Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The Priest and the Peaches

A few posts about Chicago are coming, but I am a wee bit behind in life having been gone for three entire days, so in the meantime, you get a book review!

The Priest and the Peaches by Larry Peterson














Historical fiction novel set in the Bronx in the mid-1960s.Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral. They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. 


What immediately drew me to this story was the fact that it's about kids who are having to grow up quickly and basically navigate through adulthood on a fast track. The Peach children immediately feel like real characters and within the first ten pages you are rooting for them and want them to do well.

Though some parts of the story I feel probably could have been taken out, I really enjoyed this book and sailed through it fairly quickly. The Peach family kind of reminds me of my mom and her brothers- who though they weren't dealing with the death of both parents, really had to band together as a family out of necessity. The daughter, Joanie, definitely reminds me of my mom having to care for her brothers and basically run a household long before she really knows how to. I immediately felt bad for the younger brothers and could really sympathize with the fact that they have lost both parents while they are so young and how the uncertainty of what to do or what was going to happen would be terrifying.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would certainly recommend it if you are looking for an endearing but quick read. The story really only goes through the first days of them losing their father (the mother died previously) but it's a lot of story in such a short span. And you are left wishing you could do more for the fictional family and hope for the best for them.

This review was done for Tribute Books, and I suggest you check them out if you are looking for some new reading material. You can also check them out their Facebook or Twitter. Larry also has a blog, Facebook and Twitter that you can check out too. Fun fact about Larry- he apparently lives in Pinellas Park, Florida just a little ways from where I grew up and lived for a few years.

If you are interested in purchasing this book, please use these links:
Kindle
Nook
iBookstore
Smashwords
PDF

So that's it! I really love supporting authors who aren't heavily advertised and really support themselves through home grown efforts, so please give these writers the support as well!

2 comments:

Tribute Books said...

Sara, I'm so glad you were able to relate to the characters and recognize traits of people in your own life. That's the goal of any author, I think. Thanks for supporting Larry's book.

It Makes Sense To Me said...

Hi Sara----I would like to say thank you for featuring my book and for the kind review. Your words mean a lot to ma and are greatly appreciated. Best wishes always,
Larry P