Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures

[Kirsti Friesen]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures" by Catherine A. Pepe.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures was a fantastic children's book that covered a lot of issues that children face today. I rate this book a 5 out of 5. It was very well written and exceptionally edited. This was an easy read for adults, but for children and teens it would be a great chapter book. The little art in between some chapters was a pleasant surprise.
Mary Grace struggles with change as her world is completely flipped upside down by her parents call to be missionaries in Africa. Donny, on the other hand, seems to be unaware of the changes and seems excited and happy about the new adventure.
The dynamic between the children and their grandparents was a great example of how supportive grandparents can be. The author did a fantastic job at developing the characters of the grandparents and the patience they showed with both children. Mary Grace struggles with change and shows this in a very emotional way. She seems defiant in some of her coping mechanisms, but this is true for her age.
Mary Grace faces bullying and threats in her new school, making the transition harder for her. She did a great job at making good outcomes from a bad situation. She showed that grace can be shown to people who do not treat us well. I am just thankful that the bullying did not make it to Donny, as I feel like this would affect him emotionally as well as his self esteem.
There is some religious content in this book, but not overwhelmingly so. I think this would be a good book for any religious or non-religious person to read. This would also be a good book for teachers to read to get more of an insight of how to deal with children who are bullying other children.
Overall, this book was very well written and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an easy, great read.

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
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[MsH2k]

She showed that grace can be shown to people who do not treat us well.

This was truly a great lesson in the story. And the result of showing grace had a better outcome than I expected. Thank you for your excellent analysis of this read!

[Hazel Mae Bagarinao]

I feel for Mary Grace. I feel scared of change but that's what we keep going. We always change with time. I wish I have a characteristic of Donny's adaptable nature. That's so great. Your review is lovely, Kirsti!