Book Review: Riley Mae and the Sole Fire Safari, by Jill Osborne
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: FaithGirlz/Zonderkidz (2014)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-74283-8
SRP: $7.99
Ages 8-12
Rating:ย ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐
The wait is over–readers who loved the first two books in “The Good News Shoes” series by debut author Jill Osborne can now experience more faith-filled adventures with Riley Mae!
Riley’s preteen fans will learn a lot about African culture and probably a lot about themselves too as they enjoy Riley Mae and the Sole Fire Safari.
Riley Mae is the 12-year-old spokesperson for for the Swiftriver Shoe Companyโs new outdoor sport collection. In this book, she and her mom and the Swiftriver team are off to Kenya to shoot an ad campaign for the new Sole Safari running shoes. They’re also trying to hide out from so-called enemies back in the US. You can get some of the backstory in my review of the first two Riley Mae books here.
Riley isn’t thrilled to be in Africa, at least not for as long as she finds herself there. Her hand is still in a cast. Adjusting to a new culture is hard–getting up before dawn for prayer, hiking to a well for water each day, running miles to school and back. Oh, and always watching out for lions! Riley’s turning 13 soon, and she’d much rather be back home with her friends and the rest of her family.
But the people of the remote village where she is staying begin to affect Riley’s heart. She’s already a believer, but in Kenya she sees Christian life lived out in new and deeper ways. Growing stronger, Riley begins to ask God to use her to share the good news about Jesus, and God answers her in surprising, exciting ways–even when her own bad judgment leads her into a dangerous encounter with the enemy.
The first half of the book moves a bit slowly, but the second half action more than makes up for it, and readers will be challenged, as even I was, to look around for people who need to hear about Jesus. I especially loved the example of the African women who pray for her about this:
So the women prayed. Not that my hand would be able to throw a softball, or even that I could be home in Fresno by my birthday. Instead, they prayed that I would love people with genuine love, and that when I open my mouth, the good news of Jesus would come out, plain and clear, so that people would hear and be given hope.
DIANE
ยฉ 2014, Diane Stortz