Welcome to Fred

The Fred Books #1

by Brad Whittington

Mark Cloud has his doubts. He's not sure if he'll ever feel at home in Fred, Texas. He's not sure that he can work up the nerve to declare his love to the girl of his dreams. He's not sure he will survive another ride with Darnell Ray, Terror of the Back Roads. And he's not really sure he buys the whole God thing. Which is an uncomfortable position for the son of a Baptist preacher.

This award-winning novel is a moving and hilarious tale set against the vibrant backdrop of the 1960s and rural America. It is the timeless and classic story of Everyteen in the hands of a master storyteller.

eBook Reader's Guide, 900+ SAT words, Preview of Living with Fred

Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian, Humor, Coming Of Age, Contemporary, Amazon

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Visit BradWhittington.com to sign up for email notices of new releases, sneak peeks, and freebies.

Brad Whittington was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on James Taylor's eighth birthday and Jack Kerouac's thirty-fourth birthday and is old enough to know better. He lives in Austin, Texas with The Woman. Previously he has been known to inhabit Hawaii, Ohio, South Carolina, Arizona, and Colorado, annoying people as a janitor, math teacher, field hand, computer programmer, brickyard worker, editor, resident Gentile in a Conservative synagogue, IT director, weed-cutter, and in a number of influential positions in other less notable professions. He is greatly loved and admired by all right-thinking citizens and enjoys a complete absence of cats and dogs at home.

Reviews

[CatherineMorland · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know when a new movie is coming in theaters soon and the trailers are amazing and everyone is talking about it and the critics are like, "You HAVE to see this, best film of the year!" But then when you finally purchase your ticket, you leave the theater when the credits roll by, feeling disappointed?

That's a bit how I felt when I finished Welcome to Fred. Many of my friends love this series and I've heard so many good things about it that my expectations were high. But it fell flat for me. Was it a terrible book? No, not at all. The author clearly has talent. The "world" of Fred was well-described and reminded me of some of the tiny Southern towns I've visited. As a fellow PK, I had to laugh when I caught all of the dad's references to the Bible without needing the explanation that followed, and there were some moments that were very funny. The book is filled with colorful characters and I liked the 1960's setting.

But this was a book that took me a long time to read because it seemed endless and not in a good way. I kept looking at the percentage read bar on my Kindle app, hoping it'd finally be drawing to a close. It just dragged.

I felt the faith message was like a neon billboard against my face (and that's coming from "that pastor's kid"). I feel like the Christian theme would have been much more powerful if the author had taken a more subtle approach.

I applaud the author for using a wide vocabulary, I think it's important to teach kids new words. But seriously? I started wondering if the author had a thesaurus glued to his hand while writing this and consulted the pages every other word. It seemed unrealistic to me considering the story is told from the POV of a kid. Many of the sentences read awkwardly because they were stuffed with fancy pants adjectives. "Look at me! I, the author, am so intelligent because I can use a thesaurus." Well, aren't you special.

So in conclusion, this book was just OK. Certainly not bad, but not spectacular, either. I could see some people loving it, but it didn't live up to the hype for me.

[Dana Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know about you guys but I just love a book that makes me laugh. There was not one page of Brad Whittington's 'Welcome to Fred' that did not make me at least smile hard. The best part is that the laughs are smart and innocent and just plain fun.
The story is told from Mark's point of view and is beautifully related. It's the 1960's so Mark rides the streets on his bike and finds fun (although his parents sometimes call it trouble) wherever he goes. It's rough being the PK (we find out that PK = preacher's kid); confusing sometimes as he tries to reconcile the world around him with his family's beliefs. Don't worry - there is very, very little discussion about Christianity and no push to try and convert the reader. It is more of a coming of age story as Mark experiences his life and ponders the meaning of what he sees happening around him.
There are some poignant scenes which make the reader love Mark just a little more each time. Who wouldn't find a place in their heart for a kid that sneaks food to a homeless woman? Or helps a friend play practical jokes that few people think are funny? Mark is also a serious bibliophile and the scenes with the witchy librarian are not to be missed! This is a character that will always have a place in my heart.

Mark's dad is also a favorite of mine from this novel. He is so steady and calm. His compassion comes through loud and clear as he helps his congregants overcome tragic circumstances. I love his eccentric way of talking. There is a scene near the end of the book that involved a Dad interacting with a pastor in another town that had me in stitches. So funny!

[Evangeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to Fred is the funniest book I've read in a long time. The comical adventures Mark always lands himself in led me to laugh out loud several times (do you know how difficult it is not to grin, let alone laugh, when you're sitting alone in the car with the door open and there' someone passing by outside?).

Aside from all the hilarity, there are some important questions Mark asks that stands out in the book. Questions such as is the Bible real? What if there is no God? Yet, these questions do not overwhelm until the book is all about theology. They are so well seamlessly woven into the plot you don't realize that this book touches on serious topics. There is a balance. This is what I love about Welcome to Fred.

The conversations in Welcome to Fred is very realistic. The slang and easy-to-go tones in the conversations made reading this book a breeze. One of my pet peeves when it comes to books is awkward conversations. Since this book is set in the hippie era, I picked up this book with a little trepidation as I did not know if the author could manage to write a convincing tone of the era or not. He nailed it.

All in all, Welcome To Fred is a fun and enjoyable read. The scrapes and problems that Mark faces! To add to that, he is such a likeable character. There is also the satisfaction of seeing him mature at the end of the book. I completed this book and put it back on my bookshelf with a smile on my face as I thought about one of the funny scenes. Now, if only I can get those funny scenes out of my head before I start walking about with a silly grin on my face!

[Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a refreshing, inspirational book with many amusing situations that anyone will be able to relate to. Welcome to Fred, which is a town in Texas, allows the reader to follow Mark Cloud through the years, the different towns his family lived in, the pain of being the new kid in town, the “mark” of being a PK…Preacher’s Kid, and his need as every teenager of trying to fit in.

The main focus of the book is on Mark and his escapades with Mark as the narrator.

Mark is a precocious character full of life and energy. He meets a friend named M on their first move, and they share adventures together....he lamented that he never found a friend like M ever again. They share their knowledge of the Bible, secret visits to a homeless woman, and their love of reading. The adventures he and M shared were described in detail, and the character descriptions are wonderful. The book is filled with great stories and adventures that pertain to everyday life. It is a quick read and keeps your interest.

Mr. Whittington did a very nice job of developing the story, and he will make you think about everyday things while giving them a new meaning for you.

If you need a book that will lift your spirits, make you think, appreciate everyday occurrences and life itself, and also make you laugh, please take the time to read Welcome to Fred.

[J.t. Conroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming-of-age novel about an enterprising PK (preacher’s kid) stuck in the rootless existence that characterizes his father’s calling. Written as a fictional memoir, the narrator tends to remember his 1970s childhood in quasi-Biblical terms, extracting both humor and pathos from his adolescent attempts to square ancient faith with contemporary reality.

As the story unfolds, the boy becomes gradually aware that it is his father who is the major force shaping his slow and difficult transformation to adulthood. Initially, however, his father is a remote, rather ethereal, figure and it is the boy’s awkward relationships with various members of the female persuasion that mostly drive the story. The first such encounter is with the inhabitant of a back-alley cardboard box, a character you are not likely to forget.

When his father’s nomadic career takes the family from Ohio to the titular Fred (an actual unincorporated town located in the East Texas pine forest called the Big Thicket), the PK finds that his usual talent for assimilating himself into new environments is no match for the hard-shell red-neck culture into which he has been thrust. As a book-reading city boy of suspicious origins who speaks an odd version of the English language and is deep into hippie fashion statements, he is condemned to being a permanent outsider even after ditching his prized urban hipster outfits. Since he can always retreat to his arboreal Fortress of Solitude, this is not a big problem, except there’s this girl…

I enjoyed this novel very much, for who can resist a story of someone else’s alienated youth if that someone else is as talented as Brad Whittington?

[Deb]

mark has a hard lot as a pk (preacher's kid), he especially hates all the moving around his family does. so when he is forced to move to fred, texas and leave behind his best friend he doesn't take it particularly well. especially since his new classmates don't jive with his adoration hippie style clothes and music. nope to fit in in fred you need blue jeans, a short haircut, and a texas twang. as mark struggles to fit in he also struggles to make sense of his world, where he is helped by the story of a homeless woman and the wisdom of his dad.[return]this is a great story, full of wry humor and situations that are easy to identify with (like the story of the family car breaking down repeatedly on their trip to ca). the main characters spiritual journey is realistic and not forced on the reader. i had this book on my to be read list for a long time and i'm glad i finally did!

[April Farina`` · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy grows up

I think we all go through the trials an tribulations the teens in this story goes through. My favorite was Jolene,she just wanted to enjoy her self of course Mark helped her too. Great book for young people, even though being an adult I enjoyed it. Having made that trip myself by car a few times from the Midwest to S. Cal.It was always an adventure. I would recommend this book,it helps to relive parts of our younger days. The author keeps your attention from beginning to end.

[Gwennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great coming of age trilogy. I loved the young man's relationship with his father, as it is portrayed throughout the 3 books. I loved the part in this novel, where the narrator admits his doubts (pulse racing and heart pounding) about faith, to his father--a baptist minister--and the dad really listens and encourages his son to keep asking questions--God can take it. What a good dad!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book of Christian fiction, and winner of a 2004 Christy Award for First Novel. The book is set in the 1960s, in a small town in the deep Piney Woods of Texas. Since I also grew up in the 1960s in Texas (though in a big city), I could relate to much of the protagonist's conflicts - a young teen with a big city mentality trying to fit into a small town.

[Marybd18]

"Fred was a gift horse of a different color with its shoe on the other foot."



"....I met people who had never traveled more than thirty miles from the house where they were born. Down in the Neches River bottomland were creatures who would have failed a casting call for Deliverance due to laying it on a bit thick."

[Michael Knudsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest yet most poignant things I've ever read. It's been several years, but I haven't forgotten how much Brad Whittington's little coming-of-age trilogy made me laugh. Having attended a small-town junior college myself, I readily identified with the protagonist and waxed wistful for bygone days. Hope to see more from this outrageously talented Christian writer.

[Thames Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

All three Fred books are favorites of mine. They give a fabulous glimpse into the psyche of a boy going through several stages from childhood through college. Lots of teenage angst. There is good advice from his Dad throughout the books. They are realistic and enjoyable.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

While somewhat tedious, there are some funny parts.

I've sort of had to take time from reading this one. It was left out in the rain and got totally soaked, making the pages tear when I try to separate them.

...just never went back to it.

[Bagger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book about a kid growing up in Fred,Texas. Its a coming of age story about a pastor's kid, and how he tries to fit in a small town, after coming from a big city up north.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first in a series. It is a story told from the perspective of a 13 or 14 year-old boy. It's quite funny at times and told from a unique and fresh point of view.

[Jenny]

I just started it over the weekend and am only about 50 pages in but so far I really like it. I hope the rest of the book holds my attention as well as the beginning.

[Pat]

Great read! I laughed out loud many times!!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great coming of age story.

[Lee Rubsam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first in a series of three books, set in the late '60s and early '70s. They chronicle the growing up years of a Baptist PK, as he struggles to find his faith in God. While the author did live in Fred, Texas, during his childhood, and the story seems to be autobiographical, he assured us that the trilogy is largely fiction.

I was charmed at times, a bit grossed out at others, often saddened by the poor choices the main character made in his desire to be accepted as a "normal" kid, and happy to see him take the high road on a number of occasions. The total obliviousness of his parents as to what he was doing, reading, and listening to surprised me. Much heartache could have been spared if his parents had been more actively engaged in his life, instead of assuming all was well.

The books are sometimes funny, sometimes very sad, always gripping. The third book in the series was more depressing than funny. At times they are a bit too "honest" about the character's thought life concerning women, especially in the third book.

One thing that intrigued me throughout was the racism of that era. (Racial equality and justice is a particular interest of mine.) The main character reports the unjust treatment of his black friends and the ingrained prejudice among the white people of his community, most of whom did not recognize how evil their prejudice was. While some things have improved since then, we still have a long way to go in this area. I was happy to see that the main character was grieved at the racism he witnessed.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't recommend this book. There are some good things and some food for thought but there were other things that made me want to just put it down and not finish. As it is, I don't want to read the other books even though this book didn't exactly end just kind of awkwardly set up for another chapter but it actually means to go get the next book in the series. There were some good topics that were set up but some very serious things that were played off as humor but there actually wasn't anything funny about them. The vocabulary seemed forced and then seeing that there was a list of SAT words in the end made it feel like the SAT words may have been artificially placed after the first draft. The only reason it got 2 stars is because *** spoiler alert *** I liked the way the Dad handled his son's questioning of his faith at the end with love and understanding that Mark would need to make any decisions regarding God on his own and no amount of wanting someone to believe will make them believe. That was very good but there were just too many things that were not good to be able to recommend it.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is told in first person by Mark Cloud and covers his life from age eleven to sixteen. Mark is the middle child, with two sisters, of a Southern baptist minister and his wife. In the first part of the story, the family lives in Ohio, moving after about a year to Fred, Texas, in the southeastern part of the state. It's about as opposite of urban living as you can get. Frankly, the only reason I read this book is because it was our selection for book club. It did make me laugh several times and the scene with Parker in the church made me cry. It's a coming of age book about a boy trying to fit in and come to terms with his beliefs.

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a PK (preacher's kid) is difficult enough, but it's even harder in Fred, TX, a small rural community in the deep woods of East Texas. This is a funny, thoughtful, touching book about growing up a PK, making (or not making) friends, relating to (or not) your parent's values, and the changing values of the early 1970s. I really enjoyed this book, but be aware that it is definitely "Christian fiction". This is NOT a criticism, just a comment. That means there is NO profanity (yay!). Because it's the story of a PK, expect Biblical references and some typical teenage questioning of faith and religion. Fun to read, and I'm looking forward to picking up the rest of the books.

[B · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't finish it. It just dragged on. It had some good moments, but the pace was so slow and didn't have much of point. After 3 weeks of trying to read it and only making it 50% through, I called it quits.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rib tickling funny as all get out.
The life of a poor preacher's son in a rural Texas parish as told from his point of view. Serious moments are interwoven with funny ones.
The best part is the worst driver the main character knows.
Enjoy!

[Sally Steudler]

I wanted to like this book. Parts of it were quite entertaining- but that could not overcome the rest of it. Spoiler alert, it ends with a book burning, which is ultimately what I wanted to do with "Welcome to Fred." I may yet as that seems to be the thing to do these days when you don't like something.

[Wil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming of age in a small east Texas town as the son of the Baptist minister is not an easy task, but the author describes the events in Mark's life with verve and humor. I had fun reading it.

[Stacey Holley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I’ve read in a long time! A funny, thought provoking, and insightful look at the big (and small) events that shape our lives, and how God is with us through it all. The characters are complex and charming. Also - a must read for anyone who ministers to teenagers. Delightful read!

[Patricia May · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Read

Very enjoyable! It took me a chapter or two to get into the story, but once I did I didn't want to put it down. The story was unpredictable which was great.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing, coming-of-age and spiritual awakening...excellent, fun

[Vicky Connelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite part of this book was the description of the family vacation to California, made me laugh!