Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures

[Black Gem]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Mary Grace’s life is about to change in Donny and Mary Grace’s California Adventures by Catherine A. Pepe. Her parents have been sent as missionaries to Africa by the Episcopal Church, and now she and her brother, Donny, have to leave their beloved home in Wichita, Kansas, to live with their grandparents in California for two years. How would they be able to cope without their parents? And what happens when they begin to receive threatening messages in California? Who is sending these threats? How can they stop them?

Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures is a heartwarming and relatable tale. I could relate well to the homesickness Mary Grace felt, jealousy, bullying, and love for one’s family, themes that the book treated.

Donny was such a brilliant character. He exuded so much joy and positivity despite his disability, which I am sure was because of the love his family showered him. Donny also raised awareness in me, because I had to research more on his disability as I wasn’t familiar with it.

Mary Grace is far too intelligent for her age. The way this 10-year-old was able to solve the mystery of the threats she got and how she managed to handle this situation is commendable. I loved that Mary Grace was able to use the lessons she learned from the Grandma Gang's adventures to settle some issues in this book. This is a lesson to learn: we should always learn from other people’s experiences and apply them to our lives at the right time.

Catherine A. Pepe was able to handle cheating, jealousy, bullying, and punishments exceedingly well in this book. Punishment does not have to be harsh to be effective.

I did not find any error in Donny and Mary Grace’s California Adventures. And I did not hate anything about this book. I rate it a perfect 4 out of 4 stars.

I recommend this book to children of six years and above. It is suitable because there is no profanity in this book, and the children have a lot to learn from it.

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
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