That’s Not Hay In My Hair

“We are just going to have to take care of the ranch ourselves now!” Mom whooped like a coyote – a very sudden change of attitude.

“What?” I exclaimed.

Now who is going to protect us from the coyotes?

Who is going to rescue us from a stampeding pack of wild hugs?

What is Mom is bitten by a snake in the middle of the night and has to go to the hospital… who is going to drive us?

Book: That’s Not Hay In My Hair by Juliette Turner, Zonderkidz, 2016

Genre: Adventure

Target Audience: Girls 11-13

Subjects: Prayer, Fear

Summary: Twenty-Five, count them, twenty-five thousand pound longhorns. And three horses. And five dogs. And no help caring for any of them. This is the life fourteen year old Jules and her mom left New York City for. When she’s not running from bats or snakes, she’s chasing runaway longhorns or riding out of control horses. School is forty-five minutes away, and that’s after a morning chore routine. One thing is for sure: life could not possibly get any more different from her life in New York. In fact, it could not possibly get any more crazy!

Notes: Written by a seventeen year old, That’s Not Hay In My Hair is a telling of adventures one girl faces moving to a Texas ranch. The focus is the comedic nature of the events Jules faces as she adjusts to her new life. Most of the characters are a little quirky and the situations are twisted to look crazy as well. Things that might be normal occurrences on a ranch are portrayed in such a way as to look comical. There really is not much of any spiritual emphasis in the story. There are a couple references to pray, but the focus isn’t to make a point, the story is merely meant to entertain. In fact, the main character does not know much of anything about the Bible. When asked to identify a favorite verse, she does not know of any.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 1/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Psalm 118:6-8 – The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.