Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Watch Over Me
Deputy Benjamin Patil is the one to find the infant girl--hours old, abandoned in a field. When the mother ecan't be located, Ben and his wife, Abbi, seem like the perfect couple to serve as foster parents. But the baby's arrival opens old wounds for Abbi and shines a harsh light on how much Ben has changed since a devastating tour in Afghanistan. Their marriage teeters on...more
Paperback, 349 pages
Published
October 1st 2009
by Bethany House Publishers
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
410)
This book fell completely flat for me. The story strings together a whole series of implausible events bound by characters that are at best, skeletal and at worst, downright unlikeable. [return][return]So much went wrong here it's hard to know where to begin. Let's begin with implausible events. One of the main characters, Benjamin, serves in Afghanistan with his lifelong best friend, Stephen. Would the armed forces allow lifelong friends to serve together in the same unit? I doubt it. Ben retur...more
This is the second title I've read by this fairly new author. In both "Watch Over Me" and her earlier "Home Another Way," Christa Parrish introduces characters not usually seen in Christian fiction. For that reason, I shall continue to read her work.
These characters are much less sanitized than what one finds in the typical Amish or prarie novel. They are human beings in process ... and in need of grace. This story involves a 17-year-old deaf/mute boy in renal failure; a deputy sheriff recently...more
These characters are much less sanitized than what one finds in the typical Amish or prarie novel. They are human beings in process ... and in need of grace. This story involves a 17-year-old deaf/mute boy in renal failure; a deputy sheriff recently...more
When this book became available to read through an author blog tour I signed up. I had read Home Another Way, Christa’s first book, and couldn’t wait to see where this new author would take me next!
Edgy! Christa has away of not only talking about the elephant in the room, but describes it too. Not in great detail, but enough to make you experience the moment and maybe start to have some compassion and understanding of an uncomfortable situation.
This book is gut-wrenchingly honest, transparent an...more
Edgy! Christa has away of not only talking about the elephant in the room, but describes it too. Not in great detail, but enough to make you experience the moment and maybe start to have some compassion and understanding of an uncomfortable situation.
This book is gut-wrenchingly honest, transparent an...more
This is my second Parrish novel. I read Home Another Way last year and really liked it; therefore I was looking forward to this one. It did not disappoint me.
Watch Over Me is actually a series of stories strung together through the characters. The main story line involves Ben and Abbi Patil, two very different individuals in a very difficult marriage. The other two pivotal parts of the narration are concerning an abandoned infant (where did she come from, whose is she, where will she go) and a d...more
Watch Over Me is actually a series of stories strung together through the characters. The main story line involves Ben and Abbi Patil, two very different individuals in a very difficult marriage. The other two pivotal parts of the narration are concerning an abandoned infant (where did she come from, whose is she, where will she go) and a d...more
When Deputy Benjamin Patil finds a baby girl only a few hours old abandoned in a field, he and his wife Abbi are chosen to be foster parents for her. But, their home is filled with stress and disagreement and may not be the ideal home for this baby. The source of the tension is Benjamin’s trauma while serving in Afghanistan. Their lives intersect with a young man, Matthew who suffers from several medical issues and comes from a troubled family. As Abbi and Benjamin continue to take care of the b...more
Watch Over Me, by Christa Parrish is my first book by Christa Parrish. Her style of writing is easy and captivating.
Abbi and Benjamin have been struggling in their marriage since he returned from his military tour to Afganistan. Back in South Dakota, where he is a deputy, he finds a newborn baby girl in a field while carrying out regular duties. He saves the baby and starts visiting her in the hospital every day. When a foster home is needed for the baby, Abbi and Ben step forward.
Ben has shut A...more
Abbi and Benjamin have been struggling in their marriage since he returned from his military tour to Afganistan. Back in South Dakota, where he is a deputy, he finds a newborn baby girl in a field while carrying out regular duties. He saves the baby and starts visiting her in the hospital every day. When a foster home is needed for the baby, Abbi and Ben step forward.
Ben has shut A...more
I really liked the writing in this book. I had not read a book by Christa Parrish before this, but I enjoyed this one so much that I plan on reading Home Another Way also. Abbi as a character was sometimes a person I loved tremendously and also struggled with her thoughts and ideas. I understood her reasoning for the choices she made, but didn’t always agree with them. Abbi struggles with the changes in her husband and their relationship, and they have many things to work through to get their ma...more
Christa Parrish does it again! I thought her book Home Another Way was excellent, and this one is even better in my opinion. This book pulled me in right away and I really connected with the characters.
This was a touching story centered on God and how He can take devastating situations and use them for His glory.
Deputy Benjamin finds an abandoned baby in a shopping bag that someone had just given birth to and discarded. Since Benjamin and his wife Abbie are registered foster parents, baby Silv...more
This was a touching story centered on God and how He can take devastating situations and use them for His glory.
Deputy Benjamin finds an abandoned baby in a shopping bag that someone had just given birth to and discarded. Since Benjamin and his wife Abbie are registered foster parents, baby Silv...more
I truly fell in love with the struggling characters in Watch Over Me, a novel about loss, need, soul damage, and relationships that heal. Christa Parrish knows how to draw a reader into a complex, emotional, but not overwrought story. Her subtlety is superb. She entices the reader with just enough to want more, painstakingly unfolding the story. Watch over Me opens with a marriage in crisis, a PTSD former soldier struggling with unruly emotions and his peace-loving wife. Distance defines them. W...more
Abbi and her husband, Benjamin, live in a small town. Ben has recently come home from war in Afghanistan where is best friend was killed. Their marriage is on the brink and Benjamin just can not get over the horror of losing his friend and the blame he places on himself for it.
However, when Deputy Benjamin Patil finds an abandoned infant in a field and then Abbi and him become the baby's foster parents will it help him get out of the pain he is living in? Or will it push him over the edge?
There...more
However, when Deputy Benjamin Patil finds an abandoned infant in a field and then Abbi and him become the baby's foster parents will it help him get out of the pain he is living in? Or will it push him over the edge?
There...more
This isn't your typical Christian fiction book. Not in a bad way, but different. The author has a way of telling the story that is more raw, more true to real life. She has characters not normally seen in Christian fiction stories, with problems not many want to tackle.
I wasn't always comfortable with the brutal honesty of the words, but mostly because I could identify with the struggle to turn to God first, instead of trying to fix everything by myself; with the struggle to forgive myself for...more
I wasn't always comfortable with the brutal honesty of the words, but mostly because I could identify with the struggle to turn to God first, instead of trying to fix everything by myself; with the struggle to forgive myself for...more
After reading Watch Over Me, I am adding Christa Parrish to my "favorite authors" list.
The first page of this book rocked my senses. I was intrigued and yet haunted by the initial subject matter (an abandoned newborn baby found in a grocery sack) - it was so gripping that I had to sit down and keep reading.
Benjamin and Abbi broke my heart as I read about their struggles. I could easily imagine what it must have been like for him to come home from Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder a...more
At first I wasn't sure I was going to stick with this book, the writing style annoyed me for some reason, very short choppy sentences. But, I hung in there and before long I had been sucked in. It was a good fast read. Baby left in field and found by police officer who is trying to recover from Afghanistan and his marriage to his pacifist wife is struggling to. He takes the baby home and the story unfolds from there. One of my favorite characters is a deaf teen named Matt who has significant hea...more
Watch Over Me by Christa Parrish is a stunning follow-up to her debut novel Home Another Way. Benjamin and Abbi Patil have watched their marriage slowly disintegrate after his return from Afghanistan. They are so radically different: Benjamin a police officer who is just your average guy, Abbi a war protester who is vigilant about keeping her vegan diet and safeguarding the earth, it doesn't seem like the love they once shared is enough to pull them through this storm. When Benjamin discovers an...more
I struggled through the first 60 pages and was ready to give up. I decided to read through the first 100 pages and then I could decide whether or not to finish. It got slightly more interesting but I gave up at page 120. I just can't get engaged with the story and don't care about any of the characters except Matthew. His story is not enough to compel me to read the entire novel when I have a stack of books waiting for me.
The positives were that the author portrayed characters I haven't seen in many christian books, a man from India and a vegan environmentalist type and that it brought God into the big picture.
The characters were not develped enough and thought the storyline was interesting I dont feel that there was any true resolution. It didn't end up like a tightly wrapped gift with a bow on top, there were too many loose ends and not clear roads to get to them.
The characters were not develped enough and thought the storyline was interesting I dont feel that there was any true resolution. It didn't end up like a tightly wrapped gift with a bow on top, there were too many loose ends and not clear roads to get to them.
This is why you should never randomly select a book from the "library recommends" shelf. I found out by the end this book was under the category of Christian romance. And indeed the extreme main characters (an Indian police officer/war vet suffering from PTSD and a granola overweight white pacifist married and living in South Dakota--oh and the deaf, 16-year old needing a new kidney) could have easily come out of any Anita Stansfield book.
view 1 comment
I haven't read anything by this author before. This book is listed as Christian Fiction...it was a Christian book;however, it wasn't overdone with lots of Scripture passages, prayers, etc. like some I've read before. I don't mean that in a negative way (I was a deacon's daughter). From the first page, it sucked me right in. I guess finding an abandoned 4 hour old baby in a field has that effect. One thing I really liked about the book is it didn't have the ending I thought it would. I did guess...more
Jan 01, 2013
M.K.
added it
LOVED this! I didn't expect the storylines of cancer-ridden-deaf-kid and post-Iraq-soldier-struggling-in-marriage to come together, but they did in a really satisfying, touching way. Definitely recommend this tale!
A hard read for me. War trauma, death, abandoned baby, adoption, kidney disease, weight and eating disorder issues, and even more. It was, however, well-written, even more than most Christian fiction. Pleased with the read.
Interesting, light read but has stuff to talk about. An abandoned baby mystery, a deaf boy with kidney failure, a vetren dealing with PTSD, growing faith, and relationships.
Christa Parrish writes so beautifully. Who else could take a hippy vegan, a stressed veteran, an abandoned baby, and a sick teenager, and craft such a poignant story?
I have never read anything by this author and was pleasantly surprised! I loved the characters in this book-especially Matthew and Ellie! It was the perfect balance between a marriage in turmoil, a new love, and hidden secrets! I would recommend this book to anyone =]
Really liked this book. The story was so intriguing. Kind of weird people, but really good book. I am sad to be done with it - even though I couldn't wait to finish - it's that type of book.
Aug 03, 2011
Meghan
added it
Beautifully written, with enough foreshadowing to keep you wondering, and a realistic ending. Loved it and would highly recommend.
Wow! What a great book! It's about a couple that foster a child that was found abandoned (hours old) in a field. How this child mends thier torn marriage is amazing! Definately a quick great read!
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This was a very thought provoking, gritty, real novel that I heartily enjoyed.
Liked this book better than the last one I read by this author. My only complaint would be that she leaves some unanswered questions about some characters, and I guess I prefer to know what happens to all of them.
gritty & real... including messy realities & hardships in life...
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
