Ginnie West Collection

About the Book

Book: The Ginnie West Collection

Author: Monique Bucheger

Genre: Christian fiction, middle grade

Book 1: THE SECRET SISTERS CLUB

Twelve-year-old BFF’s Ginnie West and Tillie Taylor, want to be sisters. Ginnie’s widowed dad plus Tillie’s divorced mom could equal a lifetime of round-the-clock girl talk and slumber parties. Too bad Dad vowed to never marry again. Ginnie and Tillie come up with the perfect scheme to change his mind: ‘Operation Secret Sisters’ (aka OSS). After all, if they can’t get Dad to move on, Tillie can’t move in.
Things get more complicated when Ginnie stumbles across her mom’s hidden journals. Ginnie can finally get to know the mother she doesn’t remember and her dad doesn’t talk about—if Dad doesn’t take them away.

Book 2: TROUBLE BLOWS WEST

Putting her body in motion before her brain is in gear creates a mountain of problems for 12 year-old Ginnie West. She is certain that defending her twin brother, Toran, from the biggest bully in sixth grade was the right thing to do. But Ginnie couldn’t be more wrong. She quickly learns that Toran doesn’t appreciate being rescued by a girl any better than Pierce likes being knocked down by one.

When Pierce seeks revenge on Ginnie, Toran sets aside his anger and helps her plot a payback prank at Pierce’s house. Sadly, Ginnie learns that Pierce has a reason for being a bully when she sees his dad drop him to the floor like a ragdoll. Realizing he’s a boy in big trouble, Ginnie decides to be his ally, because he won’t let her be his friend.

Book 3: SIMPLY WEST OF HEAVEN

Twelve-year-old BFFs Ginnie and Tillie are matchmaking geniuses. Sweet! Not long after they schemed to get Ginnie’s widowed dad to fall in love with Tillie’s divorced mom, Ginnie stumbled upon her late mom’s journals, making life even more awesome sauce … until her dad confiscated the journals, determined to protect Ginnie from a danger he won’t name.

Ginnie is counting on her future sister’s help to make Dad change his mind, but Tillie’s not so sure the ghost of Ginnie’s mom will make a good addition to their new family tree. The girls’ world gets flipped upside-down when a blast from the past shows up and makes Tillie go nutburgers. Ginnie is torn between helping her best friend and what could be the answer to her deepest wish.

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This is a middle-grade book that girls will enjoy about friendship and family. It is a clean story. If you like stories like "The Parent Trap" and horses then I recommend this book. Even through it is written for younger girls, I am a 60 year old grandma I enjoyed it. It was a fast and easy read. The chapters are great for readers that want to read several times a day or read the entire book in one setting.

This book picks up where the first book leaves off. It shows how forgiveness and friendship is a way to solve your bullying problems.It shows a family being supporting of each other. This books are written for older children but adults like them also. This book also deals with divorce and remarrying. I think stories with twins are exciting. I have always wondering what it would be like to have raised twins.

Each book in this series is better than the one before it. "Simply West of Heaven" is mostly about Ginnie's and her struggle to learn more about her mom and her mother's journals. This series is about family, forgiveness and faith. This book has more drama and it might not be for younger children or more sensitive children because of the topic raised.

If you like to read family sagas and like to read what your children are reading and like books that might provide conversations to help them cope with difficult topics and like to read about how family can support and forgive each other even in unexpectedly trying situations then I recommend this series. I think it would be best to read then in order to fully get the complete background!

I read each story at different times, but I think reading them all together as they are in this collection was way better, but then I like series.

I was given a contemporary copy by the author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own.

About the Author

Monique When Monique isn’t writing, you can find her playing taxi driver to one or more of her 12 children, plotting her next novel, scrapbooking, or being the “Mamarazzi” at any number of child-oriented events.

Even though she realizes there will never be enough hours in any given day, Monique tries very hard to enjoy the journey that is her life. She shares it with a terrific husband, her dozen children, twelve grand-darlings, too many cats, and many real and imaginary friends. She is the author of several books in three series and hopes to write many more.

More from Monique

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the Kickoff of The Ginnie West Collection (Books 1, 2, and 3) of the Ginnie West Adventures series. This omnibus edition includes The Secret Sisters Club, Trouble Blows West andSimply West of Heaven.

The series starts with The Secret Sisters Cluband introduces the reader to 12-year-old best friends, Ginnie West and Tillie Taylor. Ginnie’s mother died when she was 3 ½ in a tragic accident and Tillie’s birth dad hit the road 6 years before the series starts.

Tillie, especially, wants a “whole” family again and who would make a better sister than her BFF? When she suggests to Ginnie that their parents would also benefit by marrying, their scheme, Operation: Secret Sisters is formed.

Things get more complicated when Ginnie discovers a box of her dead mom’s journals and reads one, getting to know the mother she doesn’t remember and her dad doesn’t talk about. Discovering the journals brings up questions and feelings that Ginnie didn’t expect and she struggles to reconcile her desire to know her real mom and while caring about her “new” mom.

Trouble Blows West takes a complete turn from Book 1 when the biggest bully in 6^thgrade goes after Ginnie’s twin brother, Toran, and results in Ginnie knocking the bully, Pierce, on his rear in front of the whole student body in the cafeteria on page 2. Things get more complicated when the reader realizes that Pierce is being abused at home. Ginnie doesn’t find out right away—but when she does, Ginnie, Toran, and Tillie decide to become Pierce’s allies—because he won’t let them be his friends. Trouble Blows Westis a story of kids on the opposite sides of many issues who try to come to some peaceful understandings.

Because of her great influence in my life, I made my high school creative writing teacher, Mrs. Marion Joyce Johnson, a character in this book years ago. A fun happenstance has recently occurred. Mrs. Johnson’s real life son is Col. Greg Johnson, pilot and astronaut for the Space Shuttle Endeavor. I reached out to Greg who read: Trouble Blows Westand fell in love with Ginnie and her family. He has graciously written a Foreword for the book.

Simply West of Heavenstarts three weeks after The Secret Sisters Clubends. The one thread that wasn’t reconciled in Book 1 is resolved in this book—and the thread opens up a whole lot of possibilities of fun and new adventures for Ginnie, Tillie, and the Wests. This book has my four best twists and guarantees the reader lots of surprises as the story unfolds. Hopefully readers will want to continue to read about Ginnie and Tillie in Book 4: Being West is Best.

The Ginnie West Adventures series truly is a labor of love for me. I enjoy sharing the West family and their stories with new and longtime readers. I especially love it when readers share with me their experiences of finding courage and peace to overcome their own trials and share those stories with me. I hope to empower and uplift my readers and love it when they connect with me.

Laugh lots … love much … write on!

Monique Bucheger