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The Boys Upstairs

by Jane Lebak (Goodreads Author)

4.58 of 5 stars 4.58 · rating details · 12 ratings · 4 reviews

Jay Farrell, a crippled priest, has begun housing homeless boys in his rectory. Once a street kid himself, he was riding the rocket-train to a lifetime in prison until the day he drove over a land mine in Iraq. Today he works at an inner-city parish, running a soup kitchen and struggling to manage an impoverished church.

With temperatures below zero and falling a few nights...more

ebook, 87 pages

Published December 3rd 2010 by Museit Up Publishing (first published December 1st 2010)

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Dec 03, 2010 Nikole Hahn rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Boys Upstairs, with its largely Catholic overtones, begins in a poor parish. Father Jay, an Iraq war veteran, collects homeless kids. Chapter 1 begins with his police officer brother bringing him three more children. There’s no room, but Father Jay takes them anyway, clearing out a room so the three siblings can stay together.

The story focuses on Father Jay and his unbelieving brother, Kevin. They frequently fight and Kevin ardently despises Christianity. Kevin likes a waitress named, Holly....more The Boys Upstairs, with its largely Catholic overtones, begins in a poor parish. Father Jay, an Iraq war veteran, collects homeless kids. Chapter 1 begins with his police officer brother bringing him three more children. There’s no room, but Father Jay takes them anyway, clearing out a room so the three siblings can stay together.

The story focuses on Father Jay and his unbelieving brother, Kevin. They frequently fight and Kevin ardently despises Christianity. Kevin likes a waitress named, Holly. Holly declines further dates with him because Kevin despises everything she believes. The main plot becomes more about Kevin’s struggle with the existence of God and the often asked question, “Why do bad things happen if there’s an omnipresent and all-powerful God?” While I didn’t see an invitation to accept Christ in the dialogue and the question never gets directly answered, many thought provoking discussions occur throughout the dialogue such as:

Spider turned his head aside. “Well, I’m not becoming a priest.” When Jay laughed out loud,

Spider said, “I’d rather be a soldier like you were. Or a cop.”

“The police and I are doing the same work.” Jay sat back on his heels, rubbing the dirt

granules from his palms. “They’re cutting off the leaves, and I’m pulling out the roots. What

you’re going to learn, Spider, is that evil has taproots. You can slice it apart all you want, but if that root’s intact below, the leaves will show up again. You’ve never completely weeded a

garden. But it helps to be doing something, and both kinds of work are worthwhile.”

“I don’t really get you. You became a priest to fight bad guys?”

The flow of the story kept me turning the pages. Jane Lebak is a talented writer. Under the pseudonym, Jane Hamilton, she published a book via Thomas Nelson called, The Guardian. Her previous novel Seven Archangels: Annihilation is in-print with Double-Edged Publishing. You can view some of Jane’s shorter pieces in books like Chicken Soup for the Soul. The Boys Upstairs is a good Christmas story teaching us about love, charity, thanksgiving and perseverance.

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Dec 03, 2010 Julie Davis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Christmas is a Time for Second Chances: Reviewing The Boys Upstairs

"Yeah, you've certainly changed." Kevin shoved aside his empty plate. "I remember when you would have been the kid bringing the knife into the church."

"Would you rather I spent the rest of my life in jail?"

"That's not what I would have rather had at all, and you know it."

Jay opened his hands. "You don't get it both ways. The thing that saved my conscience was the same thing that saved my soul."

Kevin shook his head.

"Please do

...more Christmas is a Time for Second Chances: Reviewing The Boys Upstairs

"Yeah, you've certainly changed." Kevin shoved aside his empty plate. "I remember when you would have been the kid bringing the knife into the church."

"Would you rather I spent the rest of my life in jail?"

"That's not what I would have rather had at all, and you know it."

Jay opened his hands. "You don't get it both ways. The thing that saved my conscience was the same thing that saved my soul."

Kevin shook his head.

"Please don't start this again," Jay said. "You know I can't stand it."

"I've told you I accept you the way that you are."

"You say that as though I have a disease." Jay looked at his lap. "I love you from the bottom of my heart, and I pray for you every day. I want nothing but good for you—and in return, you'll tolerate me. Like I'm an aged flatulent uncle you visit once a week for the sake of your long-dead grandmother."

Jay Farrell is a priest with overwhelming responsibilities and very few resources. He houses homeless boys in his rectory, runs a soup kitchen, and ministers to an inner-city parish. He is no stranger to overcoming big odds, but one of the most troubling obstacles is in his personal life.

Jay's brother, Kevin, is a cop who has seen so much evil that he's stopped believing in God and hasn't spoken to Jay for a long time. When Kevin stops by Jay's rectory to drop off three more needy children, it puts them in contact on a continuing basis as they must work together to help provide food and clothing for the newcomers.

Those are far from being the only problems which need solving. Nick's anger at the parents who abandoned him makes him lash out in anger at the other homeless boys. Holly is barely getting by on her waitress salary and has given up on ever finding love. The three children who are dropped off with Father Jay are trying to find a way to stay together instead of being split up into separate foster homes.

Although these are not the sorts of situations that I would normally choose to read about, I found myself being drawn into this novella through the characters' motivations and back stories. In uncovering what happened to Jay in Iraq, watching Holly's defense of a fellow waitress, watching for changes in Nick that would echo those we are told took place in another boy, and in wondering what is haunting Kevin about a simple memory of a lit front porch, I was pulled into a world with characters I wanted to know better.

Since this is ultimately a book about free will, second chances, and faith, I was quite interested in Lebak's handling of touchy conversations that echoed the sorts of situations we might face in real life. A confrontation with a family who uses God to dodge out of paying a bill and Kevin and Jay's struggles were absorbing without seeming preachy or out of place.

I also liked very much the honesty the priest shows with the children when they ask about his past. It is not only what they need to evaluate their situation and the choices they contemplate, but also an insight into the priest's ability to work with the children that have found their way into his care. Lebak made a gutsy choice in showing this good man taking care of these homeless kids. Many would think of the recent sex scandals and choose a different plot. Seeing Jay caring for these children is a reminder that most priests are good men who want nothing more than to honorably minister to those in their care.

I enjoyed Lebak's previous novel, Seven Archangels: Annihilation, but I found that her writing style in this work flowed much more naturally. I especially liked the fact that she didn't tell us everything about what each character was thinking which left some areas open for further reflection, such as the very brief comments that Kevin receives which become a turning point in his thinking.

The downside is that this is only novella length, about 100 pages. It is crammed with plot points that have to be resolved in a fairly short time. Sometimes this resulted in important ideas being hashed out in a couple of pages of pointed conversation which would have been more naturally conveyed if the author had had the luxury of more pages to spread things out in. Also, there are some characters that it would have been nice to have more background on. For example, Mrs. D. is someone who I would have liked to know more about than we were told, especially given the important resolution she helps with at one point in the book. I realize these criticisms seem like a direct contradiction to my appreciation for the openness I praised in the previous paragraph but these are not moments of subtlety but of skimming over details for lack of space.

I definitely recommend this novella. I would really like it if Jane Lebak wrote another book about these characters but took more time to ... breathe ... while doing so. I enjoyed what she wrote but want more of it. I could see this novella being the launching pad for a book or two along the lines of Jan Karon's Father Tim books but without the treacly sweetness and with more Catholic down-to-earth hardheadedness. C'mon Jane. Give us more!(less)

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Jan 13, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-list

Initially, I was glad to see that this was a shorter novel, because I was reading it electronically in the days when the only device I had was an iPod Touch, my laptop, or my husband's iPad on the weekends. When I got to the end, though, I was disappointed that it wasn't longer...it was well-written, well-crafted, and well done.

Five stars and a high recommendation.

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Feb 07, 2012 Deb Salisbury rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read Jane Lebak's novella today. It is AMAZING. So beautiful I cried. Not sad, but powerful and wonderfully woven together. Wow!

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May 06, 2013 Mary Lindsey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oct 31, 2012 Cricketb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Oct 19, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sep 24, 2012 Pam O'keefe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sep 24, 2012 Petra marked it as to-read

Sep 06, 2012 Jennifer Westall marked it as to-read

Aug 17, 2012 Talana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jan 22, 2012 Jane Lebak rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Shelves: my-writing

Jan 14, 2012 Lydia Kang added it

Oct 05, 2011 Joanna Schoerner marked it as to-read

Jul 25, 2011 Raballard marked it as to-read

Jan 15, 2011 Museitup Publishing rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dec 07, 2010 Ellen Gable rated it 5 of 5 stars

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About Jane Lebak

Jane Lebak is the author of The Wrong Enemy. She has four kids, three cats, two books in print, and one husband. She lives in the Swamp and spends her time either writing books or ejecting stink bugs from the house. She is pretty sure no one reads these author bios. At a resource for writers in search of an agent or small press.

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