Gary E. Parker A Midnight Miracle

A Midnight Miracle

Gary E. Parker

Revell, Oct 2005, $14.99

ISBN: 0800718593

In Hilltop, North Carolina, the ladies of the Hilltop Community Church are raising funds to "Support Mickey's Miracle". Mickey is a child suffering from Myelodysplastic syndrome and desperately needs a bone marrow transplant to live; that costs money, but in spite of much of the town pitching in with cake sales and more, Christmas is coming with no hope for the youngster. Still thirty years old Jenna Newsome prays every spare moment.

Rem Lincoln is returning to his hometown to spend three horrendous holiday days with his father Roscoe. Neither will broach the subject of his dad not living anymore since his beloved spouse died. When Rem and Jenna meet over cake, they both think back to high school where she was a pious student and he was a wild basketball player using his skills to gain a scholarship. They are attracted to one another, but he counts the minutes before retuning the big city while she keeps praying for that holiday miracle.

Gary E. Parker provides his readers with a terrific inspirational tale that showcases it takes a caring village to raise a child especially when things are darkest. The story line focuses on relationships between townsfolk brought together over Mickey's illness, Rem and his dad, and especially he and Jenna. Always in the backdrop in cleverly subtle ways (rather than preaching in your face) are the efforts to provide Mickey with a miracle. That is what makes A MIDNIGHT MIRACLE a fabulous reading experience as the audience will wonder if Scrooge or Santa will come to town.

Harriet Klausner