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63rd out of 114 books
—
69 voters
Welcome to Fred
by
Brad Whittington (Goodreads Author)
In January of 1968 Mark arrives in Fred, Texas, from Forth Worth via a brief stay in Ohio. He has followed his father who is pastor to a 100-member church in this simple town of simple people. Mark, a young man of extraordinary intellect, has to find who he is in this town with which he seems to have so little in common. In his journey he finds more than himself; he finds...more
Paperback, 246 pages
Published
April 1st 2003
by B&H Publishing Group
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I don't know about you guys but I just love a book that makes me laugh. There was not one page of Brad Whittington's 'Welcome to Fred' that did not make me at least smile hard. The best part is that the laughs are smart and innocent and just plain fun.
The story is told from Mark's point of view and is beautifully related. It's the 1960's so Mark rides the streets on his bike and finds fun (although his parents sometimes call it trouble) wherever he goes. It's rough being the PK (we find out that...more
The story is told from Mark's point of view and is beautifully related. It's the 1960's so Mark rides the streets on his bike and finds fun (although his parents sometimes call it trouble) wherever he goes. It's rough being the PK (we find out that...more
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What a refreshing, inspirational book with many amusing situations that anyone will be able to relate to. Welcome to Fred, which is a town in Texas, allows the reader to follow Mark Cloud through the years, the different towns his family lived in, the pain of being the new kid in town, the “mark” of being a PK…Preacher’s Kid, and his need as every teenager of trying to fit in.
The main focus of the book is on Mark and his escapades with Mark as the narrator.
Mark is a precocious character full o...more
The main focus of the book is on Mark and his escapades with Mark as the narrator.
Mark is a precocious character full o...more
A coming-of-age novel about an enterprising PK (preacher’s kid) stuck in the rootless existence that characterizes his father’s calling. Written as a fictional memoir, the narrator tends to remember his 1970s childhood in quasi-Biblical terms, extracting both humor and pathos from his adolescent attempts to square ancient faith with contemporary reality.
As the story unfolds, the boy becomes gradually aware that it is his father who is the major force shaping his slow and difficult transformation...more
As the story unfolds, the boy becomes gradually aware that it is his father who is the major force shaping his slow and difficult transformation...more
I should probably give this book 4 starts because some of the transitions are poor, but I've opted for the full 5 stars because the boy in this story reminded me of each one of my teen-aged grandsons in one part or another of this book. The final "discussion" in the book between father and son could have come directly from my house about a month ago. The search for just the right girl, and how you let her know that you're "smitten" was three months ago. The humor was expertly interspersed with u...more
You know when a new movie is coming in theaters soon and the trailers are amazing and everyone is talking about it and the critics are like, "You HAVE to see this, best film of the year!" But then when you finally purchase your ticket, you leave the theater when the credits roll by, feeling disappointed?
That's a bit how I felt when I finished Welcome to Fred. Many of my friends love this series and I've heard so many good things about it that my expectations were high. But it fell flat for me. W...more
That's a bit how I felt when I finished Welcome to Fred. Many of my friends love this series and I've heard so many good things about it that my expectations were high. But it fell flat for me. W...more
I was initially turned off by the story told in metaphors, too many for my taste, but it made the read an over the top visual journey. The story of a preachers kid (PK) in the 70's, made the main character my contemporary moving me from page to page until the author hooked me with the PK's struggle to embrace his father's faith. My own offspring, a child of the 90's, has a similar struggle, and the author had my full attention from that point on. In the story, the PK, an avid reader, stumbled ac...more
Welcome to Fred is the funniest book I've read in a long time. The comical adventures Mark always lands himself in led me to laugh out loud several times (do you know how difficult it is not to grin, let alone laugh, when you're sitting alone in the car with the door open and there' someone passing by outside?).
Aside from all the hilarity, there are some important questions Mark asks that stands out in the book. Questions such as is the Bible real? What if there is no God? Yet, these questions d...more
Aside from all the hilarity, there are some important questions Mark asks that stands out in the book. Questions such as is the Bible real? What if there is no God? Yet, these questions d...more
Very rarely does a book disappoint me, but this one did. If it had not been free I would have demanded my money back and sent the author and publisher a bill for my time. The narrative over description gave me a headache. Half way through I wanted to give up, but I did not. I was hopeful I would find something that would capture my attention, sadly this did not occur either. Just was not my cup of tea. Sorry, I tried to like it.
I really enjoyed this coming of age story about a young boy in the 60's. Mark is an intelligent, adventurous son of a Preacher with a great sense of humor. This was easy to read while still being insightful. It's been a long time since I've laughed out loud at intelligent observations by a teenage boy! I was disappointed when it ended and look forward to seeing where Brad Whittington takes Mark.
Sep 04, 2007
Deb
added it
mark has a hard lot as a pk (preacher's kid), he especially hates all the moving around his family does. so when he is forced to move to fred, texas and leave behind his best friend he doesn't take it particularly well. especially since his new classmates don't jive with his adoration hippie style clothes and music. nope to fit in in fred you need blue jeans, a short haircut, and a texas twang. as mark struggles to fit in he also struggles to make sense of his world, where he is helped by the st...more
Well, I talked my husband into reading this one (he doesn't read for fun). Because he recognized the places in east Texas and the car in the trip to California.
But the book is very good as Mark questions his own concept of God and following his father who is also pastor of the church in Fred. There is also humor in the antics of being a teenage PK and following the crowd. Good book!
But the book is very good as Mark questions his own concept of God and following his father who is also pastor of the church in Fred. There is also humor in the antics of being a teenage PK and following the crowd. Good book!
OK- I LOVED this book. I would have rated it higher, but I was a bit distressed about the ending "leaving me hanging." This author is a master story-teller and left me laughing right out loud and reading quotes out loud to my husband with a longing for him to be "there" with me. Worth the ride, but I felt like I had an amazing trip planned for New York, but only got to Detroit.
One of the funniest yet most poignant things I've ever read. It's been several years, but I haven't forgotten how much Brad Whittington's little coming-of-age trilogy made me laugh. Having attended a small-town junior college myself, I readily identified with the protagonist and waxed wistful for bygone days. Hope to see more from this outrageously talented Christian writer.
This was a really clean, fun book. So called humor books rarely elicit audible chuckles, but Whittington scores on that count throughout the book. It covers the story of a young lad who lives in small town texas after living in Ohio. As a preacher's kid he faces existential curiosity while enjoying the exploration and humor of adolescence. It is a very fun book.
Aug 08, 2011
Marybd18
added it
"Fred was a gift horse of a different color with its shoe on the other foot."
"....I met people who had never traveled more than thirty miles from the house where they were born. Down in the Neches River bottomland were creatures who would have failed a casting call for Deliverance due to laying it on a bit thick."
"....I met people who had never traveled more than thirty miles from the house where they were born. Down in the Neches River bottomland were creatures who would have failed a casting call for Deliverance due to laying it on a bit thick."
Meandering book about coming of age in the 60s as a preacher's kid. I'm a little younger than the main character, but I was reminiscing my childhood as I read. I liked it well enough that I'd like to read the next one in the series. Have your dictionary handy, the author flaunts his prolific vocabulary.
Apr 04, 2013
Jennifer Nelson
marked it as the-book-dump
Although the author is creative and definitely has a sense of humor, I got frustrated with the seeming lack of plot in this book... and also some of the humor was a bit off-color, which was discomfiting.
May be out of print and hard to find but it would be worth searching for. This book would be good for a teen boy. This is just a good story about a boy growing up in the remote areas of Texas.
Warning: Laugh-out-loud inducing. Do not read this book in bed while your spouse is trying to sleep.
A bittersweet story of adolescent angst and spiritual confusion. Hilarious, intelligent, and so very real.
I really enjoyed this one.
A bittersweet story of adolescent angst and spiritual confusion. Hilarious, intelligent, and so very real.
I really enjoyed this one.
This was a delightful book about a young teens struggle to fit in being a pk- preachers kid! A lot of nostalgia! I really enjoyed it.
Such a funny read! Definitely picks up on what is was like to be a PK 40 years ago. It was an enjoyable trip to days gone by.
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PK living in small town east Texas 1968. Sounds like home. Made me laugh!
This is a great coming of age story.
Like "The Wonder Years"
A funny coming of age story. Well written and very entertaining.
F WHI fred bk.1
I really enjoyed this book. Several laugh out loud moments.
A great coming of age trilogy. I loved the young man's relationship with his father, as it is portrayed throughout the 3 books. I loved the part in this novel, where the narrator admits his doubts (pulse racing and heart pounding) about faith, to his father--a baptist minister--and the dad really listens and encourages his son to keep asking questions--God can take it. What a good dad!
This is a good book of Christian fiction, and winner of a 2004 Christy Award for First Novel. The book is set in the 1960s, in a small town in the deep Piney Woods of Texas. Since I also grew up in the 1960s in Texas (though in a big city), I could relate to much of the protagonist's conflicts - a young teen with a big city mentality trying to fit into a small town.
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Brad Whittington was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on James Taylor's eighth birthday and Jack Kerouac's thirty-fourth birthday and is old enough to know better. He lives in Austin, Texas with The Woman. Previously he has been known to inhabit Hawaii, Ohio, South Carolina, Arizona, and Colorado, annoying...more
More about Brad Whittington...
Brad Whittington was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on James Taylor's eighth birthday and Jack Kerouac's thirty-fourth birthday and is old enough to know better. He lives in Austin, Texas with The Woman. Previously he has been known to inhabit Hawaii, Ohio, South Carolina, Arizona, and Colorado, annoying...more
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