A Chance at Forever (Teaville Moral Society series) - Melissa Jagears

Teaville, Kansas and Mercy McClain finds herself in a predicament. She will protect all children from the bullying she experienced as a child. So, when her former tormentor arrives for a job interview as a Math teacher, Mercy wonders if anyone on the board recognizes him. Should she tell them exactly who he is?

Changing his name from George to Aaron doesn't mean he can escape from his past. Not that he wants to. Aaron Firebrook is very much aware of what he did when he was younger. And, he's returned to Teaville make amends.Then he meets with Mercy at the interview. She can make or break his new found career in teaching. He'll find employment elsewhere until he hears news of the position.

Aaron finds the job he needs and strives to keep himself to himself. He's on a mission to seek out those he mistreated. Some have forgiven his actions, others, like Mercy, have not and are making him work hard for redemption. Again, not that he's complaining. He was a bully but he has to solicit forgiveness of others.

Mercy bites her tongue when she discovers that Aaron has a job at the orphanage. Should she say something to Mr. Lowe about who Aaron is...was? A bully shouldn't be around children. But, the young woman has to put her trust firmly in the hands of God. Yet, is so difficult. Can she stand being around Aaron when he evokes awful memories of his teasing? Running the orphanage along with her brother and sister-in-law will mean that she can avoid as much as possible.

Then she finds her brother, Timothy frequenting the town's saloon. Whilst the work at the orphanage is geared toward the unwanted children of prostitutes, Mercy doesn't expect to see kin in the less than desired parts of town. Timothy would lose his job if she mentions anything to Nicholas Lowe (owner of the orphanage). But Timothy is hardly around and then she finds him drunk in the kitchen.With no help from his wife Caroline, who enjoys the finer points of living at the orphanage but wants little to do with the children themselves. However, with confession comes consequences such as will they all lose their jobs and a home.

When Aaron shows a gentler, kinder side, especially with a troublesome child called Jimmy, Mercy starts to doubt her prejudice. Has she been wrong to hold on to the past so vehemently? After all, she's not facing Aaron, a schoolboy, but a man. Can a bully change?

With Timothy's questionable behavior, Caroline's apathy, and then the unexpected request for Aaron to adopt one of the orphans, can Mercy accept her bully's help but even more so, God's?

A great story of redemption, forgiveness and understanding. Many stories will portray a bully, few will show what led them to that point. Jagears has written an understanding tale, one that captures the emotions of its lead characters, all of which are well defined. Although part of a series, the story reads well as a 'stand-alone'. A recommended read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House to review. The opinions expressed are my own and I am not required to give a positive critique.

Fix By Force - Jason Warne

Seventeen year old Spencer feels alone and isolated. His father died eight years ago in a car collision, a collision which killed a woman. Burdened with that knowledge and living in a small town where his father is despised, Spencer can't help but feel weak.

His relationship with his mother is abusive and disintegrating fast and he has no friends. He looks at himself and sees a feeble and insubstantial image. Is he predestined to be become his father? A potent mixture of fear, self-loathing and loneliness eventually leads to his use of drugs. Spencer needs to fix his life and he wants it to be immediate. The only way he knows how to become stronger and a force to be reckoned with is to inject himself with steroids. He's read about the side effects, he knows the dangers - he'll be fine. But little does he understand that these fixes maybe quick but it doesn't mean they're right.

Warne's debut novel is powerful, hard-hitting and beautifully written. I couldn't put this book down and read it in a day. From page one I was hooked (pardon the pun!) as to how this story will develop. I felt helpless as I 'watched' an intelligent young man, ripped apart emotionally by bullying and family circumstance, turn to drugs. I see how he gets to that decision but I still just wanted to reach in (to the book) to stop him from making this mistake.

The authors portrayal of being part of a dysfunctional family (an estranged uncle, a demonstrative mother battling her own demons), dealing with bullying and having low-self esteem are effortless. Together they combine to create a world that is flawed yet Spencer has an inner strength that he doesn't realize he has.

It's a gutsy and raw story but quietly so. The author told this descent in to despair completely from a seventeen years old viewpoint - his words, expressions, understandings. The profound sadness and quiet courage would have been lost if Warne had the reader hearing the voice of an adult. The characters in this short story are strong and well developed and I felt a lot of empathy for them all.

This book should become part of the curriculum for schools; it's the Lord of the Flies for today's generation - and by that I mean, this book shows how easily a young mind can convince themselves that what they're doing is right, that being bullied, feeling abandoned and lost can make them wonder down a path that's seems fine but is ultimately paved with horror. A very highly recommended read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson publishing as part of their Booksneeze program. The opinions expressed here are my own and I am not expected to give a positive review.