Vying for the Viscount by Kristi Ann Hunter - a Bethany House book review

How do you handle it when everything changes in your life and you feel adrift? Miss Bianca Snowley is about to find out. Her step-mother decides that as the oldest daughter she needs to hurry up and get married so Mrs. Snowley's preferred younger daughter can become the center of attention and make a good marriage match. If that was not disturbing enough to Bianca's normally peaceful life, there is a new Viscount next door, and her access to his horses she loves to ride may be in jeopardy.

Hudson has endured a grueling six month sea voyage from India to England, yet once he arrives he finds out that assimilating into English society is exceedingly more complicated than he expected. As the new Lord Stildon Hudson now owns a vast home and grounds, and a well-known racing stable. Can he learn the nuances of moving within society and balance breeding, and racing, his horses while still looking for a wife? After all, would not a wife with good connections be an asset he needs? The life Hudson finds himself in is so different from the one he was raised in that he struggles at every turn.

Vying for the Viscount is Kristi Ann Hunter's newest Regency era romance from Bethany House Publishers. Hunter does a masterful job of weaving the history of Regency England into a charming and challenging story of life, friendship, and chances at true love. Fans of Jane Austin will find a wonderful tale filled with characters to adore and despise. 

Lord Stildon and Miss Snowley decide to work together to help each other find spouses. They start as neighbors and end up as friends. The problems arise when Bianca starts to realize she is comparing each of her possible suitors to Hudson. How can she keep her word to help him court Lady Rebecca while secretly pining for his attention herself? 

Hudson is struggling as well. His stable manager Aaron Whitworth becomes Hudson's only other friend besides Bianca. Aaron admits he is an illegitimate son and therefore no help in matters of navigating the society circles. How can courting Lady Rebecca be so difficult? Hudson starts to doubt his own plans for his future when an acquaintance of Aaron's invites Hudson and Aaron over for a game of cricket and dinner. 

I enjoyed this story immensely. The characters might be set in Regency England, but they deal with problems that people have had since the beginning of time. How do you know who to trust? Is it better to have a wide swath of acquaintances or a few close friends? Is marriage a business deal, or a love match? Can financial security make up for a broken heart, and who would ever choose a broken heart?

Miss Snowley learns a lot about herself, and comes to realize it was not her step-mother's decision that set her adrift, but rather that she had been adrift for a while, and the command to marry soon simply pointed that out to her. Bianca learns how to invest time in friendships, to choose to offer compassion, and how help can come at just the right time from the most unlikely places.

Step away from the challenges of today and get lost in a wonderful story of friendship, choices, consequences and love in the English countryside.


I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are mine. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.

Line by Line - by Jennifer Delamere - A Bethany House book review

The year is 1881 and Alice McNeil is ready to leave her position at London’s Central Telegraph Office in search of a position with private company. With seven years’ experience and dreams of living somewhere other than a boarding house, Alice expects that her skills plus her determination will land her a job with a promising future.

The world of the telegraph has always fascinated me. How can someone have the skill to not only memorize the dots, dashes, and pauses needed to send a message in morse code, but understand it deeply enough to receive a message in code? Line by Line is a work of Historic Fiction by Jennifer Delamere focuses on an interesting point in London’s history approximately 20 years after the completion of the Transatlantic telegraph cable.

Alice gains a step forward in her career when she is hired by Henley and Company, an importer of wheat and cotton. There she soon meets Douglas Shaw, Mr. Henley’s second in command who travels the world gaining the contracts for their imports. Mr. Shaw sees the benefit of having Alice, who is an excellent telegraph operator, learn more about the business overall, and Alice begins to see new possibilities for her future. The problem is, even though sparks begin to fly, Alice is prepared to be a spinster because she thinks it will allow her freedom to live as she wants, and Douglas has his sights set on a young society lady, Miss Rolland, he has yet to meet. 

When Douglas and his friends find an etiquette book for ladies at a local bookstore, they read a few sections and laugh. Unbeknownst to Douglas, Alice is also in the bookstore and overhears their conversation. She isn’t out to catch a man, she just wants to read the book and laugh at its suggestions… or maybe find one or two to help her with a difficult co-worker, Archie Clapper. So she purchases The Spinster’s Guide to Love and Romance and takes it home.

I enjoyed the banter between characters, the history lessons on the ins and outs of detailed telegraph work, and the everyday look at life in London, England in the 1880’s. A fun read, Line by Line is the first book of a new series from Delamere: Love Along the Wires. I look forward to her future books to see whether they will follow Alice’s friends Rose and Emma, or Douglas’s friends Stuart Carson and Hal Halverson. 

I received an electronic ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.

Graphic credit: Arlene @ Modern Vintage

A Bride of Convenience by Jody Hedlund - A Bethany House book review

Jody Hedlund has a gift for weaving fictional characters into real historical events in a way that makes a reader want to read more. Her latest novel, A Bride of Convenience, is no exception. This well written book is set on and around Vancouver Island, British Columbia in 1863.

Abraham Merivale, known to locals as Pastor Abe is serving the Church of England during a five year stint as a missionary in the British Colonies. He spends most of his time in the mining camps outside of Vancouver, but comes down to check in with his Bishop and get supplies several times a year. He loves his job, the miners he serves, and the rugged mountains. What he doesn’t love are the Bishop’s ideas about how he should be re-creating the Church of England in the wilderness. Abe is more concerned with the state of men’s hearts than whether or not a new church building gets completed this year.

Zoe Hart has recently arrived in Vancouver upon one of the Bride Ships that left England, sailed around South America, and has brought dozens of former millworkers, all women, to this rugged land. She isn’t sure she wants to marry, unless it helps her find her twin brother who ran away from home after being falsely accused of setting a mill on fire. 

Zoe has a huge heart for others, and soon finds herself taking over the care of a native baby, Violet, whose mother died and whose English-born father has failed at mining due to his alcoholism. But she cannot keep the baby in the Marine barracks where the other bride-ship women are staying. The baby cries, and the women are looking for husbands, not outside responsibilities. While none of the women will be forced to wed, many are hopping to find either a husband of a job and leave the barracks as soon as possible. They do not understand Zoe's desire to take on baby that night prevent finding a husband, or a job.

Zoe is hurting from the loss of her friend who dies shortly after they arrive. Now she really needs the help of others, but isn’t sure whom to trust. Through an unusual turn of events, Pastor Abe finds himself suddenly without a fiancé back home. He is reeling. Zoe is determined to find someone to help her find her brother. Local Dexter Dawson says he will take her if she marries him, but should she trust him? What about Pastor Abe?

Want to know what happens next? Pick up a copy at your local bookstore or online. It is also available as an E-book.

I found the storyline compelling. To think that literally hundreds of women arrived on a handful of bride ships, trusting that there would be something better than their lives in England when they arrived in Vancouver. What challenges and trials must they have faced back home to board a ship knowing they would very likely never return? Not only were they sailing half-way around the world, they were doing it through the same oceans that were filled with the warships of the American Civil War. 

One part I always appreciate about Hedlund’s series is that she includes some historical information at the end of each story. This helps the reader walk away with a deeper understanding of what parts of the story were history, and what were fiction. She often references the historic texts she used while researching as well.

If you are a fan of Jennifer Delamere, Elizabeth Camden, or Jocelyn Green you are sure to enjoy this third book in Hedlund’s The Bride Ships series. I give it 4.5 out of five stars.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.

At Love's Command by Karen Witemeyer - a Bethany House book review

Karen Witemeyer's latest book, At Love's Command, is a historical romance set in Texas in 1893. Since my family took a trip out west when I was in 8th grade, I've always enjoyed reading about the landscape and people of the western half of the United States. 

One of the things I have come to appreciate about Witemeyer's books over other authors in this genre is her inclusion of the hardest parts of western life. Not just the tough landscape, but the tough questions that people faced back then and are facing again today: Whose land is this? Are we better or worse with law enforcement, what are the challenges of seeking justice in a rugged and often unforgiving landscape? Must our future life (and happiness) be dictated by our past mistakes, or does forgiveness really change us?

At Love's Command focuses on Dr. Josephine Burkett, and a retired calvary officer, Matthew Hanger. Though these are fictional characters, the challenges and choices they face come right from the pages of history. Calvary life after the Civil War ended was challenging, and many soldiers then, as today, face a certain amount of PTSD as well as self doubt. Being a female doctor in what was considered a man's profession was an almost unsurmountable obstacle, yet, some women trudged through the bias and misunderstanding and forged the way for others. 

Dr "Joe" and Matthew face challenges from within and without. Josephine is worried for her younger brother Charlie, who cannot seems to accept their father's direction and insistence he work for a living, instead of relying upon Dad to provide him with funds. She also wonders if part of Charlie's waywardness could be attributed to her leaving home and striking out for a new place to begin her medical practice, instead of trying to begin nearer to home. Texas is a big state, even with the use of trains it takes time to get home and back.

Matthew and his group of Horsemen: Jonah Brooks, Luke Davenport - commonly called 'Preach', and Mark Wallace have decided to leave the calvary behind and work as guns for hire. Not in a traditional mercenary fashion, but in trying to use their refined skills to search out justice for the oppressed and a fair ending to disputes and cattle rustling. When Mark gets shot while on an assignment, the nearest town with help is a wide spot on the trail with a single Doctor: Dr Joe. Sparks of a different kind fly when Matthew, who is used to being in charge, must defer to Josephine's directions, and her rules.

The only good thing about reaching the end of this book is knowing that it is book one in the series, and more will follow! I read it twice. I found the characters well-developed, unique, and achingly human. I look forward to the second book in the Hanger's Horseman series. If you enjoy reading about less-than-perfect people as they learn about God's love and forgiveness, this one is sure to entertain and inspire you. You too will become friends with Dr Joe and the Horsemen, and will look forward to their further adventures.

I received a digital ARC of At Love's Command in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.

P.S. Big thanks to Arlene for creating the graphic for this post.

Genius Summer ~ a book review

Millie Olson is smart, driven, and insecure. Being a soon to graduate 16 year old high school senior is only fueling Millie’s insecurities. It seems everyone she meets wants to know which of the many colleges she has been accepted to is her choice for this fall. Going to class, studying, and taking tests are the things Millie excels at. Choosing a college, dating, and being away from her family are the unknowns that she fears.

Genius Summer is a work of YA fiction where author Pamela Woods-Jackson takes the reader along on Millie’s journey of self-discovery. This intriguing story of Millie’s summer adventures would be best for ages 14-18. The writing quality is good and I was pleasantly surprised that this story does NOT have the profanity, violence, and sex so often found in fiction marketed to this age group.

Millie, the oldest of three, must balance the demands of her schoolwork, helping with her younger siblings, and her volunteer position at a local history museum. Their parents are both professionals, a writer and a lawyer. Millie was given a car for her 16th birthday with the understanding that she would use it to get herself and her siblings to school, sporting events, and to run errands for her mom, as their part-time housekeeper does not drive.

Throughout the book Millie struggles to fit in with her classmates, not just because of her younger age, but also because she has discovered a universal truth. Being a really smart girl often makes you the opposite of popular. I have seen this truth multiple times in my own life. I’ve worked with our own daughters to encourage them to not hide the brains God has gifted them just because it might make someone uncomfortable. This is one of the lessons Millie is learning during her Genius Summer.

Another lesson Millie learns is that people change. Shortly after graduation Millie and her siblings leave Indianapolis and travel to Oklahoma to spend a few weeks with their grandmother. While there, Millie has to change her perception of her grandmother’s neighbor Zach MacMillan from what she remembers about him from past visits to who he is today. Millie learns the truth that while she was growing up, other people were as well. 

In a trunk in her grandmother’s attic, Millie finds a journal written by a young girl her own age from the 1860’s. The young girls’ story sets Millie on a quest, with some help from Zach, to learn more about her life. 

That’s all I’m going to tell you about the plot because the rest would be spoilers! I will recommend this book as a great summer read. The characters are thoughtfully written and you will walk away believing they truly exist. 

During her Genius Summer, Millie learns a lot about friendship and choosing her own path for the future. These are great lessons for any teen, and the message is well wrapped in this story.

Genius Summer is available on Amazon, either in print or Kindle format.

I received a copy of Genius Summer in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine. No other compensation was received. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.

My 2018 Reading List

When I look back at the list of books I have read this year, I find that it is much shorter than in recent years. 

Almost all of the titles I finished this year were historical fiction titles. I read a lot of non-fiction, trust me, I do, but I do not always finish the book completely, and often, it is in a magazine or newspaper format, so it doesn't make it on to my list. 

So here is my short list from this year. I'm okay with it being short, there was a lot going on this year, and a lot of time spent hiking, and while I can read and walk on the treadmill at the same time, I most definitely cannot hike and read! :)

For the ones that have + next to the author, it was a collection of Novellas. It only works out to about two books a month. With working, homeschooling, birdwatching with my husband and being a 4-H leader, that was all I found time for. Because some days, you just need to curl up on the couch and read a good book!

The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill - Julie Klassen

In His Steps - Charles Sheldon

Waves of Mercy - Lynn Austin

Hearts Entwined - Witemeyer, +

The Mark of the King - Jocelyn Green

The Writing Desk - Rachel Hauck

You're Gonna Love Me - Robin Lee Hatcher

A Place to Land - Kate Motaung

The Captain's Daughter - Jennifer Delamere

The Heart's Appeal - Jennifer Delamere

A Refuge Assured - Jocelyn Green

Once Upon a Prince - Rachel Hauck

All My Tomorrows - Witemeyer +

All For Love - Conneally +

The Orphans' Wish - Melanie Dickerson

The Love Letter - Rachel Hauck

A Daring Venture - Elizabeth Camden

Caught By Surprise - Jen Turano

A Song of Home - Susie Finkbeiner

Legacy of Mercy - Lynn Austin

The Reluctant Warrior - Mary Connelly

Prayers for the Battlefield - Heidi St. John

A Sparkle of Silver - Liz Johnson

*Before We Were Yours - Lisa Wingate

The Bride of Ivy Green - Julie Klassen

Kiss the Bride - McClone +

Who I Am With You - Robin Lee Hatcher

The Lieutenant's Bargain - Regina Jennings

The Spirit-Led Heart - Suzanne Eller

The Accidental Guardian - Mary Conneally

Together Forever - Jody Hedlund

*We Hope for Better Things - Erin Bartels

For the two with * next to them:

Lisa Wingate's book was recommended to me by friends. It was a tough one to read, because it is based upon actual events, so there is more history than fiction, and it's a rough story. Still - so worth the read.

Erin Bartel's book was an advanced reader copy. It is a stellar first novel, but many tough themes are dealt with in it - it is not light reading, but it will challenge and change you if you read it. It comes out in January!

What's on my list for 2019? Nothing yet...but I hear Jen Turano's new book will be out in a month or so - I can't wait!

Books With Bean ~ The Screwtape Letters

Title: The Screwtape Letters

Author: C. S. Lewis 

Published: 1942

Genre: religious, Christian, spiritual,  

Summary: This book is a series of letters from a senior devil to his nephew a junior devil. It is Screwtape’s advice to his nephew about how to deal with the man he has been placed with in hopes that the man will be corrupted and spend eternity in hell.

What I liked about it: I first picked up this book many many years ago after the funeral of my great-great aunt. Not for any particular reason, the adults were talking and I was bored and found the library in the church where the service was. I had read most of the chronicles of Narnia at the time and picked up the book mostly just because I knew the author. I only got a few pages in at that time and I will confess I didn’t really get it. It wasn’t until many years later that I picked the book up again and found myself reading one of the best books I had ever found in my life. I have, over the course of Books with Bean, tried not to do more then one book my the same author. It is because once I have introduced one of their books I believe that you are fully capable of discovering more of their works on your own. This book, as it will be my last BwB, is the exception. This is because I believe this book to be so amazing and so much different from the world of Narnia that it really is a bit surprising that it is by the same author. I love the book so much because it really makes a person (if of course they are a Christian) think about their life and how they live it. We tend to become stuck a lot of the time in apathy. Things don’t bother us, so we don’t care about how they play out. But this isn’t good and you probably haven’t stopped to think recently about why you are thinking a certain way that while not exactly how God wants us to think, you tell yourself it’s alright and no big thing to worry about. In the letters Screwtape deals with temptations for Wormwood to try on his man that when you read about you will probably realize you do all the time. It is a book written to make us think, and it does its job very well. 

Language: a little light swearing. It is a book where the main characters are demons so there are a lot of mentions of Hell. 

Romance: None for the characters although it is mentioned that Wormwood's charge is in a relationship later in the book. 

Violence: it mentions a war (which the author says is most likely WWII) and of course it mentions Hell. 

Magic: There is no magic. This is the spiritual world that goes with ours. The invisible to our visible world and while the book is fiction, the spiritual world is very real. 

Recommended Age: This book, while written in simple language that almost anyone can read, is not for a young child like other C. S. Lewis works. It is best I think for at least 13 on up as that is the point where I think most young adults are old enough to go past the strange wording and see the book for what it is. There is also as always no upper age limit this is a good book for teens on up. 

Books With Bean ~ A Christmas Carol

Title: A Christmas Carol  

Author: Charles Dickens

Published: December 19th, 1843

Genre: Christmas, fiction 

Summary: You have probably heard the tale before: Marley is dead and Scrooge is left to deal with the business of lending to the poor. As Christmas comes, Scrooge has no time for it nor for anyone who does. All he worries about is his money and making sure he has plenty of it. That is until Marley returns from the dead and shows Scrooge the shackles that weigh him down. Marley says three ghosts will visit Scrooge and he hopes Scrooge heeds their words.

What I liked about it: I have a love hate relationship with Dickens, as in I love this book and The Tale of Two Cities, and I hate Oliver Twist with almost everything in me. I love this story, it is really one of the first of the type of stories that we as a society seem to love these days. The story where the bad guy is just misunderstood, and if he were shown a better way he would change. I can’t remember the first time I heard this story. It certainly wasn’t by reading it. I don’t think I had even read it until I was probably 14. It was either the Muppets version (which I highly recommend) or the Disney version with Scrooge McDuck. This story is about learning from our pasts and becoming better for our futures. It is about loving everyone no matter how old or young, how rich or poor, and not doing it just for what we can get in return. This is an important lesson that we have been talking about in Church recently and I feel like it is one we don’t pay enough attention to. 

Language: None

Romance: Scrooge, we learn, was engaged as a young adult but it was broken off. It is important to the story, but it’s never written in a way that I would consider inappropriate for anyone reading it.

Violence: There is talk of death and hunger but it’s never gory.

Magic: Well there are the ghosts of course but it’s not really explained how they work. 

Recommended Age: I don’t really think there is anyone too young for this story, well maybe an actual infant, but that’s about it. A younger child may be more ready for a movie version first, but it is definitely worth it. As someone who has been watching the movies made from this story since I was a kid, I can say honestly that it is a powerful message that only grows more strong the older I get and the more I understand what is going on. The Muppets version is amazing and it is a classic that definitely gets me into the sharing and caring mood every December.

Prayers for the Battlefield by Heidi St John ~ a Tyndale book review

Where do we go to find answers for the toughest questions about motherhood? Not those questions like how do I get my baby to sleep through the night, which, in hindsight, is a pretty tough one, but those truly tough questions? Questions like: How do I protect my child from the evil in this world? How do I face those unexpected challenges with my teenagers? Where can I find comfort and strength when I feel powerless? Those kinds of tough questions! We turn to God, desperately seeking His help.

In our heads we know the answers to these questions are found somewhere in our Bibles, but in our hearts, we need some comfort now, not three or four years from now when we get to reading 3 John or 2 Thessalonians in our limited, ten minutes a day if we are lucky, quiet time. Moms, especially those with young children lean on God all the time. We pray, but often it is limited to: Dear Jesus, help me! Now please! How do busy, overworked, sleep-deprived moms find time? We trust God to provide it… eventually. In the meantime, many moms turn to reading devotionals. Something with real truth in it, with a lesson from Scripture, but that only takes about 5-10 minutes. Devotionals are usually smaller than our Bibles and more portable. They can be tossed in a diaper bag or a briefcase. I am so happy to share with you some great news: God uses all of our interactions with Him to teach us, mold us, and make us more like Christ. Five minutes or two hours, He will use them all!

Two months ago, Tyndale Momentum released a new devotional for moms from Heidi St John: Prayers for the Battlefield, Staying MomStrong in the Fight for Your Family and Faith. It is all the things a devotional should be. It is filled with truth, with lessons drawn from Scripture. Heidi shares examples from real life, and a huge dose of encouragement for moms of all ages and stages. Prayers for the Battlefield contains 31 devotionals that remind us that we cannot win this war alone, but God can. 31 different reminders that while the daily battle rages around us and our families, God is right there beside us.

Prayers for the Battlefield contains real help for those super tough questions we encounter, because it contains God’s Word. After the Introduction, that reminds us the battlefield is a spiritual one, for the very souls of our children and the rest of humankind, you will find the 31 devotionals divided into six sections. Each of the six sections covers an area where we need guidance for our own lives, and knowledge about how to speak truth into the lives of our children. You can read them one a day from start to finish, or you can turn to the index in the back to find the particular help you need for that day: courage, rest, protection, provision, wisdom and more. There will never be a day when these Prayers for the Battlefield are not appropriate, either for yourself, or for a friend, until you wake up on the other side of eternity.

Each day’s reading begins with a verse or section of Scripture. Then there is the devotional thought, a practical look at how God works this truth from Scripture out in our lives, and often how He worked this truth in the life of someone else that is recorded in His Word. Then Heidi shares a prayer for you to pray. As I mentioned earlier, this prayer either applies to you personally, or to one of your friends, so pray it! Don’t just read it, pray it. Pray it with a longing to be more like Christ, to stand strong in His strength, and to help carry other Moms to His throne of grace. At the end of each day’s reading is a short listing for Praying the Scriptures. 

As I read through Prayers for the Battlefield, I was reminded of how God wants to meet each of us and show us His heart for our lives. I was reminded of how I had been almost every one of those moms that these prayers were written for during my 20 years of motherhood: the mom who feels powerless, the mom struggling with bitterness, the mom who needs courage. Reading through the book cover to cover reminded me to pray for the other moms in my life. The final devotional in Prayers for the Battlefield is for the mom who wants to influence future generations. While I’m not to that point in my life yet, since neither of our daughters is married, I know from watching my friends that I want to be one of those moms, and someday the Grandma, who still influences future generations for Christ. Right now that practically means speaking truth into our daughters’ lives, and speaking truth into their friends’ lives as well. Expanding my circle of influence through loving others well.

This small book needs to be in the hands of every mom you know, from the one who is pregnant for the first time, to the one whose children have left the nest to begin her own families. Prayers for the Battlefield retails for $12.99 in hardcover or ebook form, but I want to encourage you to buy in bulk. Buy copies for all of your mom friends: for Thanksgiving, for Christmas, for their birthdays, for a just-because you love them present. Then, for those who come back and tell you how much reading these Scriptures and praying these prayers has increased their faith, given then hope, and helped deepen their trust in God, go get them a copy of Heidi St John’s book from last year: Becoming MomStrong.

Find hope, rest, and perseverance, read Prayers for the Battlefield, and stay MomStrong.

Connect with Heidi on her website, blog, Facebook, or Pinterest 

I received a complimentary copy of Prayers for the Battlefield from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine. I am disclosing this according to FTC regulations. No other compensation was provided.

Books With Bean ~ The Schwa Was Here

Title: The Schwa Was Here 

Author: Neal Shusterman

Published: 2004

Genre: Young Adult 

Summary: Have you even met a person that you just can't remember? Maybe you know that they are there and just don’t pay attention to them or maybe you go through life and it isn't until some time later that you realize that they were right next to you the whole time and you never even noticed. For Antsy it's the latter, Calvin Schwa, or the Schwa as he is better known,  has sat next to him in school for years; always on time for class, always ready with the answers and always just waiting to be noticed. But there is just something about him that makes most peoples' eyes move right over him in a crowd or skip past him like he’s not even there when he is by himself. Everyone at school has heard of him of course, but he is one of those weird urban legends that you are never sure if they are real or not. Antsy never noticed him until the day he is given an unbearable plastic dummy by his dad who works in product development for a plastic company. On the day Antsy and his friends Howie and Irma go out to try and break Manny as they have dubbed him, they first really notice the Schwa and from that day on Antsy is curious to see how far being mostly invisible can be pushed before it finally gets noticed. It turns out pretty far. In a group of kids in a classroom, when counted, only 1 out of every 5 people notices the Schwa is there. Finally on a dare the Schwa goes into the realm of Crazy Old Man Crawley and turns out he is one of the people who can notice the Schwa just by looking around. As payment for not turning them over to the cops, Crawley has them walk his 14 dogs every day and what at first seems like the ruination of the boys summer turns out to be a lesson in both friendship and trust.

What I liked about it: I have read this book so many times and it gets better each time. Antsy with his straight forward Brooklyn attitude is an interesting first person narrator. The Schwa is also an interesting person in the way that he deals with his “invisibleness” and how it affects his life both before and after he becomes friends with Antsy. Of the other characters like Crazy Old Man Crawley, Antsy’s friends Howie and Irma, and Lexie, they are well developed and each interesting in their own ways.

Language: One of the things I try to do with these book reviews is find good clean books that parents don’t have to worry about their kids reading. As such almost none of the books have even light swearing and only a hint of romance. This books is a bit different. It has no inappropriate scenes but it does have some language, not a lot and not really anything super hard but it does have a few words that good little Christain me wouldn’t say. Its not anything that I would consider really bad but it is there. 

Romance: There is a not really a love triangle. One of the things Crazy Old Man Crawley has Antsy do is “date” his granddaughter Lexie while she is in town over the summer. Basically it's Antsy's job to take her to parks and museums and that sort of thing. Lexie is blind and yet can still tell whenever the Schwa is in the room. Because of this Schwa becomes interested in her and gets a bit jealous that Antsy gets to “date” her. In the end, Antsy realizes that he and Lexie are just friends, which for a YA book is really nice because a lot of them seem to make it feel like there has to be a romance in every book and having a book where and guy and girl are just friends is really nice.

Violence: Manny the plastic dummy “dies” in several different ways over the course of the story at the boys try and break the unbreakable plastic but its never graphic and even when he finally breaks it is like whatever because he is just plastic.

Magic: None 

Recommended Age: Antsy and his friends are in their mid teens and I feel like to really appreciate the book and its themes and plot you really have to be at least 14-15. However, that being said, the themes of appreciating everyone you know and friendship and all that are good things that can be learned or relearned at any age so there I really no top age for when you can read this book.