The Most Famous Illegal Goose Creek Parade (Tales from the Goose Creek B&B)
By: Virginia Smith
Rating: 5 of 5
What a fun story of life in a small town. The story centers around Al Richardson and his wife Millie. Al is just three years shy of retirement – with his house paid for and all the time in the world to spend traveling and seeing the country. Millie, on the other hand, has a vision of the future which involves running the town’s one and only B&B. To get to this point, she has her eye on a run down (or is it a tear down?) Victorian house. When Millie looks at it, she sees the future; when Al looks at it, he sees dollars flying out of their savings. The two of them spend most of the book trying to convince the other that their plan is the best.
There are two other side stories which are equally charming and funny. One involves the fresh out of school new veterinary, Susan Jeffries. Susan is considering purchasing the veterinary practice in Goose Creek with a down payment courtesy of her controlling father. When Susan makes a bad impression right off, the townspeople of Goose Creek, Creekers as they call themselves), take umbrage and boycott her. She has to find a way to win them back and to learn how to stand on her own two feet.
The final part of the story is that of Creeker against Creeker. The town water tower needs painting. Little Norm painted it only a few years ago, and his father, Norman, thinks he should be given the job again. Others think that he had his chance and blew it, so they want someone else to do the work. This sparks a controversy in town that pits them against each other in the silliest of ways.
The book was funny and it was charming. It appears to be the first of a series and I will certainly be looking forward to reading more about the Creekers. This is the first book I have read by Virginia Smith and it will not be the last.
While Christian values are espoused throughout the story, there isn’t a specific message that is being pushed at the reader. As a Christian, I can appreciate this. It is a good and clean book for me to read and one that I have no hesitation recommending to anyone old enough to get through the book. It is certainly written for adults but I think that young adults can find enough humor in the story to make it a fun read for them, too.
I received an Advance Reader copy of this book from the publisher, Harvest House Publishers, via Netgalley.
What a fun story of life in a small town. The story centers around Al Richardson and his wife Millie. Al is just three years shy of retirement – with his house paid for and all the time in the world to spend traveling and seeing the country. Millie, on the other hand, has a vision of the future which involves running the town’s one and only B&B. To get to this point, she has her eye on a run down (or is it a tear down?) Victorian house. When Millie looks at it, she sees the future; when Al looks at it, he sees dollars flying out of their savings. The two of them spend most of the book trying to convince the other that their plan is the best.