Kevin Morrell is a forty-three-year-old husband and father who runs a successful design and marketing firm that's crashed into the suffering economy. Attempting to navigate the chaos of the mall at Christmas, Kevin is humbled when he stumbles across The Salvation Army's Angel Tree program. Later his wife insists that he take a paper angel from the tree.
The name on the ornament is that of Thomas Brandt, a fifteen-year-old still reeling from the implosion of his family - from years of verbal abuse from an alcoholic father to a mother who finally left him behind, only to find herself and her children penniless and struggling. The only thing that has allowed Lynn to survive is her faith. Thomas shares that faith, but he also wonders why God has seemingly abandoned them.
This is the bases for the inspired true story told in a fictional account about a man and a boy one December: a man whose life is changed by a simple expression of kindness, and a boy who takes that expression of kindness and shows the true meaning of Christmas in the novel Paper Angels by Jimmy Wayne and Travis Thrasher. I received this book compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Publishers for my honest review and found myself receiving the most unexpected gift in return. It's a gift that can't be measured in a dollar amount or even exchanged for something better, because it is priceless. Its the gift that God gave us when He provided His son for the ultimate gift of grace and salvation on a beautiful and blessed night so many years ago.
This story will move you in the most unexpected ways. You can see yourself on both sides of the story. You get to feel the pain and loneliness of Thomas when he arrives at school with only the clothes on his back. Rejected by the basketball team since being a new transfer, he is unofficially "benched" til next year. However when a bully from the team, Vic West, finds Thomas' clothes and lack of food something to tease him about in front of the entire school, the tables will be turned in the most unexpected ways. I would rate this story a perfect 5 out of 5 stars and wish everyone could pick up a copy of this book just in time for Christmas, just to see what a difference it would make in everyone's heart. For more information about this book, the authors and where to pick up a copy of this book, click on the links below:
Paper Angels by Jimmy Wayne and Travis Thrasher
To learn more about the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program click here. Jimmy Wayne: Started his Meet Me Halfway campaign in January 2010 to raise awareness for youth who "age out" of the foster care system and face serious life problems such as homelessness and poverty. Please visit www.project.MMH.org to see how you can help.
Thanks to the generous folks at Howard Books, they are offered a gift in the form of a giveaway copy of this book to one lucky follower of my blog. Here are your guidelines to enter:
1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart.
2. Tell everyone you know about this, Tweet It, Blog About It, Link It, even Facebook it. The more that learn about this book, the better we'll all be in the end.
3. Be a resident of the US or have a US shipping address and remember No P.O. Boxes please.
4. Leave me a comment, telling me what winning this copy would mean to you along with your email address. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.
The giveaway will end on November 30th and I will notify the winner at that time via email. In addition, a copy of this book will be provided to a homeless shelter in hopes that it will bless the lives of those that read it.
