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A friend (MH) sent me this book in a box of books. I'd seen the movie at a church years ago and liked it. So, since this was technically a "re-read", it merits a 4-5 star rating. I do think the movie has a bit more impact than the book but that may just be because I saw the movie first and knew the storyline by the time I read the book.

The basic storyline is a call to fathers (and father figures): To put their family ahead of their jobs, To connect with their children, To learn more about God and what God wants a father to be and to do.

WARNING: SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW. READ ON AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION:

*****

Of the main male characters, Javier is the only one who had a loving father in his life. Nathan had a father-figure who cared about him but still states it wasn't the same as having a father.

In the movie, the scene of Javier being leader of the Snake Kings was a funny part--especially if you speak Spanish and know what he was really saying. I also liked the scenes where Adam assumes Javier is the man sent by Shane and where he realizes Javier is not the same man and their back and forth when he goes back to question Javier.

I also like Nathan's taking his daughter Jade to a fancy restaurant for a sort of purity pledge talk (it seemed like this went beyond the purity ring stuff that was prominent years ago though it might have been based on that.)

I also liked Adam realizing that he needed to 1) be interested in things his son was interested in in order to reach him and 2) realizing that he needed to offer encouragement to his son.

I was a little confused when Derrick says he has no one. When we meet him, he was living with his grandmother and he has an Uncle Reggie who tried to intervene with him. I would think either one of those two would be there for him if convinced that Derrick really wanted to change or had changed. That isn't addressed in this book. ( )

This is one of my favorite books. Well deserved 5 stars and then some! ( )

I am a Christian and I like fiction. I even like Christians who write fiction, but as a rule, I do not like Christian fiction. Why? Because good fiction shows, and Christian fiction tells. The didactic purpose of Christian fiction means that it often more than a story with a message. It is a message with a thin veneer of story.

But if you like Christian fiction you like Randy Alcorn's adaptation of the Courageous film. Alcorn's characters are contrived and somewhat formulaic, but they are likable and you can't help caring about them.

This is a book in the tradition of Charles Sheldon's In His Steps (the inspiration for those WWJD? bracelets of a decade ago. Like its 19th century counterpart, Courageous tells the story of men who start taking their faith seriously. However there is a distinctive focus on the family. The men of these stories want to enact what the Bible says about fatherhood so that they could be better fathers to their children. That isn't to say that there isn't a broader social agenda. Abortion, drugs and gangs are all opposed by the characters and they affirm the goodness of racial reconciliation but these are at best minor themes.

( )

seen the movie but want to read the book. the movie was touching and will pull at your heart strings
just received this in the mail just a few minutes ago a friend had got it for me from paperbackswap.com ( )