The Priest and the Peaches by Larry Peterson Tribute Blog Tour

I am happy to be a part of Tribute Books Blog Tour of

 The Priest and the Peach.

 Please take a moment to read my review and learn about the author.

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral. 
They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, uncharted and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.(synopsis from Goodreads)

The Priest and the Peaches by Larry Peterson captures the life of the newly orphaned Peach kids as they struggle in the aftermath of their father’s death and plan his funeral.  This touching tale of faith and hope offers a glimpse into the lives of this working class Catholic family set in 1960’s Bronx, NY.  Steeped in faith and laced with humor Peterson’s tale delivers a powerful message "to love thy neighbor."

This was an emotional and heartbreaking tale. This dysfunctional family has seen a lot of heart-ache. They lost their mother to leukemia; their grandma stepped in to help and recently passed away. Mr. Peach suffers from grief at the lost of his wife and turns to the bottle. The church and Father Sullivan step into help, but sadly the liquor takes its toll, leaving eighteen year old Teddy and seventeen year old Joanie to care for their three younger siblings.  Teddy really steps up and trys to take care of them. Each of the kids is suffering and shows it differently. The youngest Joey thinks he is having conversations with his Dad. Add a nosy neighbor named Beatrice, an Aunt named Vera and a couple of drunks, you get quite the tale.

While I found parts of the tale to be rough, like the dialogue, which at times seemed awkward, the overall message and tale was delightful.  I enjoyed the lively cast of characters and their antics. Peterson captures their thoughts and emotions giving them depth.  This was a quick and easy read that I finished in just a few hours.  Peterson provides a touching tale of family, survival, faith, and hope. LYN.

I recommend The Priest and the Peaches to fans of faith-based tales and human endurance. Defined as young adult I think the tale is timeless and perfect for all ages. The Priest and the Peaches is currently available in eBook format.

I want to thank the author and Tribute Books for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. 

I gave this novel 3 coffee cups out of 5. 

About the author:

Larry Peterson was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. A former Metal Lather/Reinforcing Iron-worker, he left that business after coming down with MS. He, his wife and three kids moved to Florida 30 years ago. Larry began doing freelance newspaper commentary after graduating from Tampa College in 1984. His first children's picture book, Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes was published in 2011. In 2012, his full length novel, The Priest and the Peaches was released and he is presently working on the sequel.  Larry posts a weekly commentary on his blog. He lives in Pinellas Park, Florida and his kids and six grandchildren all live within three miles of each other.

Author's Links:

Blog

Facebook 

Twitter

The next stop on the blog tour stop will be at the blogs of

A Pocket Full of Books and Lissette E. Manning  on March 22, 2012.

To learn more about this tour and others visit the home of Tribute Books. 

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