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Title/Author

Bad Ground

W. Dale Cramer

Average Review Rating Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)
Book Details

Publisher : Bethany House Publishers

Published : 2004

Copyright : W. Dale Cramer 2004

ISBN-10 : PB 0-7642-2784-X
ISBN-13 : PB 978-0-7642-2784-4

Publisher's Write-Up

Poignant and thought provoking, this is a down-to-earth, sometimes humorous novel filled with suspense, action, redemption, and even romance. Seventeen-year-old Jeremy Prine decides to honour his mother's dying wish and seek out his estranged uncle who was badly burned in the accident that killed Jeremy's father. He finds the man working as a hard-rock miner in the south, an extremely dangerous occupation. His uncle seems a bitter and lonely man, but Jeremy senses more beneath the surface. Against his uncle's wishes, Jeremy takes a job as a miner and soon his young faith is tested by his rough and gritty co-workers, the threat of danger... and the possibility of love

About the Author:
W. Dale Cramer is a husband, father, electrician, and author of the acclaimed Sutter's Cross (a Booklist top pick) as well as several published works of short fiction. He and his wife and two sons make their home in northern Georgia.

'A book that avoids all the clichés... characters so well developed they have a life of their own... fantastic.'

Christian Fiction Review

'Cramer makes masterful use of both dialogue and description... in this intriguing coming-of-age novel.'

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Reader Reviews

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Review by Gina Hendrix (310711) Rating (9/10)

Review by Gina Hendrix
Rating 9/10
An arresting intro sentence of "A boy afraid of the dark and a man afraid of the light". With an instruction from a dying mother to her son "Find him… he has something I could not give you and you have something I could not give him", Bad Ground by W. Dale Cramer will grab your attention and not let go until the very end.

The story is told from the point of view of a young man with a strong faith as he sets out to find his fathers brother to honour the last request of his mother. Braving the trip from his Tennessee home and arriving in Georgia, Jeremy Prine will undergo a 'coming of age' as he seeks and finds his uncle, Aiden, and begins working in uncle's underground mining crew.

It was refreshing to see the story through the eyes of faith-filled Jeremy, aka 'germy' (a name bestowed on him that will be his burden to overcome).
A tragedy has taken Jeremy's father and later his mother but Jeremy is determined to honour his mother's last request and not give up on his relationship with his uncle Aiden (also known as Snake).

Being from Georgia myself, as I read this story and became entwined with the rich developed characters, I hearkened back to many of the mentions of the Atlanta 'way of life'.

Romance is also included but not perverted, such writing is few and far between in our current culture, refreshing and encouraging to be sure.

There is a scene in this book that I have often recounted in later conversations with others. It is a climatic moment in which Jeremy's faith is put to the test. It is a life and death moment. The description of that scene, the moment when Jeremy reveals to everyone and himself that he is no longer a child or a boy and in whom he places his faith, lingers in my mind.

This book is a marvellous read, great structure, well developed characters, meaningful dialogue, and inspiring. I look forward to reading more of W. Dale Cramer's work.
Gina Hendrix (31st July 2001)

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