Sadie Rose and the Champion Shartshooter

“Where’s the key, Gerda?” asked Sadie impatiently.
”That man took it!” cried Gerda bursting into tears. “He locked me in, and he’s coming back for me. I saw him behind you on the street! Get me out! Hurry before he returns! He’s going to take me with him, and I don’t want to go!”

Book: Sadie Rose and the Champion Sharpshooter (Sadie Rose Adventure) by Hilda Stahl, Crossway Books, 1991

Genre: Historical Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 10-14

Subjects: Romance, Responsibility, Lies, Flirting, Salvation, Family Relationships, Bullying

Summary: Gerda is enough to drive anyone nuts and the entire York family is tired of her. She’s as interested in finding a husband as Opal is, but even more of a tease. She’s playing around with multiple men and manipulating those around her as she does so. Her flirtations go too far when she pursues someone who determines to kidnap her! It’s up to Sadie to rescue her – that is if she can do so without getting into trouble herself. The whole family is in town for the town celebration days and the town kids do not like the country kids. Sadie is their main target for the bullying. They are willing to try about anything to hurt her and ruin her chances to compete in the sharpshooting competition – that she has a good chance of winning!

Notes: The Champion Shartshooter is the seventh of the Sadie Rose Adventures. This series tells of a twelve year old girl’s first year living in the Nebraska sandhills during the pioneer days. Sadie has a knack for getting into danger. The series focuses a lot on family relationships as Sadie lives with her mother, stepdad, older sister, older brother, younger sister and younger brother. It also focuses a lot on the hopes and dreams of marriage for

the young girls. The culture was for girls to marry quite young so the characters, especially Sadie’s older sister focus heavily on trying to find a good husband. There is also a strong thread of forgiveness and the importance of telling the truth running through the series.

In this seventh book, Sadie’s character has grown enough that a lot of the story actually focuses on her cousin from Michigan who is making some very irresponsible and hurtful choices. Because she is such a central character in the story and is seventeen and ready for marriage, romance is a huge theme in this book. Gerda is giving lots of hints and teasing to two different boys and flirting with even more beyond that. When she finally realizes how much her choices are hurting others and herself she also recognizes her need for a relationship with God and has Caleb York help her put her trust in Christ for her salvation.

Sadie’s issues are largely focused around trusting God to be with her and help her do her best. Recognizing that He is with her, she realizes she doesn’t need to fear the shooting contest, even though she is up against others with a reputation for being extremely skilled at it.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Proverbs 26:18-19, 28 – Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!" 28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.