Guide to Categories – MS Review – review of books for older elementary-aged and middle school-aged children

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About the Book

Book: All Together West: A Ginnie West Adventure

Authors: Monique Bucheger & G.L. Rasmussen

Genre: Upper Middle Grade

Release date: December 5, 2024

Families are complicated… and no one knows that better than 12 year-old Ginnie West. With her dad engaged to her best friend’s mom, this summer should be a dream come true. However, the return of Tillie’s birth father muddles the girls’ celebration.

On the plus side, Ginnie’s dream of training on her beloved horse, Calliope, is finally happening. However, she soon discovers that her riding experience is not enough when Tillie, her best friend, and Toran, her twin brother, and their new horses outshine Calliope in performance.

To complicate matters further, Ginnie finds herself in the midst of an escalating prank war with her mischievous Uncle Jake, drawing the entire family into the chaos. The West/Stratton/Taylor families must come together and heal, allowing her great-uncle’s cherished motto, “When you’re here, you’re family,” to hold true once more.

Click here to get your copy!

My MS Review

Bucheger, Monique and G.L. Rasmussen. All Together West. NP: True West Publishing, 2024.

Ginnie West Adventure book 6

Bucheger and Rasmussen continue the story of Ginnie West and her family in All Together West. The story picks up almost immediately where book 5 of the series leaves off.

It is a story of reconciliation between the West and the Stratton families. The fun aspect of the story is that the prank war continues between Ginne and Uncle Jake—with some help from family members.

One aspect of the story that may cause some concern is the references to Queenie (who has been dead for many years) being the force bringing people together and the fact that a shadow of her image shows up in a recent family photo. This will not be received well by all Christians.

Because of that concern, I cannot recommend the book for inclusion in a K-12 Christian school library. I recommend that librarians read the book for themselves to determine if it is appropriate for their audience. 

I received a complimentary copy of All Together West. This is my honest review. 

About the Authors – Monique Bucheger and G.L. Rasmussen

Monique is a bestselling author, a certified Farland Fiction Coach, and an empowerment speaker, dedicated to championing the underdog, in both her writing and real-life adventures.

Having a heart for families in crisis, Monique creates stories that capture the essence of real-life challenges and triumphs, with a touch of humor.

Monique’s upper middle-grade series, ‘The Ginnie West Adventures,’ delves into sensitive and weighty themes such as parental loss, abandonment, and overcoming abuse. She delivers stories not only for tween readers, but for those young at heart.

Drawing from her experiences nurturing a dozen of her own children and fostering over a hundred more, Monique’s experiences shape her books, creating novels in a number of genres, including a historical family saga, contemporary family dramas, a fun picture book, and a middle grade series weaving whimsy and heart into her tales.

A country boy by birth and by choice, Gary spent his youth working on the family farm, for local farmers and ranchers, on horseback or playing sports. Offered scholarships in Agriculture and Advertising Design, he opted for the bright lights and big city. Eight years in the advertising field convinced him that wasn’t where he wanted to be.

Gary freelanced in design and illustration, converted his love of writing for advertising to a newspaper column about the country lifestyle. He has also worked as a ranch manager, cowboy, rancher, and horse trainer. An avid painter and author, Gary shares his talents through mentoring others, is a past president of the Western Art Guild and Idaho Writers League and is an active member of Western Writers of America.

Gary and his wife, Margie are the parents of four children and ten grandchildren and have traveled extensively throughout Europe, Great Britain and the United States.

More from Monique Bucheger

All Together West: A Ginnie West Adventure is an accumulation of many arcs, including getting to know some family members that Ginnie didn’t even know existed not very long ago. These blasts from the past make Ginnie and Tillie’s present very interesting.

When Monique and G.L. wrote Book 5: Chase Your Dreams West: A Ginnie West Adventure, it turned into a very long book and was split almost in half–with some storylines going into Book 5 and others into Book 6. A new plotline was added to weave a more interesting tale that readers have really liked. In fact, while Ginnie and Tillie have puzzled along trying to solve some riddles, readers made some interesting guesses that have given the authors ideas to add to future novels.

So put on your thinking caps and jump right in with your best guesses as the girls go on a treasure hunt. Who knows what they might find as they search for clues from the present to fill in gaps from the past? Their hunt might lead to an amazing adventure in the future.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, December 5

Stories By Gina, December 6 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, December 6

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 7

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, December 8 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, December 9

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 10 (Author Interview)

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 11

Fiction Book Lover, December 12 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 13

Vicky Sluiter, December 14 (Author Interview)

Artistic Nobody, December 14

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 15

Guild Master, December 16 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 17

Blossoms and Blessings, December 18 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate their tour, Monique and Gary are giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54110

Read more MS Review posts.

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