Sadie Rose And The Impossible Birthday Wish

Sadie’s legs trembled as she walked to Flynn’s desk. She didn’t want to touch the terrible paper, but she picked it up and carried it with her to her seat. She desperately wanted to make a face at Barr, but she didn’t. No matter how mean Barr got, she wouldn’t pay him back. Jesus said to love those who despitefully used her. That sure would mean Barr! She slipped the paper in her book without looking at him.

Book: Sadie Rose and the Impossible Birthday Wish (Sadie Rose Adventure) by Hilda Stahl, Crossway Books, 1992

Genre: Historical Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 10-14

Subjects: Showing Love To Others, Revenge, Forgiveness, Greed

Summary: They’re just so pretty! Sadie can’t even decide if she likes the blue ribbon, red ribbon or green ribbon best. She just knows that ribbons are what she wants for her birthday. Wouldn’t Levi think her pretty if she had one of those tied to her braids? Before Sadie Rose can tell her family what she wants, trouble starts. She catches Barr doing wrong twice on the way home. She promises not to tattle on him, but his past has taught him to not trust people. So he makes up a lie about Sadie and gets her in trouble. Then he gets her in trouble at school. Then he even lies to Sadie’s best friend to see if he can hurt her that way too! Sadie is just about fed  up with him!

Notes: The Impossible Birthday Wish is the ninth 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 ninth book, Sadie shows more maturity than ever before. She is bound and determined to show God’s love to Barr and not pursue revenge, no matter how mean he treats her! She really lives out God’s command to love enemies, even when it gets her into trouble with those she cares about. Sadie does struggle a lot with greed in this story and has to work hard to not act ungrateful when given birthday and Christmas gifts other than what she wanted.

The other storyline in this book is focused on an adult character who has not let herself believe the truth about someone. She still holds the past against him and needs to forgive him and give him another chance. He then has to forgive her for choosing to believe the lies and rejecting him.

There’s also the whole issue with Barr himself. He has to learn what it means to trust in God’s love and in the love of a family. Sadie and Mama both do a lot to teach him that.  

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Matthew 5:43-45 – "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.