O Little Town

Title: O LITTLE TOWN
Author: Don Reid
Publisher: David C. Cook
October 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4347-9930-2
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary


A small town isn’t exactly picture perfect. Not even in 1958.

Buddy is struggling. His old lover has moved back to town and while he hasn’t engaged in a physical affair, he’s in the midst of an emotional one. His wife and daughter have struggles too, especially when Buddy’s sixteen year old daughter announces she’s pregnant and wants to keep her baby.

Millie, the pastor’s daughter, has been caught shoplifting. While she’s belligerent to the police officer and the store owner, she acts like a wronged angel to her mother, Dove. Dove doesn’t quite know what to think. Is Millie actually being mistreated by the town? Or is it a cry for attention from an angry teen? Dove is unhappy in this town anyway, and is pushing her husband to find a new pastorate.

Walter is dying, but he has his daughter’s and his memories. Are they enough on his last Christmas on earth?

O LITTLE TOWN is written by a famed songwriter, Don Reid, of the Statler Brothers. O LITTLE TOWN is his first novel. I didn’t see much in the story that was inspirational, except for the fact that it contained a pastor’s family, yet it is being promoted as a Christian book. The novel definitely has all the makings of a country song. Illness. Marriage. Bad decisions. Friendship.

Set just two days before Christmas, we go with the three main families through their trials and memories, watching to see how they pan out. We can’t help but cheer for some of the characters, yet at the same time want to throttle them. O LITTLE TOWN is a perfect book for a Christmas read. Available in hardcover, it’s also great for gift-giving. $16.99 hardcover. 256 pages.