Hometown Favorite

by Bill Barton, Chip Arnold, Henry O. Arnold, et al.

Book Overview

One of the best wide receivers in college ball, Dewayne Jobe is assured a promising career in professional football and easily finds success both on and off the field. But catastrophe looms right... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080071914X
• ISBN13: 9780800719142
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company
• Length: 366 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Pretty Impressive

I never thought I would enjoy reading a book about football, but it is so much more than a book about football. I was gripped by the storyline, the family bonds that are tested by tragic life experiences, the drama, and the redeeming quatilty of this powerful story. Football is simply the backdrop. Trust me, this story is so much more than a sports novel. I recommend this book.

Great twists in story and character development

Although it took me a few chapters to get involved with the story, the characters hooked me. I got interested in them and soon figured out how the story would end. Wow! Was I surprised. The authors spun me around and kept dropping twists that I didn't expect. Finally, I quit assuming I knew the end and kept reading. This is a great story of faith and of the human spirit. The ending is not maudlin like I early in the book suspected it would be. Rather, it's quite real. You as the reader are allowed to draw your own conclusion, and that's the best writing: you bring your imagination into play to finish the story. Bravo to Henry Arnold and to Bill Barton! A great story with interesting characters!

Competition, Friendship, Tragedy and More

Hometown Favorite" a wonderful story: Eyes can not help but get moist. Tears down a cheek will not be uncommon. A riveting story of youth competition, a battle of faith vs. arrogance, yet friendship intended to last forever. Will they? Love enters from two very diverse backgrounds. Yet, were they really so different after all? Bonding of man and wife, deceived by a clever, scheming villain who never lost his stipes. Multiple murders testing the faith of one who is abandoned, except by an investigator that searched for truth. Vindicated at last, but never lost to a recovered abuser. A new start once again with a time limit for life. The reminder of Job's trials in the Bible are a reminder to us all. This, a story one may find difficult to put down before completing the issues presented. This story is for those who search, find, or have doubts during their journey of life. Larry

A wonderful surprise

I am not a big fan of football so I was not sure if I would be able to "get into" this storyline. Well...I did. After the first few pages I was hooked. You get to a certain point in this book where you can not put it down. I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. to finish this book because I just could not stop reading! This book will remind you that you are real. Even the "crustiest" of hearts will feel the emotion this book will stir within onesself. I highly reccomend this book to anyone over the age of 15.

Much More than Football!!

"Jesse, a man is not defined by one event in his life." (p. 96) Coach Jake Hopper's words, spoken to one of his former high school football stars, became almost prophetic in my mind by the time I reached the final pages of Hometown Favorite. Truly, Bill Barton and Henry O. Arnold understand that life indeed has many defining moments, and whether we lose a ballgame, lose a family member or lose a friend, we each must choose whether or not we will cling to God's strength to see us through or whether we will cling to our own bitterness and become broken. Hometown Favorite is a story ripe with unconditional love, raw with human emotion and seasoned with sorrow and suffering that adds the depth needed to draw this story to a satisfying and thought-provoking conclusion. Your heart will never view life as anything less than a precious gift from God once you have read this story! Hometown Favorite takes the reader on a journey through the life of Dewayne Jobe. Beginning in a small Mississippi town and reaching out as far as Los Angeles and Houston, this story is filled with richly textured, believable characters that range from Cheri Jobe, factory worker and sports mom, to Rosella Caldwell, daughter of wealthy L.A. parents and the love of Dewayne's life. Jesse and Sly are Dewayne's closest friends, and Coach Hopper is the man that loves each of the three men as his own sons. The story unfolds as easy-going and steady as Dewayne's rock-solid faith and intensifies to a point that almost squeezes the reader's heart in two. The changes that come to Dewayne Jobe take his faith beyond its breaking point to a place only God can reach. Hometown Favorite is much more than just a football hero's tale. This is a story about God's grace and mercy - about His sovereignty in every detail of our lives. The details in this book may be fictional, but all readers will recognize many scenarios from their own life experiences. We will all recognize the fact that even when life is filled with unbearable pain and times of suffering that the thread of hope binds us to the heart of our Heavenly Father. It is this hope that brings us through our suffering and into a renewed place of joy and life. Hometown Favorite is a book I highly recommend! It is a story you will remember for a very long time!