This is one of those books that readers will really instantly feel drawn to, but it is certainly true that there is a bit of a death by a thousand cuts aspect to it when it comes to questionable content. We will attempt to help paint the full picture below.

This book is funny and light nearly the whole time. Because of that, parents may be surprised by a couple of more serious parts (even though they are typically presented lightly and with joking). When the crime the story revolves around is revealed a detective very bluntly says it was “murder”. Mo asks, “somebody slit his throat?” to which he replies, “somebody shot him dead”. Later, in the midst of all of the lightness/sweetness/humor we find another character has been murdered, which is again just a bit jarring (although, again we don’t want to overstate it as it is not graphic or anything like that). When the full story unfolds we hear the villain is responsible for several more murders.

Another item that comes across a bit heavier is Dale’s father. While he barely ever actually shows up in the book, the weight of his severe drinking problem is felt in several scenes.We eventually find out he has been abusive as well, both to his wife and Dale. Mom ends up moving to get him removed from their home. Mo offers to “take him down” to which Dale very seriously replies, “Don’t hit him unless you aim to kill him Mo. I mean it”. Later we actually read a scene where he slaps Dale’s mother so hard her “head snaps back” and she falls to the floor. The author handles this all relatively gently, but directly.

In a part of the story that is (again) meant to be funny and sweet, Mo has a crush on Dale’s much older brother. She is a kid, while he is 19. She asks him to marry him very often (he declines). Near the culmination of the book, this young man leans down and kisses Mo “on the face” (meant to be sweet, but in our world not a good thing to include in a kids book).

There is some lighthearted/joking handling of dishonesty. Dale takes a boat from someone in town without permission, saying, “I wouldn’t say stole… But I did borrow it pretty strong”. To make it worse, Dale later suggests that whoever can return the boat should get a reward and Mo jumps in to encourage this idea despite knowing it was Dale. Mo says, “The colonel says not to lie, but sometimes the truth doesn’t feel like a good fit”.

Sadly, the main family, who we grow to really root for, all have a pretty modern, hand-waving approach to church and faith. When explaining church attendance, Mo says the coronel’s view is “God took off Sunday, so he does too” and “If God needs me, He knows where to find me”, while Mrs. Lana believes in “treating people right” and mainly goes on Christmas and Easter. Mo supports both of these views. Dale (another positive character) goes “because Mrs. Rose likes him to”. At a funeral Mo and the detective both keep their eyes open during prayer (in order to look for suspects). Dale points to something and says “demons!”, to which Mo attributes his family being Baptist. This book has a bit of an arm’s length perspective on Christianity, incorporating some aspects, but like this comment never seeming to take it very seriously.

Mo says all types of things that are mostly meant to be funny. We will list them here:

Dale’s dad is “too sorry to bring home any air conditioning”

“The men in Dale’s family are vain about their hair, and for good reason”

“I might come home tore up from fighting or late from being punished, but I’d never come home crying”

“Mrs. Lana reads voices like gypsies read tealeaves”

When the perpetrator calls and Mo answers she says, “You some kind of pervert calling up little girls and asking if they’re home alone? Because I’m not allowed to talk to perverts”.

Other items to be aware of:

Dale “swears” when upset. Mo comments that Dale “started swearing last year. I haven’t started yet, but the way things are going, I could at any moment”. Later Mo tells us that colonel “would say more, but Mrs. Lana doesn’t allow cursing”.

Mo calls a girl her “sworn enemy for life” and says she hates her (they do resolve later).

Mo remarks that she is “on the verge of puberty”. Similarly Dale says he will hold off on lifting weights “until I hit puberty”

Dale’s brother says he is “too pretty to do hard time”

Dale’s dad calls Dale singing in the church choir "sissified"

The title refers to Mo being “lucky” and this comes up several times

Dale’s older brother’s best friend “smells like a brewery”

The colonel remarks, “Never underestimate the idiocy of the criminal justice system”. Several times he shares his dislike of police and lawyers (although this doesn’t come across in the modern liberal sense we often see, it is more meant to be humorous)

Colonel says he would be “friciassee in hell” before doing something

Rumor going around says the colonel killed a man for his black belt (implied its not true)

There is a reference to a victim having a relationship with a married woman quickly in passing

Dale’s dad (who is almost always shown in a negative light) says that if he bought a dishwasher he wouldn’t need a wife.

There is a flippant remark “It’s hotter than the devil’s curling iron out here”

Mo exaggerates saying, “Sometimes I could kill Mrs. Lana”

A pastor suggests someone may have been a believer, but “not a church goer”

The town has a “Mimosa Festival”. A bar and grille has a slogan, “Get toasted at Buddhas”.

Someone remarks, “you’ll be a goddess to us both”. Mo is called the “Goddess of Free Enterprise”

Mrs. Lana asks Mo to keep something secret from the colonel.

Dale believes a house is haunted and shares details on the rumor.

Mo says someone “flipped into mother mode just like a werewolf growing hair beneath a full moon”

Mo is dishonest and charges one lady more than everyone else.

Someone is said to be “devilishly handsome”

Mo remarks, “your momma’s gonna skin you alive”.

Sadly Mo tells the reader, “I never forgive. I like revenge too much”. Even sadder, Dale says, “I’m Baptist. So far, fast and never are the only speed I got with forgiving”.

Passing reference to Rolling Stones and Cher.

Colonel and Mrs. Lana live together unmarried.

The colonel jokes, that without his get away place he’d have shot Mrs. Lana.

The following terms are used: jackass, idiot, Good Lord (flippant), “so damn stubborn”, moron