By: Bette Lee Crosby
Series: The Wyattsville Series #3
ASIN: B00OPBFV68
Publisher: Bent Pine Publishing
Publication Date: 1/14/2015
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars +
It's 1946. The war is over. Millions of American soldiers are coming home and Benjamin Church is one of them. After four years of being away he thought things in Alabama would have changed, but they haven't. Grinder's Corner is as it's always been--a hardscrabble burp in the road. It's not much, but it's home.
When Benjamin attends a harvest festival in Twin Pines, he catches sight of Delia. Before their first dance ends, he knows for certain she's the one. They fall madly in love: happily, impatiently, imprudently, in love. It doesn't matter that her daddy is staunchly opposed to the thought of his daughter marrying a cotton farmer, never mind a poor one.
It's true Benjamin has little to offer; he's a sharecropper who will spend his whole life sweating and slaving to do little more than put food on the table. But that's how things are in Alabama. Benjamin is better off than most; he has a wife, a boy he adores, and a house that doesn't leak rain. Yes, Benjamin considers himself a lucky man until the fateful night that changes everything.
My Review
A special thank you to the author for an early reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Miss Bette, you have outdone yourself with PASSING THROUGH PERFECT! Southern fiction at its finest.
Wyattsville Series, Book 3, an inspiring story and gripping series (the best yet), assured to win your heart, and one you will not soon forget. When a twist of fate intersects, and hearts of compassion unite among races, delivering a powerful and emotional story of love and loss.
For fans of To Kill a Mockingbird, The Help, Julie Kibler’s, Calling Me Home, David Johnson's, The Tucker Series, or the many early southern books of Charles Martin (my all-time favorite author), this book is for you! A heartfelt novel of bigotry, racial injustice, and poverty, set in the late 40’s and 50s in the Deep South, in rural Alabama.
Following World War II, African-American Benjamin returns to his hometown of Grinder’s Corner to find everything is still the same – a hole in the road. His father is a proud farmer, a good man who has lost his wife and now his only son has returned to offer his help and support. He wanted to leave this poor hometown good-bye and be an engineer or mechanic of aircraft; however, he knows this will never happen.
Benjamin is no longer concerned about the future and career he once dreamed of. The responsibility of taking care of his father and the farm is his top priority and he is not afraid to get his hands dirty. However, he attends a local dance with his father and some friends, and meets the girl of his dreams. He falls in love quickly and knows this is his wife and future.
However, her dad is the pastor and his heart is not so giving, to a poor farmer. Forcing her out and now Benjamin shoulders the responsibility for his dad, his new wife, and a baby (s) on the way. However, when rough times come, and the farming dries up, there is nothing to do but pick up and move from all he knows and loves.
Before this occurs there are many tests of patience, sadness and grief as Benjamin wonders why God is allowing this to happen, after the night when he loses part of what is most precious to him in a corrupt world of injustice. On the road from Alabama to Pennsylvania he passes through what later seems like Perfect and his life is about to change in ways he never dreamed possible. (priceless)
Bette is a master storyteller of tales of the south, stories of triumph over tragedy, and faith. PASSING THROUGH PERFECT tops the charts! Having had the opportunity to read the other books in the series: Spare Change (#1) and Jubilees Journey (#2), highly recommend all; filled with characters you come to love and cherish as if neighbors, friends, and family.
I would recommend reading the series in order, as you will meet up with Jubilee and Paul the orphan brother and sister team, and their adopted parents, (wonderful people you meet in Book #2,who will make you laugh and cry), for a powerful twist of fate and love bringing these two families together (about sixty percent through the book).
One of the best books I have read this year, PASSING THROUGH PERFECT will warm your heart with this love story crossing many genres from Alabama to Pennsylvania as Benjamin Church and his son, Isaac find their path to happiness and acceptance.
Fans of historical fiction,women's fiction, romance, drama, Christian, and suspense, you will enjoy Crosby's writing. We never know who, what and where. God puts people in our path at just the right time, as He has a bigger plan in mind than we as humans can conceive.
A treasured gem. Not only are her books engaging and insightful, she is a genuine and lovely person and enjoy connecting with her through social media. If you have not read her books, you are missing out on a rare treat!
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