This is a good read. The story pulled me in and I read it straight through. It features realistic, and for the brief length of this novella, some well fleshed out characters. I felt like I knew who Amos Booker, Isaiah, Charlene, Joe, Betty and Rev. Waters were when I finished reading. It ties in several stories nicely, including that of young Amos and his new life with Isaiah and Charlene following his orphanage days. The story of the Bakers and Joe and Betty and their dealing with the death of their son Early, and the problems that still need to be dealt with at the Heavenly Angels Orphanage all fit in together to complete the story by the end of the manuscript. It offers a hopeful ending, culminating with the marriage of Amos and Mandy.

I liked the phrase, “God has big plans for this little boy, big plans.” Thankfully the manuscript mentions “cursing” by characters but the words are not printed. The same is true of the beatings of the children which are mentioned but not actually described. The script demonstrates real angst, drama and tension as several characters deal with such hardships as death, a heart attack, and the reality of children that are mistreated. There are a few cases in which quotations were left out, such as in the letter from the governor at the bottom of page twelve, but this is a minor note. The manuscript overall is well written with the characters being its strength. In fact, I think the story is good enough to be expanded into a full length novel. To The Author: I would recommend, if this happens, that you go into more of the backgrounds of the characters, and describe more of what happened to young Amos at the orphanage, as well as more of the first couple years of his life as the pastor of the church when Rev. Waters passes on.

If this is made into a movie, and I think it could be a solid faith-based family drama, as long as the allusions to the character who had abused drugs and the language are not actually used in the story, it could easily earn our Dove Seal as does this manuscript. I think this manuscript is a powerful tool for the Lord’s work and illustrates Romans 8:28 very well, that God uses all things for His glory and our good. This manuscript has earned five Doves from us, our best rating, and our Family Approved Seal for all ages although it really isn’t intended for the very young. It is a good dramatic story with realistic characters that have strengths and weaknesses.