Growing Up on the Edge of the World

Rating:
Summary: When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Kid
Review: I agree with Ellen Vaugh (who co-wrote many of Chuck Colson's bestsellers) "Reading Phil Callaway's writing is one of life's pure pleasures." Young Terry Anderson lives in the small town of Grace (the location seems to be somewhere around Montana). He asks honest questions, like "If God wants me happy, why do I have to sit through church?" When Terry stumbles onto a startling secret that promises to right all wrongs, his life suddenly comes to a crossroads. Inspired by the godly example of an older brother and impassioned by his secret admiration for the prettiest girl in town, Terry knows the right thing to do. He just can't bring himself to do it. I found this the most fun read I've had in a long time. Its characters are colorful, and the mysterious illness that awaits Terry is called Huntington's (a disease I'm just beginning to learn about). The way forgiveness and hope are presented left me smiling. I've read the book three times and I've only had it a week. Callaway has scored a major hit!

Rating:
Summary: Please disregard the humorless reviewer
Review: I couldn't help laughing when I read the review stating that humor is out of place in a Christian novel. Hello! I enjoyed this book immensely. In fact, I took it to the bathtub with me intending to read the first few pages and ended up reading the first six chapters! The very cornerstone of this book is that God loves the unlovely, forgives the unforgiveable, and redeems lost souls like me! Grace is the theme. The writing is excellent. I'll be buying more copies.

Rating:
Summary: Return to Grace
Review: I don't often read fiction, though I teach writing and lit. And I have only read a handful of "Christian novels" over the past decade. This one attracted me because of its wonderfully-illustrated cover and fascinating story line. How does a boy who is raised in a quaint little evangelical church deal with a huge temptation, ongoing mischief and misdeads without losing his mind, his conscience, and his faith. The answer comes through one of the best stories I have ever read. One that is filled with fall-down funny characters and a dozen or two nice plot twists. I'm ashamed to say that rarely do you find this level of writing in Christian literature, let alone Christian fiction. The author is to be commended for carefully crafting each sentence. My only complaint is that it wasn't a little longer (285 pages wasn't quite enough). I plan on recommending this to my college literature class. In fact, we will begin studying it shortly.

Rating:
Summary: Great treatment of hypocrisy
Review: I loved this book, but am not as great with words as others. Here's a rather well-balanced review I read on the internet from a reviewer by the name of Phil Wade

Terry Anderson, the twelve-year-old narrator of this book, lives in a comical family, which, if they weren't fictional, would go toward proving that comedy comes out of pain. His mother deteriorates slowly from an incurable disease. His father makes little money as a mechanic. His oldest brother smokes, perpetually trying to quit and feeling cold shoulders from their legalistic church.

None of that works to build Terry's ego, but neither do his own decisions. So when Terry discovers a jackpot which could turn his hard, North Dakota winter into one long Christmas, he does what any pre-teen might do. He fills his pockets with candy and lies about the money. Of course, the longer he delays his confession, the more trouble risks.

Speaker and Author Phil Callaway is a humor-monger, who has written non-fiction on laughter and Christian living. Thus, this book is funny. Not Wodehouse funny, but light-hearted, warm, and occasionally funny enough to laugh out loud. The back cover boasts of colorful characters, and they do raise their heads here and there, but more interesting than Mayberry-style locals are the fine, upstanding hypocrites who attend Anderson's church. Callaway doesn't refrain from briefly describing a few people whose spiteful whispers surprised me in their indifference to the pain of fellow believers who were in the room though out of earshot.

Some heavy-handed application does sneak in. The town is named Grace because the story is about grace. There's even a little story to the town's naming-pioneers, Indians, and a miracle, you know. But Growing Up is an enjoyable book which should find a good audience. Callaway says he is working on a sequel.

Rating:
Summary: A Favorite Summer Read
Review: The eight people in our reading group chose this as our book for the month of June and we have been engaged in fascinating conversations about our growing up years as a result. We even wrote the author and he kindly sent us discussion questions. I have never read a book twice before, but I will be reading this one for a third time at the beach this summer. The memories it evokes are worth savoring, laughing at, and sometimes crying over. This receives my highest recommendation!

Rating:
Summary: Masterful Mischief!
Review: This is simply put the very best novel I have read in years! I am so excited to pass it along to family and friends. I have never read a book which combines so much humor, adventure, romance, and suspence with an unmistakable lesson of God's love and grace. This is truly a gem. Terry Anderson, the hero of the book, cannot help remind you of the child you always wanted to be or the friend you always wanted to have. Strangely, as Terry gives in to the temptation offered him, you find yourself wanting him to do the right thing, yet dreading that he will. The author has masterfully woven a story that continues its mischievous path for as long as the reader can stand, and until we are glad he chooses to turn from his own way. That is a delicate balance, but it is achieved here. I shall be checking out Callaway's non-fiction work for sure.

Rating:
Summary: A tale of mischief and grace
Review: This is without a doubt the very best novel I have read in the past two years. The story is riveting, the humor is hilarious, and the characters are unbelievably believable! I have just ordered four more copies of the book to give to friends because it really tells my own story. A story of failing miserably only to find grace waiting for me when I reached the end of my rope. I found myself laughing out loud and also weeping as I read this story. You will love it.