“It scares me to think what Pa will do when he finds out . . . but we can’t keep it a secret forever.”
David Riley is a typical farm boy of the late 1800s, growing up in a Midwest community where religion was a tradition that none dared to challenge. He and his friend Jill set out to explore the “Old Man’s Path,” to uncover the mystery of an old wives’ tale, and it turns into more of an adventure than they bargained for. When they discover long-held secrets in the town of Detweiler, David is determined to find the truth—regardless of the cost.
As he faces opposition in his quest, David also finds a battle waging within. He and his friends struggle to be kind to Henry, a cruel bully, and his mother, a widow bitter toward God. But as David’s hatred for Henry grows, so does the darkness in his own heart. With an emptiness that threatens to consume him, David despairs of ever pleasing God. Prospects of finding peace appear lost until he meets a strange old recluse who offers him both friendship and hope.
David discovers something in common with the mysterious stranger—but what binds them together threatens to tear his family and community apart. Will he have the courage and determination to stand for what is right? Facing rejection in the greatest decision of his life, David must choose which path to follow: a religious tradition to live by or a faith to die for.
This is the summary on the back of this wonderful book written by Keri Aeschliman. I just finished reading it and must give it a 5 stars out of 5 stars rating. Before I tell you about the book, let me explain how I had the honor of reading this book and writing this review. Last year I became the proud owner of Sadie, a cream/apricot colored goldendoodle. I now people think I'm crazy when I say she is the easiest most chill and layed back dog, but she is The breed is fabulous. Anyway, after getting her I got doodle fever and couldn't stop looking at the breeders websites, which in turn had me wind up with a 2nd golden doodle, Macie....she is a mini caramel golden doodle....and her personality is more energetic than Sadie, but she's a doll. Keep in mind we already had Pearl, our brittany/lab mix...and she is not liking my doodle fever.
I digress...so I wound up looking at a breeder website in Ohio,(Buckeye Kennels if you want to get doodle fever) and at the bottom of the home page, it mentioned the breeders daughter being and author. So I read about the book and on a whim emailed the author to see if she would send me a book to review and she did. The catch, I was to post a review on my blog....which I'd yet to start, but did start up...which was something I'd been wanting to do. So this rambling just goes to show that you never know where you will learn about a good book to read!
The back of the book was enough to pique my interest in starting the book. The opening had me hooked and wanting to learn more about the town of Detweiler and the main character of the book, David. The descriptions of the setting reminded me of Little house on the prairie and that is the visual I had in my mind the entire time I was reading it. We learn in the story that everyone in Detweiler is taught to believe that the way to get to heaven is by doing good things. It seems the whole town has no problem with this teaching, except David, his heart is very unsettled about this and he has no peace that this is all there is. He is especially worried because he has an extremely hard time doing good things when it comes to Henry, the school bully. When he ask about this belief, no one can explain it to give David peace, not even the preacher. His fear is he will never be good enough.
Things get interesting when a mysterious stranger enters the picture. The townspeople know about him but consider him a crazy outcast and not welcome to be part of the town. In a moment of fate, David's path crosses with the stranger, and they begin to talk and develop a friendship, one that has to be hidden from his family. The stranger puts David's heart at peace by teaching him there is hope, and he shares his faith with him. David learns that there is no one who is righteous, not even one. Now he's faced with following the teachings the community has always believed, or the new truth he has learned from the stranger.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book to the point of at times not being able to put it down. The chapters are fairly short, and my thought of 'I'll read just one more, chapter' often had me reading past my bedtime! The only thing that left me a bit sad was to see the book end as it did. I like the whole concept of happily ever after and closure, and this book left me creating my own ending..which may be what the authors intention was. I think this is a fabulous book and highly recommend it for anyone to read who might be questioning their faith, especially kids today who are bombarded with so many alternate types of faith. It also is a good reminder of what our faith is all about. I look forward to future books by Ms Aeschliman, her writing is very descriptive and mature and just has a way of drawing the reader into the story. Grab a copy for yourself, and one as a gift, you will not be disappointed!! And if this review causes you to become the proud owner of a doodle, leave me a comment, would love to hear about it!
FM
