Penny Wise

I remember when I was a child growing up in a small beachside neighborhood. All the neighbors knew one another and we lived in a small cul-de-sac. Holidays were celebrated in a big way because we got outside and hung out with the people who lived around us. Even late at night, parents would keep an eye out for all the kids, not just there own. But it seems like we have forgotten those great times where we look out for one another. Call it being busy or simply not interested enough, but Neta and Dave Jackson take us back to an old Chicago neighborhood on Beecham Street in each of their novels in the Windy City Neighborhood Series. In the third book, Penny Wise, we meet the Jasper family. The hard working father, Jared works crazy hours as an air traffic controller so the time he does spend with his family is split between work, church and family obligations. His wife, Michelle carries the weight of raising three growing teens, Destin who loves basketball and wants to attend summer camp to enhance his skills for a potential scholarship when he graduates from high school. The twins Tavis and Tabby, are growing 13-year-olds who are desperately seeking their own identities and trying to stay away from the gangs and drugs.

Michelle attempts to hold it all together while working at Bridges Family Services, along with volunteering at Lifeline, a crisis pregnancy center that helps young girls deal with the implications of dealing with the emotions of abortion and teen pregnancy. When she isn't there or working, she is raising a growing, busy family alongside helping out when she can at her church. What the Jasper family is dealing with the most is finding family time again with everyone being so busy in their own personal lives. Sure Jared and Michelle have to work to pay the bills, but it seems as if they are spiraling out of control and unexpected expenses keep piling up when they least expect them, which adds to the pressure that their marriage has to deal with. It isn't hard to understand even in today's tough economic times, that we can all relate to the Jasper's situation. Just how they work it all out is the premise behind this novel. It will showcase just how important family and neighbors can be and by the time you get to the end, you hope that we can all get out and meet with our neighbors a bit more.

Your favorite neighbors that you have met in the first two novels are back, from fun loving, blunt and honest Estelle Bentley, to Christian singer Grace Meredith, and Mattie Krakowski finally makes it home from recovering from her hip injury to take residence in the Bentley's new town home. You gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses that Michelle and Jared face in their marriage and in how they choose to work things out. It challenges us in our own marriages and parenting situations to see things from a different perspective.

I received Penny Wise by authors Neta and Dave Jackson compliments of Castle Rock Creative Publishing and Litfuse Book Tours for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained are strictly my own. I would recommend that even though you can read this as a stand alone, you would get more enjoyment reading this series in order, with Grounded being the first and Derailed following that one. I can't wait for the next one Pound Foolish to come out this fall that picks up the homeschooling family we meet in this novel and one I am sure I will relate to as well. I would rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

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Penny Wise by Dave and Neta Jackson

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