Summary: Joni, a recent sixth-grade graduate is elated when a new girl moves in down the street from her family’s dairy farm. Finally, a friend close by! But can she and Chess actually be friends? Joni's strong-willed new neighbor holds beliefs about animal rights and rescue that are foreign to Joni. Soon, she finds herself unsure of whether she should be defending or questioning her own family's livelihood...
Violence/Disturbing Images: Minimal. At a horse adoption center, Joni sees horses who have been mistreated, including one extremely underfed horse whose description might be somewhat disturbing for sensitive readers.
Sensuality/Nudity: Minimal. Joni's adult sister has a boyfriend and Joni sees them briefly kiss; Joni takes off her shirt so that Chess can alter it; mention of the local widowers flirting with old Mrs. Abernathy
Profanity: None.
Morality: Moderate. The difference between right and wrong is clearly emphasized, though there is also some talk about what gives humans the right to dominate animals and whether or not it is right for them to do so. The author was not writing from a Christian perspective and so concludes that since humans are more intelligent beings and as evolved animals are higher up on the food chain, we have that right and should exercise it.
An excellent story that aptly describes the moral battle over animal rights for young readers. The author clearly provides a good illustration of both sides of the issue, and while she does arrive at the conclusion that humans are in fact superior to animals and can ethically exercise that right, she does not do so from a biblical worldview. Christians should know and keep in mind while reading that the God-breathed reason for such a conclusion comes from the fact that God set man over the animals, ordering him to have dominion over the earth and everything in it.
Overall Recommendation: 10+
God bless!
Comments