Review by AQH5730 -- A Good Boy by Anthony Andre
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- Latest Review: A Good Boy by Anthony Andre
Review by AQH5730 -- A Good Boy by Anthony Andre
[Following is a volunteer review of "A Good Boy" by Anthony Andre.]
3 out of 4 stars
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A Good Boy by Anthony Andre sends us on an adventure of the trials and tribulations of a small, dying church in Asheville, North Carolina. Pastor Wesley Aames has joined the ministry after a few different careers, including being a carpenter in the army and working in human resources. He is called to New Covenant Church, which needs strong leadership to bring it into the 21st century if it is to survive. The church is unable to provide him a full salary, so he must teach at the local college to supplement his income. To compound matters, during his first week as the pastor, a teenage girl and member of the church commits suicide.
This book was truly one that I looked forward to reading each day and found myself continuing to turn the page long past bedtime. I appreciate how Pastor Aames is an idealist who tries his hardest to find the best in people, even when the person shows their very worst side. He continually stood up for those in his church, even when he thought it wiser not to or others advised him to avoid that particular person.
Also, based on my experiences in small churches, Mr. Andre presents a very realistic portrayal of one. He did not gloss over anything, but showed how a church like this really is, with all its beauty and flaws. In terms of congregants, he showed the power players, the overbearing folks, the quiet ones, and those that just seem to need more help than others. He also goes into detail about the dwindling number of members, lack of funds, church politics, and trying to live out the Gospel in a fallen world, all of which are accurate of many churches today. It was interesting to see Pastor Aames tossed into the middle of all this and how he handled each situation.
I also enjoyed the minor characters that Pastor Aames interacted with in his day-to-day life. From the high school kid he plays basketball with, to a beautiful street performer he listens to, and a shut-in elderly widow he visits, these people may not have contributed directly to the main story, yet they played important roles in Pastor Aames’s life. Furthermore, they also provided some lighter moments in a sometimes somber story. While they may be considered minor characters, they significantly enhanced the story as a whole.
It is my belief that the story deserves a better rating, yet there were several grammatical errors that distracted me at times. These included misspelled words, typos, and what looked like accidentally pressing the enter key in the middle of a couple of sentences. However, I did respect that after the title page, the author wrote that he took responsibility for all errors. Nonetheless, because of the errors, it brought the score down to 3 out of 4 stars. The good news is that these are things that can be cleaned up quickly with only a couple of read-throughs. Then, the book would earn the proper score it deserves.
******
A Good Boy
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3 out of 4 stars
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A Good Boy by Anthony Andre sends us on an adventure of the trials and tribulations of a small, dying church in Asheville, North Carolina. Pastor Wesley Aames has joined the ministry after a few different careers, including being a carpenter in the army and working in human resources. He is called to New Covenant Church, which needs strong leadership to bring it into the 21st century if it is to survive. The church is unable to provide him a full salary, so he must teach at the local college to supplement his income. To compound matters, during his first week as the pastor, a teenage girl and member of the church commits suicide.
This book was truly one that I looked forward to reading each day and found myself continuing to turn the page long past bedtime. I appreciate how Pastor Aames is an idealist who tries his hardest to find the best in people, even when the person shows their very worst side. He continually stood up for those in his church, even when he thought it wiser not to or others advised him to avoid that particular person.
Also, based on my experiences in small churches, Mr. Andre presents a very realistic portrayal of one. He did not gloss over anything, but showed how a church like this really is, with all its beauty and flaws. In terms of congregants, he showed the power players, the overbearing folks, the quiet ones, and those that just seem to need more help than others. He also goes into detail about the dwindling number of members, lack of funds, church politics, and trying to live out the Gospel in a fallen world, all of which are accurate of many churches today. It was interesting to see Pastor Aames tossed into the middle of all this and how he handled each situation.
I also enjoyed the minor characters that Pastor Aames interacted with in his day-to-day life. From the high school kid he plays basketball with, to a beautiful street performer he listens to, and a shut-in elderly widow he visits, these people may not have contributed directly to the main story, yet they played important roles in Pastor Aames’s life. Furthermore, they also provided some lighter moments in a sometimes somber story. While they may be considered minor characters, they significantly enhanced the story as a whole.
It is my belief that the story deserves a better rating, yet there were several grammatical errors that distracted me at times. These included misspelled words, typos, and what looked like accidentally pressing the enter key in the middle of a couple of sentences. However, I did respect that after the title page, the author wrote that he took responsibility for all errors. Nonetheless, because of the errors, it brought the score down to 3 out of 4 stars. The good news is that these are things that can be cleaned up quickly with only a couple of read-throughs. Then, the book would earn the proper score it deserves.
******
A Good Boy
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: A Good Boy by Anthony Andre
