Because of this Website

Does the Dog Die, I was able to read Because of Winn-Dixie.  Well, reread it.  Because I remember reading it along time ago, but I really didn't want to reread it if Winn-Dixie died.  And while I was pretty sure, almost 99% certain that he didn't, I just wanted to make sure.  I have been struggling through The House of Small Shadows and it has been very depressing and I didn't need anymore depressing right then.
Does the Dog Die is about movies, which I didn't know when I looked at it quickly on my phone but just discovered now.  I just found this on goodreads, so that is another good resource for those of you, who like me, subscribe to the No More Dead Dogs way of life.
This is a great story.  Nowadays it might seem like every other book for kids is about a girl from the south, without a mother or a father or both, but Because of Winn-Dixie was early on, so you can't get mad at it for that.
What I loved most, not surprisingly, was the relationship between India Opal and her dad, whom she just calls, "The Preacher."  I loved that the church her father pastors was welcoming of all, even the stray dog, Winn-Dixie, named after the store.  I LOVED Glory Dump and Otis and Miss Franny Block.  All lovely characters and lovely people.  And they call came together, because of Winn-Dixie.

Downer

I guess with a title like Crazy Dangerous, it doesn't come as a surprise that this book was a downer.  It reminded me a lot of The House of Dark Shadows.   It is the story of Sam Hopkins, a preacher's kid, so it was of immediate interest to me.  But I quickly lost interest.
Read the summary to get the plot, as always, and I will add that I thought that the faith aspects fell short.  For better books about preacher's kids, read Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy and Preacher's Boy.
That is not to say that some won't really like this book.  It just wasn't my thing at all.

A MUST-READ

Now I know, I know, I KNOW I say this a lot.  But seriously, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is a must-read for everyone.   That cover over there is terrible.  Terrible.  The one under it is much better. Still, no cover could be good enough for this book.  It is just unreal and fantastic.  And I have no idea what kind of experience Gary D. Schmidt, who is one of my new most favorite writers, has with churches and working in church, but man, man, man he was right on with this one.  Right on!  Unreal!  Here is a great quote, "The congregation, Minister, will tell you what it thinks and what it wants you to think."  When I first typed that in, and I am sure this was a Freudian slip, I capitalized the word congregation.  Because some congregations (or at least some people in them) think that they are holier than God.  I am not saying that the church I served was like that.  It was a lovely, lovely place.  But there were a couple of folks who could have said that very sentence right there.  I am pretty sure they did, actually.

LBATBB introduced me to the horror of what happened on Malaga Island.  I had never heard of this island or the people who lived there and were forced to leave because of the color of their skin.  This is the story of a young boy who really stands up against a whole town.  It made me cry several times.  We should be ashamed, ashamed of the way that we have treated one another.  And the way we still treat one another.  

This is an incredible, incredible story.  Read it.  Now.

Preach It..

When I put the first CD of Preacher's Boy audiobook in my car player and heard the narrator, I almost stopped listening immediately. The reader of this amazing Katherine Paterson book is the reader whom everyone else loves, but who ruined The Pinballs and Who Put that Hair in My Toothbrush for me. Given that Preacher's Boy is not my typical book, as it is historical fiction, I knew I would have a harder time getting into it as it was and the added misery of the smart-alec tone of Heller's voice made me audibly groan. I gave it a shot though and I'm glad I did. The captivating story of a ten year old Robbie, the son of the Congregationalist pastor in a small town in Vermont in 1899, sucked me right in and I was able to overlook Heller completely. That's saying something about Paterson's magic.

Having pastored a church, I understood a great deal of what Paterson had to say about what is expected of a pastor's kid. I knew lots of PKs and they did have a lot of pressure put upon them. I can't even imagine how much more pressure was put on them back in 1899. Plus, 1899 was a time of change. Darwin had come out with his theory of evolution and this was an abomination, according to many faithful. Robbie's dad is a different kind of pastor though, a thinking man's pastor who isn't afraid of new ideas and doesn't see Darwin as a threat to a person's faith. This, and his strong opinions against war, make him a little less credible in the eyes of some of his parishoniers. Robbie says that some of the men in the congregation wish that he would preach more judgement. I remember a reitred pastor and member of my church saying the same thing to me after one of my Sunday sermons. I wasn't mad or upset. I admired the man and respected his opinion, well, you know, even though he was very wrong.
Robbie gets into trouble and even becomes an "apeist," swearing off his belief in God. This is just a fantastic book. I can't say enough about it and I don't want to give too many details, because it's just a lovely story to read.
Paterson is a woman of faith and has experience in the church and you can tell because her descriptions and details are right on.

But Now I'm Found

This book is wonderful and real.

As a former full-time pastor, I really could really understand what was going on here. I have always believed that the Roman Catholics have it right when they don't let their priests marry. I know that some men and women pastors and their spouses and kids can handle it...but man...man...it isn't easy.

Sam's father is easy to dislike if you aren't a pastor's kid, a pastor's wife, a pastor's husband, a pastor yourself, or a pastor's mom or dad. Or if you don't believe, as Sam's mom of her pastor husband, "He's only human."

Still though...some of the stuff that Pastor Charlie does are pretty upsetting, even to someone who has been there. Needless to say, this book really makes you think.

Sam is already doubting her faith when a member of their youth group goes missing. That's the main story line but this book is also about faith and hope and finding one's own self. It's about having a mom who is an alcoholic and finding yourself growing apart from your best friend, and finding your family in financial trouble. Man, Once Was Lost is just wonderful.