Dogwood

I am an avid reader of Christian fiction. I have a difficult time finding authors that write inspirational fiction that grips me. I have several favorites but this is only my second book that I have read by Chris Fabry. I will be reading them all over the next few weeks back to back. This book touched me because of the trauma some of the characters experienced. I too have endured traumas. I could never have predicted the ending. It is a fabulous read…I could not put it down and I didn’t. I have already read “June Bug”and that is heart-wrenching and incredible. I’m sure I will enjoy all of his books. If you are reading my review…do one better and start reading his books!

This was a sweet book with an element of mystery. I love the West Virginia setting and the characters. I'm not a Bible scholar but the doctrine woven through the story seems very sound. I recently completed the Dogwood trilogy and each book is better than the last. My only criticism would be to the sparseness of descriptive details at times. i like to read about the printed fabric of the kitchen curtains or the living room paint color. Nonetheless, Chris Fabry is a superb writer. If a non- believer read some of his work, I think they would have to be moved to consider a life of faith in Jesus.

This book is fantastic! The author put me into the book with the first sentence, and I stayed there the whole time. The characters were so well developed, and the story had twist and turns that had you thinking (really)! Chris Fabry is a fantastic author. I have loved every book I have read by him, and I am going back to read all the rest. He takes your hand, and then he leads you into a story you cannot forget. I could not figure out Karin, the pastor's wife, to begin with nor could I understand the pastor's stance regarding his wife.........but believe you me......you will understand. I loved how these characters remembered their childhood days of going to church, hymns, mamaw, etc.... just great. Read this book! You will love it if you care for a story about the people in a town.

This was not too great. I don't really like first person stories to begin with, but when the perspective is constantly switching it gets downright frustrating to try and figure out what is supposed to be going on. I felt like I'd tuned into a movie with a dozen main characters (Okay, maybe not a dozen, but at least half of that anyway) right in the middle of it. So, it was confusing, uninteresting, and was a trial for me to even finish it.

This book was very different from the other books Chris Fabry has written. It was difficult to piece together but enjoyable to be pulled along by the mystery of it. I am still not sure where Danny fit in or the ending of the book with him. Overall, I had a hard time putting it down. I wanted to keep reading to find the meaning and resolution of things. I was surprised by how everything wrapped up. It was an unusual but enjoyable read.

I got this book based on the positive reviews it had received. I'm glad I did. As an avid reader I was drawn into the book from the early pages. The plot started out intriguing and, due to the pacing, held my intrigue up until the last page.The characters were very well developed by flashbacks to childhood, clever coloring, and "sweet" little idiosyncrasies which only served to add charm to them as opposed to overly develop.Dogwood is a small town with, as all small towns, a history. The story centers around Will and Karin. Both have a childhood history together but grew apart and, due to a tragedy from their school days, had Will living out of town.We are drawn into the present day and taken down the road Will carves out both physically and emotionally as he sets his sights on regaining what he once had with Karin, his only true love.This is a love story with a clever twist running through the book which becomes apparent at the end. The twist made me smile with warmth. I wasn't expecting it in the least.The structure of the book is by chapters with each chapter bearing the name of one of the actors. In each chapter the first person singular "I" becomes the subject of the chapter name. This took me a minute or two to get used to but I could see how some readers might not enjoy it as, it can be confusing when "Will" talks to "Karin" and you might have to flick back to the opening chapter page to remember who "I" is. Really nothing but worth mentioning.There's a "Shutter Island" meets "Sixth sense" overtone to the book which I found to be great reading and, as I mentioned, intriguing.I have this on my list of books to read again as I know I will get more out of it the 2nd time.Why didn't I give it 5 stars ? Maybe it's a little too short? I'm not sure, I just know when I finished the book I felt I needed a little more from it.Highly recommended.

Another great story from one of my favorite authors! Chris Fabry writes another great story of the life and times of ordinary people who end up being extrordinary after all is said and done. I love the way he is able to keep the reader interested and still have a good amount of suspense and intrigue with out foul language and explicit sexual content. The story of the lives of the people involved in a tragedy and the consequences of the aftermath.

Chris Fabry has done a wonderful job in writing Dogwood. I only gave it four stars because i had difficulty keeping the characters straight for several chapters at the beginning of the book. The plot keeps you wondering about the outcome clear to the very end. The surprise ending was never expected but absolutely ties up all loose ends of what i wondered about throughout the whole story. Thank you for describing the beauty of our wonderful state of West Virginia.

Enjoyed the story lines and especially the twist at the end. Looking forward to reading sequal.

Excellent read