“Looking for Home” by Arleta Richardson

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align: left;”>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>About this book:an>

align: left;”>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>
an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”> “With his mother dead, his father gone, and his older brothers and sisters unable to help, eight-year-old Ethan Cooper knows it’s his responsibility to keep him and his younger siblings together—even if that means going to an orphanage.
an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”> Ethan, Alice, Simon, and Will settle into the Briarlane Christian Children’s Home, where there’s plenty to eat, plenty of work, and plenty of talk about a Father who never leaves. Even so, Ethan fears losing the only family he has. How can he trust God to keep him safe when almost everything he’s known has disappeared?
an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”> The first book in the Beyond the Orphan Train series, Looking for Home takes us back to 1907 Pennsylvania and into the real-life adventures of four children in search of a true home.”an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>
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an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>Series: Book #1 in “The Orphans’ Journey” series. an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>
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an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>Spiritual Content- Scriptures are quoted & remembered; Prayers & Blessings over food; Church going; Being told the story of The Good Shepard; Discussions about <a href=”https://shop.otakada.org”>God,a> praying, & the Good Shepard; Talks about <a href=”https://shop.otakada.org”>God,a> Jesus, Him being the Good Shepard, Him caring for us, praying, & Heaven; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Many mentions of <a href=”https://shop.otakada.org”>God,a> Jesus, praying, & the Good Shepard; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking <a href=”https://shop.otakada.org”>God,a> & blessings over food; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, services, deacons/ministers, & Sunday school (including a mention of Ethan’s father not allowing him to go to Sunday School because he didn’t want handouts & a grown woman wanting to attend a different church because “no one in her social set would dream of worshipping in a place like [the church they attend]”); Mentions of a Christian Children’s Home; A couple mentions of religious charitable work.
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an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘botheration’, a ‘what in tarnation’, & three ‘tarnation!’s; Ethan’s mother passed away before the start of the book and his father works on a boat, so Ethan and three of his younger siblings go to a Children’s Home; Some grief (from Ethan about his mother); A child is kidnapped (not with ill-intent, but the child is scared); A woman wants a child (for the wrong/selfish reasons, to enhance her standing in the town, which she reflects on later); Ethan is threatened by a bully (who never actually apologizes later but tries to make things better); Ethan and a friend try to wiggle out of a future punishment by not listening to instructions; Ethan hits another boy (a young man and it doesn’t hurt him); Ethan keeps the bully’s threats to himself because he’s scare of retaliation (though, he eventually tells an adult); Mentions of a kidnapping & the kidnapper (who has to learn a lesson through this); Mentions of stealing & stolen items; Mentions of a bully & him threatening the younger kids (including Ethan); Mentions of when Ethan’s father would make him get beer for him & being strapped when late; Mentions of one of the kids from the Children’s Home running away (a teenager); A couple mentions of whips/being strapped (they don’t do that at the Children’s Home); A couple mentions of other children in town teasing and taunting the children from the Home; A mention of jail; A mention of a lie;
an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”> *Note: Towards the end of the book, an Orphan Train is planned for some of the children from the Children’s Home and in the author’s note, it’s mentioned about those who benefited or suffered under those arrangements.
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an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>Sexual Content- N/A.
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an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>-Ethan Cooper, ages 8-9
an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”> P.O.V. switches between Ethan & others
an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”> Set in 1907-1908
an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”> 184 pagesan>

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align: center;”>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>{Could possibly be triggering for adoptees}an>

align: left;”>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>This book has been on my radar for years and I’m glad I finally got around to reading it. Like other good middle-grade stories, there’s a lot of character development for different characters within this 200 pages and some adventures too! There was a good amount of faith content and overall quite clean. It could be triggering for adoptees, though, as Ethan and his eight siblings are split-up and some are in the Children’s Home. They are well taken care of there, but there are a few challenges in the adjustment period. *Spoiler* an style=”color: #f3f3f3;”>At the end, one of Ethan’s older siblings give approval for the younger four (including Ethan) to be sent on an orphan train to be adopted as their father will not be coming back. an>*End of Spoiler*
an>an style=”font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif; font-size: 12pt;”>I’m looking forward to continuing with the series and see what happens for this sibling group. an>

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*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.an>