The Promise of Jesse Woods

Summary:  The summer of 1972 was the most pivotal of Matt Plumley’s childhood. While his beloved Pirates battle for back-to-back World Series titles, Matt’s family moves from Pittsburgh to Dogwood, West Virginia, where his father steps into the pulpit of a church under the thumb of town leader Basil Blackwood. A fish out of water, Matt is relieved to forge a fast bond with two unlikely friends: Dickie Darrel Lee Hancock, a mixed-race boy, and Jesse Woods, a tough-as-nails girl with a sister on her hip and no dad in sight.

As the trio traipses the hills and hollers, Matt begins to fall for Jesse, and their promises to each other draw him deeper into her terrifying reality. One night, the wrath of the Blackwoods and the secrets of Jesse’s family collide, and Matt joins Jesse in a rescue that saves one life and ends another . . . and severs the bond of their friendship.

Years later, Matt is pulled back to Dogwood and to memories of that momentous summer by news of Jesse’s upcoming wedding. He could never shake the feeling that there was more to the story of that fateful night, and he’s determined to learn the truth behind the only promise Jesse Woods ever broke.

                                                           ~~~~

Matt is just living a normal life when he finds out his best friend Jesse is soon marrying. Memories resurface from his childhood in the 70s, and Matt quickly heads home to decipher all that is happening.

So, this book wasn't all that bad, I just didn't enjoy it all that much. The reason(s)? The characters were good, but I didn't feel like the main character changed a whole lot by the end of the story like the author was wanting. It just felt like there was a lot of words trying to keep you busy until the end of the book. Generally I enjoy books that go back in time while in present time, but I wasn't much of a fan of it in this book. Though the author was trying to give some backstory on the main character, his friends, and what was going on in the story, some of it just wasn't needed.
I will say Chris Fabry did a good job in describing the settings and characters, but overall it isn't a book that I will be reccomending to everyone as a must read.




Genre: Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction.

Rating 2.7 out of 5 stars.
I recieved this book free from Tyndale Blog Network for an honest review.