Hometown Legend

Rating:
Summary: Good for a smile & a tear with some heavy prayer included :(
Review: A little heavy on the christianity but not so much that I couldn't listen to the story. I loved listening to this story on tape. I envisioned all thecharacters and was drawn into the story from start to finish. got to learn a little about football along the way. It's great to read a story that inspires, amuses, brings tears and laughter, makes me want to read or hear more from the same author.

Rating:
Summary: A Can't-Put-Down Book
Review: After having read the first two books in the "Left Behind" series, I was pretty sure I knew what to expect from "Hometown Legend" - a book that incorporates fiction with strong theology.

I quickly found, however, that this book was quite different from "Left Behind". Hometown Legend solidly grabbed my interest in the first ten pages, and I couldn't put it down until I was done four hours later. In fact, this is the first book I ever read twice in a row.

I am a football fan, and I could relate to the football story, but this book is so much more. It tells the story of a horrible tragedy that just about destroys a small Alabama town, and of a man's last chance to both save the town and reclaim his spirit of life that was almost destroyed years earlier. There are many subplots in this book that come together in an amazing way.

The book is a picture of a southern town that places a strong emphasis on the Christian faith, but it is not "preachy". It simply tells a story through the eyes of a man who has faith in a God that can see him (and his town) through any troubles.

By all means, read this book and you will be enriched by this story of love for football, love of living, and love of God.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: After having read the first two books in the "Left Behind" series, I was pretty sure I knew what to expect from "Hometown Legend" - a book that incorporates fiction with strong theology.

I quickly found, however, that this book was quite different from "Left Behind". Hometown Legend solidly grabbed my interest in the first ten pages, and I couldn't put it down until I was done four hours later. In fact, this is the first book I ever read twice in a row.

I am a football fan, and I could relate to the football story, but this book is so much more. It tells the story of a horrible tragedy that just about destroys a small Alabama town, and of a man's last chance to both save the town and reclaim his spirit of life that was almost destroyed years earlier. There are many subplots in this book that come together in an amazing way.

The book is a picture of a southern town that places a strong emphasis on the Christian faith, but it is not "preachy". It simply tells a story through the eyes of a man who has faith in a God that can see him (and his town) through any troubles.

By all means, read this book and you will be enriched by this story of love for football, love of living, and love of God.

Rating:
Summary: An Engaging Story
Review: Cal Sawyer is a widower and the top business employer of Athens City. He struggles with his feelings about Bev, one of his long time employees and to keep his American Leather Football Company--a small town factory--afloat. But if his company unravels, so does the city of Athens, once renowned for having a champion football team under coach Buster Schuler. If Cal's company crumbles, the high school his daughter Rachel attends will close its doors along with the town itself.

But when Buster Schuler returns to coach the Crusaders after resigning twelve years earlier following a tragedy, a candle of hope ignites in the city. The painful memory accompanies Schuler, but doesn't shake his dream to be back on top one more time. He's determined in spite of a rag tag team.

Cal's daughter Rachel has faith that Athens City won't become a ghost town. She strives to do her part to keep it alive and makes an effort to bring faith to one of the town's newest members, Elvis Jackson. But she finds herself saying all the wrong things to him. He carries a load of secrets, besides the football, and has a way of making Rachel see things she was unaware of about herself.

You don't have to be a football fan to enjoy this story. Jerry's characters come to life and you'll find yourself pulling with the inhabitants of Athens City and cheering on the Crusaders. They struggle to get back on top with little more than a prayer, and that prayer is a group of girls--one assigned to pray for each football player throughout the football season. Although Rachel's answer to prayer may not be what she hoped for, is in many ways better than she imagined.

Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming
Review: I do not understand why this book did not get more attention. It's far better than the Left Behind series--more touching, more personal. I bought this book after seeing the movie (also great), and it's simply fantastic. I am very critical, and am not even much of a fan of stuff called "Christian fiction," but this is so much more than that, and I was completely blown away.

Buy this book!

Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming
Review: I do not understand why this book did not get more attention. It's far better than the Left Behind series--more touching, more personal. I bought this book after seeing the movie (also great), and it's simply fantastic. I am very critical, and am not even much of a fan of stuff called "Christian fiction," but this is so much more than that, and I was completely blown away.

Buy this book!

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: I have read all of the left behind books so I had an idea of Jerry Jenkins writing syle. What I found in this book was much more then I expected.

The story starts out by telling the reader how Cal Sawyer (Once one of the best wide receivers in the state) came to his current position as owner of American Leather in a small town - Athens, Alabama.

Cal's old high school football coach encounters a great tragedy in his life, quits coaching, and moves to Kansas. Twelve years later the town is falling apart. The school has a year left before it will close down and needs a football coach for the last season, and American Leather has laid off hundreds of employees and may shut down.

This is when Cal gets the phone call from his ex coach Buster and meets him to talk about some things. Busters' wife has become an alcoholic since the incident twelve years ago and is now in a local rehab center. Buster needs a job and thought Cal could help him out. Cal brings up the situation with the school and after some talking they decide to coach the team in its final season.

As the season unravels, many situations unfold in everyones personal life which makes this book such a heartwarming story. I read the book from cover to cover, I didn't put it down until I was done reading it. Do yourself a favor and read it!!!

Rating:
Summary: A Homespun Story Illustrating Redemption and Grace
Review: I thoroughly enjoy Jerry Jenkins work and have been a fan of his for a very long time. One would think that Hometown Legend, a book that slipped under the radar, would be a lesser product, but it is not.

Hometown Legend is a wonderful story, especially those who enjoy football and understand the impact of this sport on small-town America. Jerry's characters are wonderful and yet flawed like the readers. It is isn't pie-in-the-sky fiction and yet it leaves feeling good when you're done. It proves the depth of Jenkins' abilities. He can produce heart-pounding fiction (Left-Behind) and homespun yarns.

This is a book that your entire family will enjoy. It's plot is very simple and yet is story and message resonate with millions of Christians who struggle by God's grace to make it through life.

Get this book and add it to your nighstand collection.

Rating:
Summary: A solid effort--held my interest
Review: Jerry B. Jenkins is one of the best known Christian writers out there today, and here he writes a novel with an earthy and real premise of a dying factory town and a dying high school and football team. Having lived at least some of my life in the deep south, most of the characters seemed real, although others, like Coach Schuler, seemed a bit too unrealistic to me, especially in some of the ways he treats his football team. Overall, however, this book was a good effort, teaches good values, had a good lesson, and held my interest throughout.

Rating:
Summary: An American Story
Review: Of all the novels that claim to embody the American spirit, I believe Jenkins' tale of Athens City and its demise carries more ingredients than most. The football aspects are obvious, and Jenkins plays them well. The sport is truly the one game many in the nation are passionate about, particularly in a rural Southern town.

But this book has so much more inside it. Although there are many storylines, they all revolve around the enduring feeling of hope. Because it's a Jenkins' novel, God becomes the center of everyone's hope. Even for those who aren't deep-seated in their faith (and even get annoyed when characters like Rachel harp and harp until you see it her way), Jenkins delivers a message that even beyond spirtualness one can have an impact through selflessness and giving. The most poignant moment of all in this regard comes when Calvin finally gets it and realizes his love with Bev.

Behind the religious message and faith in God, Jenkins has produced a practical book that underscores so much of what Americans are all about: compassionate and caring. I think we have all seen that in the wake of Sept. 11.