it, there isn’t actually an abduction, it’s an experiment. So the child who goes missing is okay. ;) *End of Big Spoiler*).

Honestly, this was border-line phenomenal and border-line 5-star rating to me. While set in the Public School system & all about it, this homeschooler still found the plot really fascinating.

Just an interesting thing I noticed: Sam & Makayla are both 12, yet have Facebook accounts. While Facebook requires you to be age 13, there are ways around it. I just found it interesting that Sam’s police-office father allowed her to have an account. Semi-odd in my opinion. ;)  

I was excited to see Sam’s mom more in this one, as she was awesome!

I do have to admit, when I opened this book, I was highly disappointed that the cover was changed from the normal matte-like cover (like the previous three books) to a high glossy. Silly, I know, to mention it, but it bugs me a bit. The actual cover is still cute, with Sam’s adorable outfit and the purple theme. The spines of all four of the books lined up look so nice, though!

Soooo, I’m ready for a fifth Samantha Sanderson book. And a sixth. And a…. ;)

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 (Zondervan) for this honest review.

"Shatterworld" by Lelia Rose Foreman

About this book:

  Fleeing persecution and low on fuel, religious refugees from Old Earth find themselves stranded on a planet with a dark history. The promise of a future is shadowed by a dreadful past.
  Twelve-year-old Rejoice Holly is expected to someday become a farmer's wife, and set aside her dreams of astronomy. But the discovery that their Promised Land is already inhabited isn't helping her struggle between duty and dreams. Peace seems precarious, and the voice of reason is being silenced by one of fear.
  As a new danger looms, the friendship or enmity forged could save or doom them all. Will the colonists and natives be able to set aside their differences for the sake of survival? “”


Series: I believe so.

Spiritual Content- Prayers; Scriptures are quoted & mentioned; Talks about God, His will & being vain; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Many mentions of prayers, fasting & hymns; Mentions of praising & thanking God; Mentions of God & Christ; Mentions of the Lord’s day; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, Bible studies & sermons; Mentions of those in the Bible; Mentions of Christians being persecuted; Mentions of sins & pride; “God be with you” and “God bless you” are said many times; Every adult is called Brother or Sister; Everyone is named after a biblical phrase or concept;

*Note: Stronghold doesn’t believe in God; “I’ll have to stay damned” is said; A couple mentions of a person named “Thou Hadsn’t Been Damned”; A mention of Hell’s gate; A mention of primitive squids; A couple mentions of the Kraken; A talk that “Sometimes [God] calls us to die.”.  

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘butt into’, a ‘butting in’, a ‘gah’, an ‘idiot’, two ‘shut up’s, five ‘stupid’s; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Tantrums, Hating & (verbal) Fighting; Pain, Blood, Injuries, & Knives (semi-detailed); Mentions of killing & limbs being cut off (up to semi-detailed); A couple mentions of suicide; A couple mentions of a girl who died from leukemia.

Sexual Content- Rejoice doesn’t intent to get married; Mentions of who-likes-who, gawking, boys & boy-crazy girls; Mentions of marriages; Mentions of miscarriages, babies conceived & birth control; A few mention of breeding; A mention of hormones.

-Rejoice (in the Lord’s Salvation) Holly, age 12-13
                                        P.O.V. switches between her, Ur-Veena, and others

                                            Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Future
                                                        172 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add 1-2 Stars for girls who like Sci-Fi/Fantasy}

Well, this was…interesting. This book had a fair chance with me, as I kept my mind open to the Sci-Fi aspects—a genre I don’t read much—however, the alien/squid/crab things was more than a bit weird to me. Okay, positive elements first then what I wasn’t a fan of. Quite a bit of Spiritual Content (though I didn’t agree with everything said). The author did a pretty good job painting the picture and scenery (though some parts could have been turned down in details). For the parts I wasn’t a fan of: The alien/squid/crab things. (I was not expecting those things at all and since I couldn’t picture them (even though the author describes them), I ended up skimming all the parts with the creatures in it.) The talking between Rejoice, her people and the hexacrabs reminded me of the whole caveman grunting (which/who I don’t believe existed) (Example: “Exist under feet this, then rock”). The names. Oh goodness, the names. Very over the top. (Examples: Rejoice in the Lord’s Salvation Holly. Be Still and Know That I AM God Hardesty. No Confidence in the Flesh Cruz. (Brother) Grace to the Humble Hammer. Blessed in the Pure in Heart Olson. While I’m sure the author meant well, it just didn’t come across well to me.) Everyone was supposed to be equal, like once when Rejoice’s mom put up a wreath on the door, she was called vain. Yet, they all dress the same and have the same screens (tablets?). I wasn't a fan of any of the adults and had a hard time knowing who-is-who.

While I’m sure others have/will enjoyed this one, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

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.