Alfie Carter: A Novel by B.J. Mayo

Dec 07, 2020 Bandit rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Since I’m the first person to rate and review this book, it seems like the best thing to do would be to just warn people away from it, try to save them some time and/or money. It’s sad, it’s always sad when a book fails so dramatically, but in this case very much necessary.
Why did I even read it? Well, because I often try new random things and I’ve had generally pretty good experience with this publisher, in fact this might very well be the proverbial one off, the perfect dud for them. And bec Since I’m the first person to rate and review this book, it seems like the best thing to do would be to just warn people away from it, try to save them some time and/or money. It’s sad, it’s always sad when a book fails so dramatically, but in this case very much necessary.
Why did I even read it? Well, because I often try new random things and I’ve had generally pretty good experience with this publisher, in fact this might very well be the proverbial one off, the perfect dud for them. And because an African based story seemed interesting. And, and this is really the main reason, because it wasn’t advertised as what it is, which is, very much so, Christian fiction…it also wasn’t advertised as a sh*te book, so really there’s just no truth in advertising. To be fair, I have nothing against religion or religious fiction, I just don’t want to read someone’s inferior interpretation of it wrapped up in an (in this case extremely) inferior fiction presentation.
Mind you, there were signs. I should have put this book down when…
1. The first few pages advertised praise by one unknown writer and a bunch of random people, CEOs and such, probably author’s friends.
2. When two of those praises mentioned faith. Although discreetly mixed in with other things.
3. When I read the first sentence. Seriously…who messes up the first sentence. It was clunky and weird, sounding very much like crap debuts attempts tend to.
4. After the first chapter or at the very least a second one. The concept alone seemed completely preposterous. Imagine…a prosecutor on a rape case starts weeping in court and then goes to the judge’s private chambers and proceeds to tell him her life story. Seriously?
But no, my obsessive compulsive nature forced me to read this steaming pile of doodoo start to finish. But at least now you don’t have to. Because I’m going to give this book the review it deserves, not the praises lavished upon it by all those randos who I am certain don’t read or review nearly as much as I do, combined. And I’m going to go over all the entire plot, so if you haven’t read the book and for some reason planning to, you should probably walk away right now…
Still here? All righty then, let’s go. So we already covered the improbable beginning, but then the narration switches to tell the story of the eponymous Mr. Carter, a nowhere Texan detective investigating an apparent suicide of a local teenage cheerleader. For some inexplicable reason this is told in first person, despite the fact that it’s meant to be the African girl’s, Jackaleena’s, story. From there on it unevenly alternates between the two and this unevenness is dramatic to the extent that it reads like it might have been written by two different people.
The Carter story is somewhat more palatable of the two, though he’s not exactly a likeable or interesting or engaging protagonist. Instead he’s a fairly prototypical small Texan white good ole’ boy whose interests include ignoring his wife for about two decades after the premature death of their child and going out into nature, camping.
Meanwhile on the African continent, a young girl’s entire family and entire village is brutally slaughtered by local guerilla fighters, but she manages to find her way to an orphanage, where they take good care of her, giving her food and a through wash, brain included. Which is to say she gets to abandon her primitive local beliefs and discover Christianity. This is exactly how it is represented in the book. The contrast of local primitivism to the Western style mentality is very striking. The conversion is conducted as heavyhandedly as the rest of the book. The author isn’t one for nuances and his ideas of morality are very black and white, unambiguous and unimaginative. And you get a lot of it, too, like a lot a lot.
So eventually, Jackaleena stows herself away on a ship bound for US, comes to US, gets asylum status and then gets adopted. Guess by whom?
If you answered why, it must be the intrepid Mr. Carter, you are correct. Because by now he has rediscovered his faith and decided to be nice to his wife again and she always wanted to ad0pt so there you go. Also, it stands to mention the second Carter says sorry to his wife, she was perfectly accommodating and forgiving, she was all like, yes, dear, I completely forgive you two decades of neglect, one of which sexless, and I will tots go on a date with you now. Because, you know, it’s a simple book. A book for simple people about simple people. Or as the kids these days say, basic.
Throughout the book Jackaleena is constantly praised for her superior intellect (then again comparing to whom?), but frankly she seems at best average bright for a child her age, mostly just chatty in a very unedited sort of way and very eager for her purpose, which was apparently to come to the US get an education and become a prosecutor, but frankly if that was her purpose, she wouldn’t be weeping in courts. Which is to say that the author can write children about as realistically as he can write adults…not very.
That isn’t the only thing with his writing, outside of overselling the religious angle and underperforming on the plot, there are just some random things, like incorrect word usage (just apparently not knowing definitions to notorious or ascertain) or inability to do basic math.
Oh, and another precious thing about this crapfest…the case Carter was working on, well it turns out that the other cheerleaders (from families with money) basically strung up this girl from the proverbial wrong side of the fence and put cigarettes out on her, until she died. Then didn’t mean to kill her, they were just messing with her. And you know the solutions that the local legal system comes up with? Let them go with some community service. And you know why? Because the dead girl’s father makes an impassionate speech that begins with I’m just a refinery worker and goes something like…but now that you done told me how my only child and her unborn baby died, I completely forgive you and I’m totally ok with things no, no charges will be pressed. Seriously? And what the f* does his job have to do with it? It is because he’s such a simple kind of guy that he should have such an uncomplicated morality and such easy time forgiving and getting on with life. Maybe that’s just how they hoe those roads down in Texas. Either way…wrong.
Wrong like this book, which even speedread took too long. If the author was so determined to go proselytizing, he should have at least made an effort to wrap it up in something decent. But no, you get this instead. I do think the author meant well and had good intentions, trying to raise awareness of the situation in Africa and refugee crisis and all that, but it all got buried under his inferior writing efforts. At least it was kind of fun to review. And ideally inspired a fun review to read. At any rate…stay away from this book. Far, far away. You’re welcome. Thanks Netgalley. ...more

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Feb 27, 2021 Maida rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, gen-fiction, lsbbt, small-town

Alfie Carter is an affecting story of finding faith and of losing and rediscovering deeply-held beliefs. With its characters examining the state of their spiritual life, it’s a timely read for this holy season of Lent. It is also a tale of harrowing cruelty, extraordinary bravery, careless disregard for others, incredible kindness, and unbelievable acts of forgiveness.

Content notes: violent massacre, on-page death scenes and descriptions of crimes

See my full review on my blog Carpe Diem Chronicl ...more

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Feb 24, 2021 Leslie aka StoreyBook Reviews rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021, books-to-review

Every now and then a book will come along with a message that is fitting to the times we live in and how we should be living that life.

"..we are the world's worst at condemning folks that we think need condemning. The man that stole the car, the people on the scourge of drugs with no way out. All of the things that can beset us if we ain't careful. I have done it myself in my work. What right do we have to condemn them?"

This is a story of two lives intersecting at a critical time for all parties ...more

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Mar 03, 2021 Christena rated it it was amazing

“God knew what he was a doing when he was a balancing out the food chain and so forth.”

Alfie Carter caught me by quite a surprise. While I was expecting something along the lines of a strong character-driven story, which indeed it is… It gave me something considerably more. It became like an earthquake that gave me pause to think by looking at a different interpretation of wildlife and nature. A bit more on this later.

Alfie Carter relates two different character stories which come together seaml “God knew what he was a doing when he was a balancing out the food chain and so forth.”

Alfie Carter caught me by quite a surprise. While I was expecting something along the lines of a strong character-driven story, which indeed it is… It gave me something considerably more. It became like an earthquake that gave me pause to think by looking at a different interpretation of wildlife and nature. A bit more on this later.

Alfie Carter relates two different character stories which come together seamlessly in the end. One is of a little girl in Africa, and another is of Alfie in Texas. Exquisitely written, author B.J. Mayo, took me on two independent journeys of these main characters whose lives come together at the end perfectly. If you love a wholesome, well-written story that is told with cherished details that it transports you then Alfie Carter is a must-read.

As a side note, my background as a wildlife biologist tends to give me a different perspective on many nature-related aspects. So, I am going, to be honest about this book. I never thought by reading a fiction book that my perspective might change regarding all living creatures.

While this book is not about nature it does mention and talks about nature and God in a fresh and distinctive way. Almost like an earthquake, I started reflecting and thinking about the nature perspectives mentioned by Mayo. I have read a big part of the Bible. But I never interpreted it as God really did create the animals first not us humans. Technically, the plants were created first. What does that mean in the overall scheme of life on earth? That is indeed a philosophical question to be talked about at some point.

Here is some new wildlife takes from the book from me:

Mesquite trees have a purpose and one unique purpose for their thorns is cleaning your teeth with them. That’s a new one I will have to try.

I love the giant sentinels of Texas winter skies and hearing their voices call from overheard. Those sandhill cranes have made their north and south journeys for decades upon decades from Siberia to Texas and they will continue to do so as long as earth and they are still here. The latter is something I never considered before.

How did God know to create coyotes? I mean I know they are essential for an ecosystem. Matter of fact I love coyotes. There is a definite love-hate relationship with them but if you look at this from the point of view of a higher power – how did God know that coyotes were needed to help control all the other lower mammals He created?

This book makes me think of these relational things like I have never thought about them before.

I thoroughly relished this earthquake of a book Alfie Carter. The engaging character stories mixed with a bit of God and nature made this a winning book because mainly it continues to make me think and reflect. Thank you, Mr. Mayo! ...more

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Feb 24, 2021 Mike rated it really liked it

Alfie Carter is a wonderful story that tugs at the heart strings, and will quickly place the reader in an empathetic mood. There were many aspects to this book that I very much enjoyed, yet there were a few things that I did not enjoy as much. I’ll cover both in this review.

The book is essentially two separate storylines that intersect at some point. One story follows the path of a preteen African girl, from the time her small village is attacked until she ultimately ends up in Texas. The other Alfie Carter is a wonderful story that tugs at the heart strings, and will quickly place the reader in an empathetic mood. There were many aspects to this book that I very much enjoyed, yet there were a few things that I did not enjoy as much. I’ll cover both in this review.

The book is essentially two separate storylines that intersect at some point. One story follows the path of a preteen African girl, from the time her small village is attacked until she ultimately ends up in Texas. The other story offers a glimpse into the life of Alfie Carter, a detective in a small Texas town.

The story about the African girl has one scene of intense violence in the beginning. I thought the author did a wonderful job of painting a realistic picture of the scene, yet declining to include gratuitous violence. That is not to say the author wasn’t descriptive. In another scene, the African girl is eating a grasshopper. The author did not elaborate on it, but matter-of-factly described the taste and texture the girl experienced.

Alfie’s story has a good amount of backstory, from both his childhood and from a period about twenty years earlier in his marriage. The predominance of his story, however, focuses on his current case, the death of a local high school girl.

The characters in both stories are well developed. The African girl and Alfie Carter are the most developed characters - as they should be as the protagonists. As you can probably imagine, the dialect surrounding these two characters is drastically different. I think the author does a fine job of “keeping it real” - that is to say, the different dialects remain different throughout the story.

The two stories are told in different points of view. The African story is told in third person POV, while Alfie’s story is told in first person POV. As I got further in the stories, I became more comfortable with the POV choices. However, there was one paragraph, near the point where the stories intersect, where the POV changes within the same paragraph. I read an advanced reader copy (ARC), but I’m not entirely sure this was a typo kind of thing.

That brings me to the things that I did not particularly like about the book.

First, when the author first changes from one storyline to the other, it took me a while to figure out that’s what he did. I was confused for a number of paragraphs. However, after I figured it out, I had no problems switching after that.

The author uses a court case as a vehicle to bring in the African story. The author provided enough details about the court case that it was always in the back of my mind, waiting for it to came back into the story. It never did. As far as I know, the court is still in recess.

Over the years, I have heard various reports of the local fighting in Africa. I don’t know how realistic the scenes in this story are compared to what actually happens. However, the way the author tells the story, it certainly seems realistic to me.

There is a fair amount of Christianity in the book - particularly in the African storyline. However, I thought it was handled very nicely by the author, and it all seemed appropriate.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the author’s writing style. Given the opportunity, I would gladly read another of the author’s books to see what else he has to say. ...more

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Feb 23, 2021 Ruthie Jones rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-book, lone-star-book-blog-tours

“Sometimes life does not play fair.”

Alfie Carter by BJ Mayo is an intriguing story that will shred your heart and then knit it back together with threads of love, compassion, forgiveness, and healing. Alfie Carter is laced with Christian references and prayer and relies heavily on the theme of following God’s ultimate plan for each of us, encouraging us all to pursue and accept our unique purposes in life.

Two stories are told in parallel throughout most of the book before colliding together in s “Sometimes life does not play fair.”

Alfie Carter by BJ Mayo is an intriguing story that will shred your heart and then knit it back together with threads of love, compassion, forgiveness, and healing. Alfie Carter is laced with Christian references and prayer and relies heavily on the theme of following God’s ultimate plan for each of us, encouraging us all to pursue and accept our unique purposes in life.

Two stories are told in parallel throughout most of the book before colliding together in spectacular fashion at the end. The scenes are set, and the main characters are developed slowly and deliberately, with gentle care and thought. In Spring, Texas, Alfie Carter is in law enforcement and finds himself investigating a young girl’s alleged suicide by hanging. Something is off about this girl's death, however, and Alfie “Bulldog” Carter is on the case. Unfortunately, all is not right in Alfie’s personal life as he continues to struggle with the loss of his infant daughter twenty years prior. Nothing will ever heal that pain of losing a child, and the constant agonizing ache continues to push him further from his wife, Bea, creating a heartbreaking gap that widens with each passing year.

Jackaleena is a young girl in Africa who witnesses the slaughter of her entire village, including her parents. Homeless, orphaned, and fearing for her life, she finds her way to a place of refuge, Benguela by the Sea, where a kind woman, Margaret, teaches her English and all about Jesus. Jackaleena’s impromptu journey to the United States is entertaining and filled with adventure and introduces one of my favorite minor yet important characters, Rufus Obediah. While the roads for Jackaleena and Alfie are fraught with pain and uncertainty, discovering their journeys are well worth the reader’s time and tears.

BJ Mayo’s writing is down to earth and simple yet earnestly wrapped up tight in the human emotions of loss, love, and mercy. Jackaleena’s and Alfie’s stories are not uncommon, but the author presents these two in a way that makes them feel exclusive and almost solitary until both open themselves to God and to others who only want to love them. The overall pacing is a bit slow, but life-changing events often do not happen in a flash but rather over time and even across continents. The build up to the conclusion is worth the wait because that ending will soften even the hardest of hearts.

A takeaway of Alfie Carter is that we are all connected in some fashion. People cross our paths for a reason and often impact our lives profoundly and forever. Jackaleena and Alfie each have a purpose to fulfill and a life filled with love to live, and even though these events in Alfie Carter take a little while to come to fruition, the slow anticipation and the eventual healing are exquisite.

I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review. ...more

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Mar 01, 2021 Melissa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, mystery, southern-fiction, rural-fiction

Alfie Carter is one of those novels that should be on everyone's reading list, because it's such a well-crafted, compelling story. Actually, it's two stories that become entangled at the end of the book, but even though Jackaleena's story begins in Africa and involves some horrific scenes of the type typically only seen in 30-second clips on CNN, and Alfie's begins with him climbing a mountain to spend some time camping in order to get out of his own head, the themes are the same: identity, purp Alfie Carter is one of those novels that should be on everyone's reading list, because it's such a well-crafted, compelling story. Actually, it's two stories that become entangled at the end of the book, but even though Jackaleena's story begins in Africa and involves some horrific scenes of the type typically only seen in 30-second clips on CNN, and Alfie's begins with him climbing a mountain to spend some time camping in order to get out of his own head, the themes are the same: identity, purpose, and faith.

As we open, both characters are adults. Jackaleena is attorney known for her toughness. Alfie is a gritty detective. But the narrative very quickly goes back in time to give us the history of these two powerful characters, and author BJ Mayo handles the time changes and perspective changes with a deft hand. Interestingly, he chose not to begin the novel from the title character's point of view. Readers don't encounter him until slightly later. But the reality is that it might be Alfie Carter's name in the title, but this story really has dual leads.

What I loved about this book was the specific use of language. When Jackaleena is a child in Africa, her thought processes and speech are young, and even though there's no written dialect, it's obvious that this isn't a kid whose first language is English. The rhythm and cadence of her words is different than it is years later when she has largely assimilated into American culture.

Similarly, Alfie Carter feels exactly the way one expects a lifelong Texan to be - I felt like I could hear a rough voice with a slight drawl even when what I was reading were his thoughts and observations.

At times a difficult read, especially because of Jackaleena's childhood experiences (though Alfie is certainly no stranger to rough times), this novel is one that is grounded in the individual faith of both main characters. It's never preachy, and there are moments of humor to break up the serious nature of the main story, but that faith, and each characters relationship with it, helps drive the story and should not be overlooked as an integral element of the novel.

Overall, Alfie Carter is the kind of novel that sticks with you long after you've finished it, and makes you think about your own reactions, beliefs, and assumptions.

Goes well with: steak cooked over an open fire and a slug of whiskey. ...more

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Mar 02, 2021 Kimmie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021-reads, lone-star-lit

The story of Alfie Carter and Jackaleena N’Denga was so much more than the synopsis gives mention too.

Alfie Carter starts out in a courtroom and comes full circle, in many senses of the word. So that by the end of the story, we are right back in that same courtroom having gleaned so much more understanding into the lives of some remarkable people.

The story is told in a back-and-forth way between two people’s lives that seem totally disconnected until a light bulb turns on spectacularly towards ...more

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Feb 23, 2021 Jennie Rosenblum rated it really liked it

As I began reading this book I saw two parallel stories, never imagining the twist that would happen to artistically weave them together. Jackaleena is a young girl with an iron will and the sole survivor of her village. She bravely finds a way to not only continue through the atrocities being carried out in African villages, but also finds her purpose. Her story is told in a sensible manner from the eyes of a sheltered but mature person.

Alfie – not Alfred - is a wounded man. As a workaholic de ...more

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Feb 25, 2021 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult, crime-drama, inspirational, reviewed

Some families aren't born but made. Some people are broken to learn how to protect others from breaking. Alfie Carter is a difficult book to peg down. From the cover, we instantly envision the story of a young family on the Texas ranch. I imagined a story of damaged souls coming together to find family and happiness. While this assumption isn't too far off the mark, the actual story is much more complicated. And the image we see on the cover isn't something we will see until much closer to the e Some families aren't born but made. Some people are broken to learn how to protect others from breaking. Alfie Carter is a difficult book to peg down. From the cover, we instantly envision the story of a young family on the Texas ranch. I imagined a story of damaged souls coming together to find family and happiness. While this assumption isn't too far off the mark, the actual story is much more complicated. And the image we see on the cover isn't something we will see until much closer to the end.

The story begins with the woman we soon learn was named Jackaleena in another life. A life where her African village was murdered and brutalized by raiders. A life where she was forced to survive and somehow finds her way on a ship sailing for America. Little does she know of the future waiting for her in Texas. Alfie and Beatrice Carter lost their only girl years ago. Ever since, Alfie lives for each new crime case, and struggles to relate with his estranged wife. The most recent case gives him the chance to write wrongs, reconnect with Beatrice, and eventually open his heart to little Jackaleena.

Readers should be aware that while the cover portrays the heart of the novel, throughout the story there are many episodes of brutality and violence. This is not always an easy book to read, and in contrast, much of the violence is offset by many quoted passages from the Bible. It can feel a bit preachy at times, but I also appreciated that the author didn't hold back from the realities of the world. Another issue I had was the formatting. I was provided with an advanced copy, so there may still be a few kinks the publisher needs to iron out. I would recommend the character perspective be shown, along with the year the chapter takes place in. There are frequent time and character jumps I found slightly confusing. What I truly enjoyed was the way B.J. Mayo truly pulled me into the dark jungle of Africa with Jackaleena, and alongside Alfie in his struggle to find meaning in the midst of darkness.

Recommended for fans of Christian fiction and small-town crime series like Longmire, Alfie Carter bridges continents and hearts in an epic journey toward faith and redemption.

**I was provided with a copy of Alfie Carter by the publisher and this is my voluntary and honest review.** ...more

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Mar 07, 2021 Maryann rated it really liked it

There are many aspects of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The two central characters, Jackaleena and Alfie top the list. Second to that is the great descriptions of the settings, and I enjoyed going into the mountains with Alfie on his annual self-exile where he could see the stars so clearly and hear the baying of the coyotes. While familiar with that night sound, I didn’t know that the baying sometimes was a way to have members of the pack check in with each other. That was an interesting There are many aspects of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The two central characters, Jackaleena and Alfie top the list. Second to that is the great descriptions of the settings, and I enjoyed going into the mountains with Alfie on his annual self-exile where he could see the stars so clearly and hear the baying of the coyotes. While familiar with that night sound, I didn’t know that the baying sometimes was a way to have members of the pack check in with each other. That was an interesting bit of trivia I liked learning.

Alfie is a well developed character with many layers that are slowly lifted as the story progresses. While too circumspect with his wife Beatrice, who has the patience of Job when it comes to this taciturn man, he is introspective while out on the road tracking criminals or up in the mountains. He recognizes how his childhood impacted his life as an adult and wonders if God took their child because he, Alfie was unfit to be a father. Alfie also has a bit of a sense of humor and I loved this line “Men’s underwear is not supposed to be every color of the rainbow.”

The story opens with a court case and Jackaleena as a successful attorney in Texas, far from the African village that had been her home and the atrocities she suffered there. I kept waiting for the story to come full circle, thinking the author had used the “framing” technique of telling a story, but that didn’t happen. That opening did provide a good vehicle for launching the story, but it would have been better, I think, to bring it full circle.

What didn’t work so well for me was the unbalance in pacing. Scenes with Jackaleena in Africa started off well. That first scene of the destruction of her village was stark and emotional, without being too graphic, which was nice. Not a lot of gore for this reader. 🙂 But subsequent scenes were so slow and contained too much detail that I was skip-reading – something I hate to do as I believe I owe an author a thorough read when reviewing their book. Even though I skipped through, just reading a sentence here and there on a page, I didn’t miss any important developments in the story, which then picked up a better pace when the two characters lives intersected.

I received an unedited ARC to read, so I’m hoping that some of the issues with the story were resolved in the editing process. This is a good story with some important messages about what we owe each other as human beings and the benevolence of a loving God. ...more

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Feb 23, 2021 Lorilei Gonzales rated it really liked it

Alfie Carter by BJ Mayo is a book that cannot be judged by its cover. Don’t get me wrong, the cover is quite beautiful, as is the heart of the story. But that does not begin to touch the darkness contained within its pages and the resilience of the characters to overcome it. If you were to pick this book up with the intent of reading a fluffy, inspirational novel, you would be rocked to your core.

The premise of the book is very interesting and, to be completely honest, had so much going on that Alfie Carter by BJ Mayo is a book that cannot be judged by its cover. Don’t get me wrong, the cover is quite beautiful, as is the heart of the story. But that does not begin to touch the darkness contained within its pages and the resilience of the characters to overcome it. If you were to pick this book up with the intent of reading a fluffy, inspirational novel, you would be rocked to your core.

The premise of the book is very interesting and, to be completely honest, had so much going on that I felt like this story should have been broken up into two, if not three, separate books. When we begin with the stoic Jackaleena breaking down over the brutal attack on a young girl, we know that we are about to hear a horrific story. For anyone who has kept up with the news in Africa, the crimes against humanity, especially women and young girls, is not a secret. Mayo’s ability to write from the perspective of this brave young girl is believable with its seemingly contradicting qualities of awareness and innocence. His treatment of the violence is handled with honesty and as much sensitivity as an author can use to describe such evil.

When we switch gears to follow around the Alfie character, you get to understand why the book is named after him. I imagine that the people in his town, and even his own wife, sometimes think that there’s not much complication to the man. But, thankfully, we the readers are privy to his innermost thoughts and feelings. A quick glance at Mayo’s biography has me thinking that Alfie most likely was not based on himself, but his familiarity with the character has me believe that he knows someone like Alfie in real life. The character is too complex and too visceral to not be based on a real person, even just a little bit.

I think the story could have hit even harder with some good editing, both on the line edit level and the overall shaping of the novel. Certain scenes just ran too long in my opinion, and the synopsis of the book misleads you into thinking that there is more interaction between Alfie and Jackaleena than we actually get to see. To be fair, it sounds like the sequel will definitely provide more of those details, but I was setup to believe that they would be revealed in this book, not the next. Also, with the amount of God and Christianity talk, I think that this book should have been labeled as a Christian novel.

I recommend this book to people who are interested in reading about a place very different from where most of us reside, but who are not squeamish about violence. This book makes you think about the things and the people you might take for granted. I look forward to reading more about these characters. Four stars for an uplifting story of hope and making new beginnings. ...more

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Feb 02, 2021 Mike Perry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade

The characters are so real they become friends quickly. Can't wait to read the rest of the story. Alfie is so well written that most men will relate and see some of themselves in him.
...more

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