Official Review: Nobody's Mulligan by Brian Holt

[Theresa Moffitt]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Nobody's Mulligan" by Brian Holt.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Nobody’s Mulligan by Brian Holt tells the story of the fictional town of Grace’s Parrish, a friendly small town that has lost its way. Ultimately, this is a gripping story of redemption and the struggle between good and evil. Margaret Sullivan is a recent college graduate living with her grandparents. They raised her after her mother died in childbirth. Margaret is a central character of the book and volunteers at the hospital and at the local Catholic Church. Craig Templeton is another central character of the book, but his interests are more self-centered. He lives in his mother’s basement and works in the mailroom at a large company but aspires to greater things.

A mulligan is a golfing term for a do-over. Basically, a mulligan would allow the golfer to take another swing without counting a bad swing that had poor results. The book begins with three men playing golf. One man, Paul Kessler, is trying to get Brian Thomas to accept a position with is company. The discussion on the golf course centers around Kessler’s pitch to take the job offer. He promises money, loose women and an elevated lifestyle from Brian’s current position with a non-profit corporation. Kessler refers to Brian’s current position and girlfriend as a mulligan, implying that he could do much better.

Craig Templeton believes he is destined for great things as he works in the mailroom of a large company in Grace’s Parrish. He doesn’t want to work his way up the corporate ladder. He wants money and power now. When he is stuck in the parking lot leaving work one night after his car broke down, he receives an interesting proposition from a stranger that changes his life dramatically. The prospect of money and power without the necessity of investing the time to earn the opportunities appeals to him. Ultimately, it appears that Satan has found his way into Grace’s Parrish and a battle between good and evil is inevitable.

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters were complex and relatable. Each character has an internal struggle with their current situation and works through their issues in an interesting way. The character of Margaret is somewhat socially awkward. She wants to make friends yet feels out of place. The author did a commendable job of conveying her emotions and uncertainty in these situations. This made her character very relatable and sympathetic. I also really appreciated a strong female character as one of the main characters of the book. Templeton is an interesting character because he is so complex. His goes through a rollercoaster of emotions through the course of the book. The author did an excellent job of creating a dramatic character and conveying the range of emotions he experiences as his journey progresses.

The concept of good and evil is at the core of this book. The small town once had churches overflowing with people every Sunday, but eventually other things took precedence. The book examines the need for religion in our lives and making time for church. When people find excuses to miss church, they also miss engaging with the community. As was the case for Grace’s Parrish, this can lead to the community falling into a sinful state where the bars are over-flowing and unfaithful spouses are rampant. The book provides a strong reminder to readers of what is important in life and it isn’t greed and power. There is a strong message of forgiveness and redemption throughout this book that will appeal to many readers.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I thought it was entertaining and well-written. The characters were very relatable. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys stories of redemption and religious battles between good and evil. There are some sexual situations that may make the book inappropriate for younger readers. There were several typographical errors that prevent me from giving this book a perfect score, but they didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars due to the typographical errors, but it was a riveting story that kept me engaged from start to finish.

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Nobody's Mulligan
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[sirbobthewise]

Wow. I wasn’t expecting Satan to be so obvious. Very interesting! I like the concept and the characters seem very relatable. You mentioned that Margaret “wants to make friends yet feels out of place.” Yeah, I feel that. Sounds like a book that I might be interested in; good job in promoting it with your review! I hope the author takes you up on doing another editing round.

[Kirsi Cultrera]

This seems like a cool set up, I would probably enjoy Nobody’s Mulligan a lot! your review left me wondering which one was at the winning side in the end of the book, good or bad? And how did the lives of characters develop... thanks for a nice review!

[Priyanka2304]

Learning about the meaning of the title was fascinating. Thanks for the wonderful review.