Lila and Hadley

VERDICT: Avoid

Concern Level: Medium-High

Book Cover for Lila and Hadley

Christian Parent Reviews Cross

Christian Parent Review

Concerning & Potentially Concerning Content

This book includes a developing gay relationship between the main character’s sister and her boss. She tells her sister she can tell she “likes” her boss. There are references and situations around this sub-plot across the story. The way this is weaved in make it seem like the most natural thing in the world, which the Bible tells us it is never meant to be. --- Hadley is simply awful for the majority of the book. To everyone around (besides the dog) she is mean, rude, harsh, dishonest, thinks the worst of everyone, is lazy and so on. These chapters are hard to endure. There are times she feels remorse, but does nothing to correct. Now to be fair she is in a tragically sad situation, but the book presents someone who has responded in the worst way possible. Even worse, there are no real “good” characters offered during this portion of the book to help offset this and show a bright contrast. --- Some parents will want to know that this book is very heavy on the value of having a dog, something not all parents may want to bring into their home. --- There is a light mention of puberty and a school rule of only being able to wear leggings with knee-length skirts “stupid”. Words like “stupid” are used multiple times. There is also a reference to having “the magic touch”. Finally, there is a use of “lmao” in a text conversation.

Our Thoughts

The issue with the sister’s gay relationship should really be a non-starter for Christian families. While not totally in your face throughout like other titles, it comes up multiple times and really has a serious danger of normalizing something God forbids. The rest of the story reminds us a lot of The Great Gilly Hopkins (but without the Christian character influences seen there). Here we do have a relatively happy ending. We see character growth, moving past hang-ups, reconciliation, forgiveness, new friendship and friendships restored. But to get there we spend around 60% of the story seeing life through the eyes of the main character… and what we see is not pretty to say the least. There is value in letting our children, when ready, see life through the eyes of someone much different than us, but given everything above, especially the primary concern mentioned above, we don’t believe this is one of the tools Christian parents should use to do this.

Plot SummaryNote: This information is typically from the publisher.Use with caution

Can a lost girl save a found dog? Find out in this unforgettable story about discovering true friendship, finding home, and the possibilities of forgiveness. --- Hadley is angry about a lot of things: Her mom going to jail. Having to move to another state to live with her older sister, Beth, even though they haven't spoken in five years. Leaving her friends and her school behind. And going blind. But then Hadley meets Lila. --- Lila is an abandoned dog who spends her days just quietly lying around at the local dog rescue where Beth works. She doesn't listen to directions or play with the other dogs or show any interest in people. So when Lila comes and sits by Hadley (which is hardly anything, but it's more than she's done with others), Beth thinks maybe Hadley can help Lila. She tells Hadley they'll bring Lila home as a foster dog and Hadley can teach her to follow commands, walk on a leash, and be more of a people dog so she'll be ready to be adopted. --- Only working with Lila is harder than Hadley thought, and so is the mobility training she starts taking to help with her failing vision. It feels like Lila is too stubborn to train and like learning to use a cane is impossible. But unless Hadley can help Lila, she'll never be adopted into a home. If Hadley could just let go of her anger, she might be able to save Lila... and herself. --- New York Times bestselling author Kody Keplinger weaves an unforgettable story about discovering true friendship, finding home, and the possibilities of forgiveness.

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Scripture Reflection

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

— 1 John 2:15-17

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