very good light, quick read. Vernon Moore returns to Ebb. NE to help the mother of his child. This books gives a little more insight to the history of Mr. Moore, but not much. Still shows the power of persuasion and my take is that is more tongue in cheek lessons in life than spirtual advice. Good book for all. ( )

This is the second book in this series.
Vernon Moore returns to Ebb Nebraska. This time to help the mother of his daughter. 3 men break into her salon and hurt her so badly she is in a coma. Wilma Porters eldest grandson is in jail and refuses to tell who the other 2 that were there are.
As before Vernon has a way of turning a town upside down in less than a week.
Very enjoyable story. ( )

This book is just as incomprehensible to me as the first one (In the Land of Second Chances) was, possibly more so. In many ways this book is little more than a retread of In the Land... except the "sermonettes" are slightly different. Instead of hope and faith, we have the difference between smart and stupid, and strong and weak. But the reasoning is the same: Let me prove to you why it makes more sense, from a rational perspective, to behave a smart way, as defined by the author, of course.

It's clear, from the title, if nothing else, that we're supposed to believe that Vernon Moore is something close to an angel. Maybe that's why the entire town accepts him into their lives and treats him as their long-lost best friend. I found it entirely unbelievable though. Yes, it's a small, friendly town, and yes, he's a nice guy, but that's about it. And yet, the entire town comes to believe that he's the only answer to all their troubles. So much for that old-fashioned mid-west belief in self-reliance!

Fortunately for them, though, he does return, and does manage to solve all their problems, while at the same time maintaining his secret identity and denying that he had anything at all to do with getting things fixed. Humble to an extreme, and way past the extreme, if you asked me.

I had just one other problem with this book, and it grated on me so much that I feel like I have to mention it:
It's possible that Shaffner has never heard a teenage boy speak, even when he was one. He has his 16-year-old male character talking like a California valley girl who's been dropped into southeast Nebraska.

In short, this book bothered me on many levels and in ways that I can't fully explain. I'm only going to read the third book because I've already agreed to do so, but I hope some questions are answered there, because I'm certainly not going to read a fourth book (if there is one). ( )

Sweet but very light read. ( )