The Promise of Jesse Woods by Chris Fabry

I have become a huge fan of Chris Fabry's books and this one did not disappoint. When you read one of his books, you never know how the end will turn out and often it is not at all like you expected it to and this one is no exception there.

It's the story of two boys and a girl who spend a summer roaming the hills of Dogwood, West Virginia. It's an unlikely trio, a half African-American, half white boy who is unaccepted because of his color, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who has an alcoholic father and a mother who dies young, and a preacher's boy. The theme of the book, in part at least, is keeping promises. The preacher's boy, Matt, falls in love with Jesse, the girl and tries to help her take care of her little sister, but makes her promise to marry him.

Matt's parents don't like the two spending time together so... I can't tell you more or it will ruin the suspense of the book.  Matt comes back to "rescue" Jesse from making a bad decision, but in reality Matt needs rescued. He needs to figure out that Christianity isn't determined by rescuer status but by letting God do the rescuing. After walking away from God, Matt realizes at the end of the book, that he needs to let God be his Savior and stop trying to do it all on his own.

It's a really good book, but I'm finding it hard to sum it up well. You just need to read it. Read it and let it soak in. Realize that sometimes love does the hard thing, and in doing so, finds a new freedom.

This book was given me by Tyndale House for the purpose of reading and writing a review. All opinions expressed were my own.