Review by jba1970+ -- A Good Boy by Anthony Andre

[jba1970+]

[Following is a volunteer review of "A Good Boy" by Anthony Andre.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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The Good Boy by Anthony Andre gives us a look into the life of a young Asheville, North Carolina pastor as he struggles to cope with both the needs of a slowly dying church as well as his own personal demons. Reverend Wesley Aames is a likeable, ambitious and self-sacrificing pastor surrounded by other very affable (and some not-so-affable) characters. Despite his inexperience, Reverend Aames is hired by the New Covenant Church with the hope that his presence will revive the church financially and refresh it's presence in the community with the aim of drawing new members, especially younger ones. He frequently draws on humor and a love for music to help get him through this monumental task.

Although the story has certain strengths, I observed both a need for more background and character development, as well as errors and writing devices which did not sit well with me as a reader. For these reasons, I rate this book two out of four stars.

The book effectively manages to let the reader in on the everyday challenges pastors face, from dealing with the various personalities within the congregation, to managing the church's financial problems, to finding ways to modernize the church experience (Wesley wants a flat screen TV and a computer in the church and is disappointed early in the story to find that his office is not outfitted with a computer for his use). Also effective is the author's ability to make the various characters seem real and relatable and sometimes downright repugnant. Rosa Lee McFarland, in particular, is vividly portrayed as indifferent in the face of her daughter's death yet leaves the reader wondering if underneath her seeming nonchalance, she is falling apart.

The book also touches on serious issues such as teen suicide. A possible reality TV stint for the teen's mother and a protest outside a controversial funeral further showcase the modern-day challenges Reverend Aames must confront. However, he stays almost too busy -- in addition to his pastoral duties, Reverend Aames teaches religion part-time at the nearby UNC-Asheville campus, finds time to mentor a young man in the intricacies of shooting a basketball, is on call for the graveyard shift at a teen suicide hotline, begins to regularly visit a shut-in by the name of Mamie and becomes a hospital volunteer. While I am sure there are people like this who exist, I found it hard to believe this character, within the confines of this story, would have time for so many extracurricular activities given his status as a brand new pastor on a mission to save a church. The time could have been better spent developing the character's issues with his family or exploring his relationship with his daughter. Wesley's affection for Susie, the church secretary, would have been better understood if the reader had an opportunity early on to become familiar with the void in Wesley's life left by his parents.


Despite the authenticity of most of the main characters, I felt that many of them, including the main character, Reverend Aames, needed more background and substance. For example, after becoming acquainted with Reverend Aames, I wanted to know more about his background including the circumstances behind his experience as a foster child, his parents' deaths, and his wife's death. I felt that these situations could have been explored in more detail in order to give more of a backdrop to his path to becoming a pastor and to explain more fully the reasons for his lack of a relationship with his teenage daughter. There was a large quantity of characters, and not all of them required more substance, however, the quantity of characters may be the reason some of the more prominent ones are not filled out as much as they could be.

Throughout the story, several spelling errors and repetitive descriptions were distracting. In addition, the style in which the author chose to relay certain points did not read well. Mostly this came in the form of missing pronouns -- the author most often chose to repeat names rather than employ pronouns, making for stilted reading at times. In fact, the story overall may have been better told from a first-person vantage point, eliminating much of the constant references to "Wesley" again and again.

Delving into Reverend Aames's background and perhaps fleshing out the daughter's relationship with him would have served the story well. Other sub-stories were under-developed, but it seems the author's purpose for their inclusion, i.e., basketball sessions with Thad and other part-time endeavors, were meant to paint a picture of Wesley Aames as a good boy, a man who seeks to make sense of his past through positive change. But in order for the reader to be on board in this journey toward goodness, more detail into the reverend's personal history is required. The many characters, although colorful, are appealing but do not necessarily assist in this task.

The story overall could benefit from a more defined plot leading the reader to a solid, even unexpected conclusion. As it stands, the story reads well but does not necessarily deliver on a final resolution stemming from earlier laid out problems.

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A Good Boy
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[kandscreeley]

It's too bad that Reverend Aames wasn't as well developed as he could have been. The editing errors seem to be a common problem, but one that is easily fixable. Thanks for your opinion on this one.