Samantha Sanderson On the Scene Book Review

Samantha Sanderson On the Scene Book Review

When I was growing up I loved reading books with girls as the main character.  It really helped me with my imagination and dreams of different things I could do when I grew up.  As a BookLook Blogger I had the opportunity to review Samantha Sanderson on the Scene.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Title: Samantha Sanderson on the Scene

Author: Robin Carroll

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2014

ISBN: 978-0-310742470

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, FaithGirlz

Pages: 256

Price: $8.99

About Samantha Sanderson on the Scene:

The second book in an exciting series about a girl with dreams to become an investigative journalist, each book promises to touch on a crime straight from the headlines, while also tackling tough issues faced by middle-schoolers everywhere.

A new addition to the Faithgirlz! trusted brand of books introduces readers to Sam Sanderson, an independent, resourceful, tech-savvy cheerleader and aspiring journalist, and Sam’s best friend Makayla. They’re ordinary 7th graders who enjoy shopping, texting, and going to the mall-along with sniffing out the next big mysteries to report in the school paper.

As Samantha and the rest of the middle schoolers prepare for the upcoming Spring Fest, “mean girl” Nikki faces the reality that her parents are getting divorced. It’s hard for Samantha to sympathize because of Nikki’s unkind reputation. But when Nikki becomes victim of a string of attacks, Samantha takes it upon herself and her super sleuth abilities to get down to the bottom of the bullying.

My thoughts:

None of my own children are old enough for middle school yet, but I have a nephew who is a freshman in high school, a nephew heading to middle school and a niece going to fifth grade.  I have to say that as parents we often forget what life was like when we were there ages.  They deal with so many issues and it seems like the major topic right now is bullying.  Just about daily we hear it on the news, see it on the internet or hear stories from our kids.  Reading this book reminded me that even in middle school kids face major problems.  Even when it seems small to us to them its major at that time in their life.  I really enjoyed Samantha and how she dealt with the issues she faced in this book.  I love that it’s a faith-based book as well.  I love sharing great books and I love it even better when those books are faith-based and help kids and teens learn about using faith to help them deal with some of their issues.  This is a great book for girls about eight to I would say fifteen.  It’s a series book and this one is the second book in the series.  The book also sheds light on another issue of how family problems at home spillover in school life. When the usually “tough girl” Nikki starts to deal with her parents divorce she becomes a bully victim and it makes you wonder if she was so tough as a way of dealing with her own issues at home.  It’s a great read and it would make a great summer reading book.  Be sure to review the guide at the back of the book after you finish reading it.  You can purchase the book from the Zondervan website or by clicking on the book image above.