Thursday, January 26, 2012

Paper Angels by Jimmy Wayne with Travis Thrasher


I know we're a little past Christmas, but this story is timeless.

Let's begin with the summary:

Kevin Morrell is a forty-three-year-old husband and father who runs a successful design and marketing firm that's crashed into the suffering economy. Attempting to navigate the busyness of the mall at Christmas, Kevin is humbled when he stumbles across the Salvation Army's Angel Tree Project. His wife insists that he take a paper ornament.

The name on the ornament is Thomas Brandt, a fifteen-year-old still reeling from the implosion of his family—from years of verbal abuse from an alcoholic father to a mother who finally left him behind, only to find herself and her children penniless and struggling. The only thing has allowed Lynn to survive is her faith. Thomas shares that faith, but he also wonders why God has seemingly abandoned them.

This is the story about a man and a boy one December. A man whose life is changed by a simple expression of kindness, and a boy who takes that expression of kindness and shows the true meaning of Christmas.

And now, my review:

This story was all heart. And hope. Lots of hope. And though the story was set at Christmastime, I read it in January and didn’t feel the least disconnected from the plot.

I loved the humble, old soul character of Thomas. This ridiculed boy changed his community by responding unexpectedly to derision. From the looks of him, he doesn’t have much to offer. But he’ll surprise you.

Our other hero, Kevin, just wants to get it right. His business. His role as father and husband. Same is true for our heroine, Thomas’ mother. You’ll relate with these characters and root for them.

With a balance of hardships and hope, this book will inspire you. To give. To care. To love. Don’t miss it.

No comments:

Post a Comment