Speak No Evil

“Well I’m glad you guys didn’t get caught.”

Taylor glanced sideways at her. “They didn’t get caught. I did.”

Claire halted. She tipped her head to the side. “Wait. They snuck out. You followed to make Marissa go back to the cabin and you’re the only one who got caught? Did Zeke punish you?”

“Zeke and Harris both.” Taylor shrugged and kept walking. “Nothing new. Happens all the time at home.”

Claire hurried up to him, pulling on his arm until he stopped. “Do you always take the blame when Marissa gets into trouble?”

Taylor nodded. “Pretty much.”

Book: Speak No Evil (Rustic Knoll Bible Camp Book 2) by Mary L. Hamilton, Hope Springs Books, 2013

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Boys 13-16+

Subjects: Sibling Relationships, Parent Relationships, Bullying, Truth, Trust

Summary: Marissa’s words “He’s hot, even without the car” sealed Taylor’s fate. When his younger sister comes to camp with him and is attracted to the troublemaker, problems begin. She keeps sneaking out to be with him and in his attempts to stop her, Taylor is the one getting caught. He takes the blame for her, just like he always does. But things are different here. He has something valuable to lose – the trust of the camp maintenance man letting him help restore the classic car in the garage. If Luke would just leave Marissa alone everything would be fine. However, he has no intentions whatsoever of doing that. He’s bound for trouble and is intent on dragging Marissa right along with him.

Notes: Speak No Evil is the 2^nd in the Rusty Knoll Bible Camp series. The first book introduces a group of about six campers and each of the three books in the series tells the story of one of the boys at camp and experiencing life change through his experiences at camp and the nightly chapel messages.

This book deals with a kid whose dad has lost all faith in him due to the poor choices of his older brother. Jesse was the perfect one in the eyes of their father – until he found himself in jail. Now their dad is convinced that Taylor will be right behind him. Taylor was the camp bully in book one but this time he is too busy trying to keep his sister out of trouble to worry about causing trouble himself. It’s the trust the old maintenance man places in him that causes Taylor to finally put his trust in Christ for his salvation. When he sees someone believing good of him instead of bad, he finally recognizes the truth – Jesus did for Taylor what Taylor is doing for Marissa – taking the punishment.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

John 14:18 - I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Hebrews 13:5-6 – Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Thank you to the author for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I enjoyed it!