Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek (Faithgirlz / The Good News Shoes)
If you’re gonna run for your life,
you gotta wear the right shoes.
Riley Mae Hart loves sports and action—so when the Swiftriver Shoe Company offers her a contract to be the spokesperson for their new outdoor sport collection, she jumps at the chance. Soon she’s appearing in commercials and magazine ads, and every girl in town wants to wear Riley Mae shoes. Well, except for Riley. Because walking in those shoes means missing out on softball season, making her best friend, TJ, mad, and embarrassing her new friend, Rusty. It also means sneaking around, hiding, and keeping secrets—because something isn’t quite right at Swiftriver. But a contract’s a contract, so Riley laces up her “Rock Shocker” hiking boots for a climb up Half-Dome in Yosemite. Will they be the right shoes to get her back on solid ground?
Reviews (44)
Must read!
It was a really fun read and my daughter really likes Riley with mystery and clean fiction!!
Perfect for middle school girls!
I was looking for a great Christian series for my daughter, and this delivered. Full of action, suspense, and also girly, right up my daughter's alley. I love that girls can grow in their faith with this series. It was hard to put the book down for both my daughter and me. We bought the e-book.
My 8 year old daughter deemed these books her favorite Christmas gift
My 8 year old daughter deemed these books her favorite Christmas gift. She read 2 of them over Christmas break. She loves the adventure and suspense. I am thrilled that these books meet her advanced reading skill but have age appropriate content! She told me Riley Mae is learning to compromise and resolve conflict with her friends. Awsome book!
Amazing book!!
This book was the kind of book that you can't put down! (I am 13 years old!!) It was a very neat book!😊😊
Grandchild age 9 liked it.
Was gift. Grandchild age 9 liked it.
Five Stars
my daughter loved this book did not put it down
Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek by Jill Osborne
Book 1 of the "Good News Shoes" series introduces us to Riley Mae, the spokesperson for a new collection of sport shoes. In Book 1: "Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek", Riley realizes the importance of keeping her commitments when photo shoots and publicity events prevent her from playing softball. Riley deals a lot with friendships as her new commitments lead to conflict between Riley and her best friend, TJ, who doesn't understand her circumstance. Riley also meets (and helps) a new friend, Rusty, who is struggling financially because her dad is out of work. A strong theme in "Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek" is the importance of praying to God about decisions and about praying to God when you are scared. I like that Riley isn't an example of perfect faith. She asks the age old question we all wonder from time to time "How do you know if God says "Yes"?". Another strong theme in the book is the importance of being prepared to share the gospel. At one point Rusty has questions about the Bible and Riley feels ill-equipped to answer them. Watching a little girl in the Sunday School class answer Rusty's questions inspires Riley to become better prepared to share the gospel with those around her. One thing that I didn't love about the book is that Riley keeps some secrets from her parents and asks others (including adults) to keep secrets from her parents. These aren't major secrets, but still kids keeping secrets is something I don't agree with. The fact that she forgot to apply sunscreen and that her new friend is without food are two examples of the secrets Riley keeps from her parents. This isn't enough of an issue to me to not recommend the book -- but it is a topic that could/should be discussed with your pre-teen when she reads the book. Another concern I have with the book is that God is referred to as "small 'h' he" instead of "big H "He". I prefer when God is referred to with a capital "H" because I think it shows more reverence. Riley learns in Book 1 that things aren't always as they seem. With the help of her friends and family, Riley uncovers a mystery -- all while experiencing an adventurous climb up Half-Dome in Yosemite. Although the cover doesn't hint at it -- mystery and adventure go hand in hand in this book. It will be sure to keep the interest of your pre-teen readers and inspire them in their faith at the same time. Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers[...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 [...] "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek - Faithgirlz The Good News Shoes Book 1 Author
Title: Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek - Faithgirlz The Good News Shoes Book 1 Author: Jill Osborne Publisher: Zonderkidz-Books Published: 1-28-2014 Pages: 240 Genre: Children's Fiction Sub-Genre: Christian; Friends ISBN: 9780310742944 ASIN: B00HYN86R0 Reviewed For NetGalley and Zonderkidz-Books Reviewer: DelAnne Rating: 4.25 Stars Riley Mae is a young athletic girl who loves baseball, a sport she shares with her best friend. While at her father's work place she is unexpectedly approached by her father's client to be the spokesperson for the Swiftriver Shoe Company. Excited she begins and new adventure, but finds the fame she comes to know comes at a price. Missed games causes problems with her friend and the others on the team members. Everyone wants to be her and there is no privacy. There is no backing out even when she finds there is something going on at Swiftriver. After all she signed a contract and must honor it. A wonderfully clean read for young readers. This is a series that teaches as it entertains. Morals and right and wrong without preaching. I rated this book at 4.75 out of 5 stars. If you have a young reader looking for a series that is interesting and fun to read then give this series a try. I don't believe you will be disappointed.
Cute, Clean, and Fun
Riley Mae is the new spokesperson for a shoe company and she is very excited about it...until it interferes with the rest of her life. Her best friend is mad at her, she can't play softball as much as she wants, and all her weekends are spent doing photo shoots and making appearances. Here is what I liked about the book: Riley Mae is a sweet girl who genuinely cares about others. She goes out of her way to make other girls feel included and good about themselves. She is upbeat and positive. I loved the vibrant personalities of the characters. Flip and Fawn are both entertaining and fun to have along for the ride. Riley's parents were involved in her life and helped her make good decisions (yay for involved parents!). They taught her to pray over decisions and to turn to God for guidance. What I didn't like about the book: Much of the religious content felt awkward and out of place—there were only a few instances where it fit nicely with the rest of the story. Also, the build up was very slow. Most of the book was about photo shoots and friend drama until the very end when things got interesting. There is a bit of a cliffhanger ending. There's not much of a solution, but instead it ends in a gateway to the next book. There isn't much explanation for some character's motivations, and many of their behaviors didn't make sense. Maybe those things will be addressed in the next book. Even though not everything worked for me, it was still a good book that I would happily let my daughter read. It will appeal to girls ages 9-12 that enjoy clean, light reads with fun characters. Content: clean Source: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
A Mom and Kid Duo Review
My 9 year old and I just finished reading the first book in the Faithgirlz series, called Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek. This series was written by Jill Osbourne and chronicles the adventures of a 7th grader named Riley Mae. The book is about the ups and downs of being the new spokesperson for a line of flashy athletic girl shoes. Riley Mae learns that the excitement and glamour also comes with a lot of commitment that takes her away from the things that she enjoys doing, and causes her friendships to be affected as well. As a Christian, she feels the conflict of being part of a glamour world and watching the disappointments of those who struggle with not having money and nice things. Her Christian values prevail, and she clings to the desire to care for and reach out to others. Ansley ( age 9) shared her thoughts about the book, and she had many favorite parts. A mix of humor, adventure, and mystery were reflected in her choices. She could relate well to Riley Mae as they both liked the outdoors, sports, etc but also girly, glitzy things to wear, such as the shoes in the shoe line Riley Mae represented. She liked that Riley Mae was a Christian girl who was kind and considerate to others, and didn't pick her friends based on "being popular". In my opinion, the author did well with capturing story aspects that would appeal to a pre-teen/young teen market. As a chapter book, this book often has incentive to keep reading to find out what's going to happen next. The entire book also ends with some things not getting closure and promise of more continued adventure in the next book of the series.
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