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1958. Eisenhower is in the White House, Elvis is in the army, and eight-year-old Wade Parker is thrilled that Duke Snider and the Dodgers have moved west from Brooklyn. Yet all is not well in the Parker household. On the darkest day of his young life, Wade plunges into the midst of an unimaginable crisis. Worse yet, his younger brother witnessed what happened, and he can’t keep a secret for a truckload of Abba-Zabbas. With an abundance of brotherly love and the unseen grace of God, the brothers venture alone on dangerous exploits around northeast Los Angeles. A powerfully imaginative coming-of-age story seasoned with hooligan humor, Billy Goat Hill is an inspiring account of a young man’s quest for God. Culminating with a startling climax, the reader is embraced by the central theme of forgiveness and salvation that can only come from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Dorothy’s cyclone had nothin’ on Scar.
Los Angeles , 1958. Elvis is in the army. Eisenhower’s in the White House. And eight-year-old Wade Parker heads out for Billy Goat Hill to run the Crippler in the dark—just like Gooey dared him to. But Wade and his kid brother, Luke, run into Scar, the most fearsome character they’ve ever had the misfortune to meet at four in the morning. They won’t realize it for years to come, but knowing him will change their lives forever.
Wade’s family is already disintegrating over the loss of a child. If there’s no place like home, what happens when home is falling apart? Wade begins a decades-long journey, searching for answers. But when your life has been shaped by loss, murder, alcoholism, andbetrayal, how do you find forgiveness?
Story Behind the Book
“I wrote this novel to fulfill God’s plan for my gift...to glorify Him and evangelize the lost. Originally written before I gave my life to the Lord, I now realize how much God, through the writing, was working in my life. There is much of my own life story, some actual events, and a lot of metaphorical reflection, embodied in the fictional character of Wade Parker. The writing was deeply cathartic, and not long after completing the original version of this novel, I surrendered my heart to Jesus. By God’s grace I am now directed to write in His service.”
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Alexandra Linnenbank
reviewed Billy Goat Hill on December 31, 2016
Billy Goat Hill
I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with this book. At times I was enthralled by the story of these two brothers, their adventures, their relationship, their fears and their triumphs. I thought the writing was excellent...well most of it anyway.
I'm not sure if this counts as a spoiler or not, but at the end of the book (after the conclusion of the story) the author affirms what I had already guessed, which was that much of the story and events described in the book were reminiscent of his own childhood with his brother. What the author also divulges, however, is that this version of the story is not the original publication, but rather it is an adaptation of his first book which he self published. In THIS version he was paid by a Christian publisher to insert all sorts of out of place jesus stuff that, in my opinion, completely ruined the book.
Don't get me wrong, I am a Christian myself, and I love to read great nonfiction theological works and even more so I love to read authentic accounts of personal testimonies written by grace embued believers about their conversions. That being said, the religiosity inserted into this book seemed very forced and inauthentic. I'm not questioning the authors faith, just honestly critiquing his ability to insert fictitious "faith shaping" events into the story in a believable way. It is a classic case of taking a great work of art (an authentic-even if embellished-memoir of the author's childhood thoughts, feelings, emotions, and inner dialogue) and ruining it by trying to "christianize" it like they do the stupid tshirts that change slogans from "got milk" to "got jesus" or from "Reeses Pieces" to "Jesus FreesUs".
At the end of the day I cannot recommend this book, though I must admit it held my interest the entire time. I would very much like to see a copy of the original version and review THAT BOOK on its own merits; I suspect the review would be MUCH more favorable.
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