Sunday, December 30, 2012

Fall to Grace by Kerry Casey

Fall to Grace by Kerry Casey

Two boys, the same age, on the same day suffer a horrible tragedy, the loss of their fathers.  Joseph is living on a farm in a small town near the Canadian border.  He is an only child,  he loves hockey and he is a great kid.  Cory is the oldest of three, all around sportsman and lives in an apartment in St. Paul.  They are brought together by unspeakable tragedy and become fast friends.

Cory and Joseph have dreams to play against each other in the Minnesota high school hockey tournament's championship game and they want to play college hockey together on the same team.  Every year, they get together at Thanksgiving with Joseph's mom and their priest, Pat, to play pond hockey, go hunting, and of course eat.  They are best friends and share everything, but deep down, Cory is troubled and is trying hard to cover up his imperfections.

Fall to Grace is full of entertaining characters that will make you thank God for the wonderful life you have.  There is an alcoholic priest, a beautiful widowed mother, a chain smoking overweight cop and a blind monsignor as well as two teenage boys that are almost too good to be true.  All combine to create a wonderful, heartfelt story that is sure to keep you turning the pages.

The theme of religion and spirituality runs deeply through Fall to Grace but it is not preachy.  Fall to Grace is graceful, reflective and beautiful.  The writing style is poetic with creative images and metaphors galore.  Casey has a penned a lovely novel that will appeal to women and men alike.

Casey reminded me that life carries no guarantees and that we must accept God's gifts, cherish all we are given but most of all we should be thankful.

Go hug your children and call your mom and dad.  Life is short, so make the time to read Fall to Grace.