Boomtown

This is the 2nd book I've read for Thomas Nelson Publishers. The description of this book sounded very intriguing and I thought it would be a great book to read to my son. Filled with tall tales, adventure, and lots of exploding scenarios, this book had serious potential. To sum it up, it is about a pastor who moves to Boomtown, WA which is named after a man who started a fireworks factory there. The people are not what the man, or his family expected, nor was the town normal by any means. A sense of community that was not typical was found by the pastor and the issue of trust was raised throughout the story. Trust between the father and his son, between the father and the community, between the father and his past.

Sadly to say, it wasn't a booming experience to read. I struggled through it and forced myself even to finish it. It had such potential, but it wasn't there. There was really no depth to the plot, it seemed to weigh heavily on the past history of the town rather than on the current situations and even though the father (which the story was narrated by) learned a great deal about himself (or so he said), it was a let down by the end. I actually was a bit perturbed and saddened by the father at the end as he only thought of himself and uprooted his entire family after only a year because he was afraid. So he went to pastor somewhere "safe".

Even though I didn't enjoy the end, I kept my mind open and there was still no thrill or anticipation picking this book up. Great imagination by the author, but lack there of in other departments.