Chris Fabry

Dear Readers,

In The Promise of Jesse Woods Chris Fabry once again takes us back to Dogwood, West Virginia.  A town we have visited along with Chris 3 other times.  A little town that is not perfect, but will remind you of home if you grew up in a small town anywhere in the USA. 

During the summer of 1972 Matt Plumley's life changed forever.  His father took a  pastoral position in the little town that he grew up in.  It meant leaving behind Pittsburgh and Matt's beloved Pirates.  It also meant new friends, new school and figuring out the lay of the land.

The first person Matt meets is Jesse Woods and the rest they say is history.  Jesse, Dickie and Matt become pretty inseparable for the summer.  They ride their bikes all over the mountains, they explore, the have campouts, they are just kids.  Each with a different type of "baggage" to carry, but together, life is tolerable.  

12 years later, Matt returns to Dogwood after finding out why Jesse is about to break a promise she made to him years ago.  The only promise Jesse ever broke.  

Chris' books always make it to my TBR pile of books and are usually pretty high on the list as they are all so good.  There is something about Chris' writing style that makes me comfortable.  I would say that he writes with a Mayberry feel to it.  A place we all want to go  home to.  

Another aspect of Chris' writing that is remarkable, his stories never seem to end up where you think they are going to end up.  They are not major twists or turns that get them pointed in a different way, it his characters.  They are very human and people we can identify with.  Characters that have flaws, do things they are not proud of, and are people we ourselves are.  

Do yourself a favor, if you haven't read any of Chris' books, grab one, get started and find yourself at home in Dogwood West Virginia.  

Happy Reading,

Chris Fabry

Dear Readers

Borders on the Heart by Chris Fabry is as gritty as the countryside he sets the story in.  It covers several different topics; among them illegal immigration, drugs and trafficking, terrorism, all of which are important and very relevant to society today.

J.D. has walked away from society.  He once had a promising music career, he was married to the love of his life and things were good.  That all ended suddenly and he walked away from it all.  He now works for room and board and enough food to survive on.   He is learning how to grow crops in the desert of Texas where nothing is friendly.  The land is dry and dusty, animals attack before they get attacked and the plants are the same way.

His boss only has one rule, if you see an illegal, call Border Patrol.  J.D. has no problem with that rule until he finds Marie lying in the desert almost “3/4” dead.  There is something about her that makes J.D. want to protect her and makes sure she is okay. That is where things start to go very wrong.  There are some very bad men chasing Marie and they want her dead along with anyone she has contact with.  They will stop at nothing to get to her either.

Chris sets this book during the summer in Texas near the Mexican/USA border.  It often tops out above 120 during the day there and Chris does such a great job in describing the heat that you can almost feel it coming off the book.  Now I have never been in Texas during July or August, but I have visited in the spring and boy that is a whole different kind of hot.  Humid and hot, no wonder everything is grumpy.

I have found that in reading Chris’ books, he never pushes the answers to these moral questions down your throat.  He wants you to decide for yourself what the answers might be.  He wants you to think about them and answer them after learning more and trying to see both sides of the problem.  The topic of illegal immigration is a touchy subject.  They are breaking the law, they are doing something illegal, so the punishment should follow, but they are also trying to get away from a life that is starving their families and are we not commanded to take care of the least of these.  *Sigh* and there is the moral dilemma.

Happy Reading

Chris Fabry

Dear Readers,

First, I love Chris Fabry fiction books.  That is also true about Not in the Heart, his newest.  With that said, stay with me on this review even though it seems that at certain points I might not have loved it.   

I have never had a book that I liked this much but really disliked the main character.  I have had bad guys that I don't like, but that is the point right?  I have had books were the characters are poorly written, but that is not the case here.  This was a main character that I really just struggled to like.  If he was a real person, I would not have thought much of him.  There were even certain parts of the book where I felt like I was reading this book just to see what bad would finally happen to him.

Truman has followed his dream where ever and whenever it took him.  It has brought him fame and fortune, but has also cost him his family.  He never said no to doing a story no matter what he would have to miss.  Birthdays, holidays, vacations, sports game, writing the next great news story was more important than anything and everything that had to do with his family.

His son Aiden's life depends on the death of someone who has a match for his heart.  They finally found one; the problem is that person is still using it.  At least until his execution, which is scheduled for 30 days from now.  When Truman agrees to write the convicted man's story, he becomes involved in his family's lives in more ways than he was prepared for.  

I hate to say it, but that is as much as I am going to share of Truman's story.  This book has so many different layers to it that to just doing a short review about it doesn't do it justice.  The one question it speaks to is, can a convicted prisoner, whether on death row or not, donate his organs to someone?  I know that is a very slippery slope that we as a society have refrained from approaching because of how it can suddenly become a problem.

As I said earlier, I really did like this book, I just had a problem with Truman.  It is one of those books that when you get done reading it you still think about it for a while.  Every time I went to write this review, I kept thinking of different things I wanted to share, but I also don't want to give the story line away, so I will be saying no more, but this would be a great book for a book club.   

Happy Reading

P.S. This book is available in our store or by request from bakerbookstore.com

Chris Fabry

Dear Readers,

I don't know a lot about Chris Fabry.  The only thing I do know for sure is he writes really good fiction books and I really like them.  Almost Heaven is the 3rd story centered in Dogwood, West Virginia.  They are part of a series and yet they can all be read as stand-alones. 

 

In this book you meet Billy Allman.  He is a nice guy who is just living his life as close to God's will as he can.  He feels like he is doing what God wants him to do but something seems to be missing. 

 

He has suffered several great losses in his life.  He lost his family home to a flood, his father died shortly after that.  His mother passed while suffering from dementia.  There are other major things that have happened in his life to make him into the man he is. 

 

Callie has loved Billy for as long as she has known him.  She isn't the prettiest thing to look at, but she has a heart of gold. She helps take care of him and makes sure he eats well even though he is working hard to make sure the radio station keeps operating.

 

They are both broken people just trying to do what is right.  They are not making millions and they will not ever be world famous, but they are ok with that.  They just want to do what is right.

 

I argued with myself whether or not I was liking this book.  I think I kept thinking I knew how this one would end and it never did what I expected it to do.  There was one part of the story I got right, but I don't want to tell you what that was as you need to discover it yourself.  That is what I love about Chris' books as he doesn't write what we think should happen.  He writes the story as it should be told. 

 

I am hoping that he is writing the next book already as I am looking forward to reading that one.

 

Happy Reading

Chris Fabry

Dear Readers,

June Bug by Chris Fabry is the second of his Dogwood West Virginia books. The best thing is this is not a series. Some of the background characters will show up in them all, but that is it. I have no problem saying you could easily read them in any order.

I have started this review twice now and am still wondering what to say. I really liked this book, but felt like I had read it before. It is a very strange feeling, mostly because I knew I hadn't read this book before. :-) Oh well, it still is good.

June Bug sees her face on the wall at Walmart under the missing kids pictures. So starts a strange ending to a long journey for her and her dad. She doesn't remember anything except driving around the country with her dad and being taught in "RV" school. She is a great reader and knows things about America that not many people know. She has been from coast to coast and all the points in between. She loves her daddy and her life, even though she wouldn't mind a house and maybe grandparents and knowing her mother. All things that her dad can't give her.

This was a very enjoyable book. I fell in love with June Bug right away. She is a very precocious 9 year old who isn't afraid to ask questions but is terrified of crossing bridges. She will quickly win your heart also. As I read and knew the ending that had to happen, I just didn't want her to get hurt. It was an ending that fits the story, I just wish it had ended a little different. :-)

Happy Reading