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Jan 11, 2010

Karen rated it:

I won an "Advance Uncorrected Proof" of this book through Goodreads First Reads, and read it in about 5 hours. Any Greeley book I've read has been a satisfying experience, as was this. I would give this 3 1/2 stars. I mainly enjoyed the part where the hero gets "killed" in Iraq, only to have a near-death experience, and he comes back to life to fulfill his destiny. The description of the entry into this after life was quite interesting and entertaining. I wished this part More...

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Dec 30, 2011

Jo rated it:

I picked this book up by mistake – looking for a book about a New Zealand movie of the same title.

Thank God for the mistakes we make in life.

When I realised that the book was written by Andrew M. Greeley, a Catholic priest since 1954, I groaned.

Yes – I really did.

I have nothing against religion or books about religion, I just generally do not read a lot of them anymore.

But I ran out of other books, and being an insomniac – well the othe More...

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Dec 22, 2011

Liz rated it:

Typically, I love Andrew M. Greeley's work. I love the wit and the stories he weaves. In this book, however, I didn't really feel that depth of story. It makes me wonder whether he was trying to get something written for the publisher in time for Christmas.

While still showing great signs of Greeley's wit and still an easy story to read, I was disappointed that there wasn't more plot development. Character development is sufficient for the three main characters, but the story itself se More...

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Nov 10, 2009

Rich rated it:

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Sep 10, 2011

Roberta rated it:

This was a nice short book. It is a fable told the way Andrew Greeley does best. A boy and girl who grow in the same Chicago parish drift apart after a tragic accident. The Boy joins the ROTC and ends up in Iraq. During his third tour in Iraq he is wounded and dies for nine minutes. He has an after death experience in heaven where he meets a happy god (called the ONE). One tells Pete to marry his girl or she will go to someone else for all eternity, (also that she will do something special to af More...

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Jan 06, 2010

Gail rated it:

Wow!! I have been a huge fan of Andrew Greeley for many years, so to win this book in a giveaway was a dream come true! I really, really enjoyed this book! This is a story about 2 people, Petey Pat and Mariana. They were destined to be together from the time that they met in the 2nd grade! They overcame tremendous obstacles, 1 of which was a terrible car wreck in which 2 of their friends were killed. It takes quite a few years for them to finally come together, but thanks to Father Jimmy, More...

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Nov 22, 2009

Lorna rated it:

I liked this book enough to finish it within 4 days of receiving an advance copy. It did confuse me at times as to who the narrator was. The story was told in the same voice throughout which gave it an omniscient presence feel like I would expect from someone looking down from heaven but it didn't seem appropriate for the whole book since only a small part of it was taking place in heaven. I really did not care for the interview style when the main character was in fact being interviewed by a More...

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Dec 26, 2011

Patricia rated it:

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Jan 05, 2010

Debbie rated it:

This is a Christmas novella by a Chicago priest about a young boy and girl and their love for one another. The girl is from a wealthy Italian family, and the boy is from a poor family with a drunken, abusive father. Instead of a happy life after high school graduation, the lives are marred by a car accident on prom night. The boy joins the Army and goes to Iraq, and the girl completes college and law school. The boy, Pete is wounded two times, and is basically brain dead, but returns to life More...

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Dec 01, 2009

Cathy rated it:

I was so looking forward to reading this book when I saw it listed as a giveaway and was even more excited when I got the e-mail letting me know I got a copy. I hate to say it, but the book was a bit of a letdown. I liked the story itself—two young people who have been in love with each other all of their lives, separated by war, and the role that their Catholic faith plays in their lives—but its execution was not done as well as I would have hoped. The characters and story were not fully develo More...

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Dec 09, 2009

Donna rated it:

As the 2nd in my "trilogy" of holiday books to be read this season, Home for the Holidays (a Goodreads WIN for me!), was another easy, quick read, with an upbeat ending. But, then again, what else do we want for the holidays?! This book however holds some added intrigue, as we are offered a glimpse into one man's view of the after life, and are introduced to a God full of mercy, love, and a great sense of humor who welcomes all.

The story revolves around Lt. Colonel Pete K More...

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Dec 13, 2009

Monica rated it:

"Home for Christmas" is the literature version of a stew. A delicious flavorful broth, but this stew is missing the meat, the potatoes and all the vegetables. So who would make a stew with just the broth? The same question could be asked in a sense regarding this book. Who would write a book with such a great premise, moments of genius, but no substance? It was very hard to connect with the characters because of that lack of substance. The story is about Petey Pat, a solider who More...

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Jan 03, 2011

Midge rated it:

It was a whim to read a Christmas story at Christmastime...

This is the story of a young soldier who wins the Purple Heart and the Medal of Honor while serving in Iraq. He returns home -- after being direly wounded in his 3rd tour of duty -- as a hero to re-unite with his childhood sweetheart.

They told him he had been dead -- without brain or heart function -- for 9 and a half minutes after he was injured in a suicide bombing, but Petey Pat had actually been enjoying hi More...

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Dec 20, 2009

Joanne rated it:

I wanted to like this book, given the author's profession, his age, and his tragic accident. However, I wonder if the good Father was unable to revise this book before publication. His foreword is dated Feb. 2008, which is about 9 months before his accident. Perhaps his business agents or family decided to go ahead and publish an unpolished manuscript.

In my opinion the characters seem undeveloped. The second graders do not sound like real 7 year olds. For example, the main char More...

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Apr 08, 2010

Marsha rated it:

I won this book courtesy of Goodreads' FirstReads program and frankly, I'm glad I did. I never would have picked it up off the shelves on my own.

The chapters are relatively short so the book progresses fast. I thought at first it would be just another cheesey Christmas romance story with a soldier who comes home to find the love of his life from his high school days has waited for him all this time and theirs is a love written in the stars.

Fortunately, this story is more More...

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Dec 14, 2009

Laura rated it:

Petey Pat and Mariana are best friends in the second grade First Communion class. They consider themselves engaged to be married when they grow up. Fast forward 17 years and Peter is an army captain, injured in a car bombing in Iraq. While declared dead, he visits heaven and has a fascinating conversation with God before coming back to Earth to continue his life and resolve unfinished business with Mariana.

I loved the author's imagination in describing heaven and what it might be More...

1 comment like

Dec 13, 2009

Karl rated it:

OK, I'm a sucker for Andrew Greeley. Like I love Binchley's rendition of Ireland; I love Greeley's view of the Catholic Church. God is unconditional love and mercy, and she has a sense of humor (maybe more bemusement than humor)! A lot of times, Greeley books speak to me more than the priest's homilies... so be it. A relatively short, tight story without the usual Greeley florish and detail. I wonder if this was his first work since his accident? Anyways, Greeley is a Gem and a true man of God. More...

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Dec 13, 2011

Judith added it

This is not what I call a typical Andrew M Greeley book. I did enjoy it, however, because it offers the theory of hope and promise even though it's fiction. I don't consider it to be a 'well-written' book from a structural standpoint, but that's just my own uneducated opinion. There are less than 200 pages to this book, and I should have read it easily within one day's time so it definitely wasn't a fast read for me. I attribute that more to the style than the subject.

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Jan 21, 2012

Addreamy rated it:

Got this book for Christmas. I have long enjoyed Andrew Greeley. This may not be the best of his work, but it was an enjoyable tale nonetheless. He tends to write strong women, conflicted men, and a liberal dash of spirituality in there. This tale was no different, but I enjoyed the way it unfolded as well as the passing reference to "Cardinal Blackie." If this is your first encounter with Fr. Greeley, tho, you might want to start with one of his earlier works.

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Dec 02, 2011

Sadie rated it:

During the month of December I like to read holiday books and this was my first selection. I'm disappointed to say this is one of the worst books I've read in a long time. The writing was awful, there was no character development, it jumped around like crazy and I never knew who was talking or what was going on, the characters were flat. After 100 pages I thought about quitting but since it's such a short book I decided to just finish it.

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Feb 17, 2010

Stephanie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Dec 21, 2011

Morv rated it:

It's an all right book, very much a light read and for those who don't want too much detail, but I found it had too much... I guess I found it rather bland than anything else, there wasn't really anything Christmasy until the end, you didn't really feel for the characters at all, there was no real emotional contact with them. The one character I did enjoy was God, who was only in there for a few pages.
An all right read, but not something I would want to read again.

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Dec 14, 2009

ccqdesigns rated it:

I won Home for Christmas from Goodreads and was very excited since I have read many of Andrew Greeley's books and enjoyed them all. But I did not feel that this book was up to his usual writing. The story started off with a journalist interviewing a soldier in Iraq who had just been injured while rescuing hostages. But it was a very slow read, went back and forth through time and tense and style and I was nearly to page 97 before I actually found that Andrew Greely style that I have always loved More...

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Mar 23, 2010

Patricia rated it:

This was an interesting take on a youthful romance about a boy who leaves the girl behind and what happens. The story begins in their young lives and goes back and forth between what is going on in the soldier's life now and what happened way back when. The basis for this story is that the soldier has an in death experience and how he feels.

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Nov 24, 2009

Lori rated it:

I am having a hard time deciding whether or not i like this book. It jumps around alot. The one thing I know i like is how descriptive it is. I KNOW what the characters look like.
Update: It took me better than half way through to enjoy some of the book. the love story was a nice mix with the war scenario, but i would not look specifically for this author again.

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Nov 28, 2009

Jenny rated it:

This is a Goodreads "First Readers winner" book!
A bit more uplifting than my last read. The story had an interesting way of dealing with a "near death experience." Unfortunately, the plot did not seem to flow very well with jumps from present to past with little action described in between. Plus a bit of an anticlimatic ending.

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Apr 16, 2010

Jessica rated it:

This was one amazing book. I read it in two sittings, probably totalling 5 hours. I could not put it down. I was so excited when I won an advanced copy from the publisher and am so grateful to have been touched by this book. It was a story of love, faith, and loyalty. It is a story that you do not want to miss!

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Jan 21, 2010

Allison rated it:

I got this from the library because someone recommended the author to me. I believe Greeley is a Catholic priest who writes mysteries, mostly. Maybe I should try one of his mysteries, because this was terrible. Major conflicts were repeatedly resolved within a half page (once with two terrible lines of dialogue), and the characters were not at all relatable or sympathetic. However, it was a very fast read.

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Dec 06, 2009

Pat rated it:

Andrew Greeley is a Catholic priest and a sociologist. Most of his works involve God in some way [naturally!:]. In this book, he takes the stand of an agnostic, questioning the reality of the books heros having a near-death experience. This book is interesting reading, in that, one of the characters is actually God. The hero has an encounter with God in heaven and is sent back to earth because his work is not done. Very good and fast reading.

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Nov 27, 2011

ginger rated it:

nice quick Christmas read with Greeley's typical wit, romance and heartwarming storytelling...although a few thoughts were not well formed and easy to read as in his earlier books, but this may have been just when i was reading while tired! handed straight to another friend!

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