Life is full of surprises in this latest installment in The Green Series: Lois and her small-town newspaper survived a tornado but now they face a new storm -- one that threatens the school. Then there's the new highway that's creeping ever closer. What's next for Lois and her new husband and the quirky characters who are now her friends?
Judy Christie is an author and consultant who lives in Northwest Louisiana.
She writes inspirational fiction and nonfiction. Her popular Green series chronicles the goings-on in the small Louisiana town of Green and is part of Abingdon Press’s new inspirational fiction line.
Judy is also the author of the popular Hurry Less, Worry Less nonfiction series, published by Abingdon Press.
Wreath, published in October 2011, is Judy’s first young adult book. Look for it and a free download on her books page!
Judy was a journalist for many years and is a frequent speaker at retreats and workshops. She works with clients around the country on how to slow down and enjoy each day more and how
I hope to go back and read all of these eventually. I didn't realize this was like the fourth book already. I am totally anal on reading books in order whether you have to or not. Luckily this one was one of those that you didn't "have" to read in order.
The characters and town in Rally Round Green are awesome examples of small town living and I guess since I have lived in a small southern town my entire life it was easy for me to relate to and fall in love with. I felt like either they had stepped into my life or vice versa because everything just seemed so ordinary and day to day just like in my own little world ya know?
Judy Christie did it again! A fun read, even with the anxiousness around being told the Green Schools were being closed and the students would be sent to a consolidated school in another district. Rallying the commu ity to fight back, dealing with the upheaval, walking to the State Capitol in protest, and dealing with the restoration of their new/old home all steadied the faith and deepened the appreciation and love that Lois has for Green and the Green Rabbits ' Coach!
I am traveling and needed a lighter story and this fit the bill. I had read books 1-3 a few years ago so I had forgotten a few details about some characters and situations, but could still get the gist. The Green series is an uplifting story about community, forgiveness and the importance of family.
The 4th book in The Green Series. Lois and the small southern town of Green have new challenges to face in this book. The local school is facing closure, and the community must band together if they want the school to stay open. A sweet series with fun and sometimes quirky characters.
Love the "Green"series of books. Characters are all believable and from a small town. Love that the newspaper and staff are a big part of all these books. Don't have to read in order but I have. Easy reading --very enjoyable!
This one was not quite as good as book #3 in the series. It didn't have the appeal as Green after the tornado, but it still had some of that charm when Green rallies around a different cause this time around.
Whenever I have one of these inspirational fiction novels in my hand, I kick off my shoes, grab a blanket and cup of tea and settle in to visit the characters of Green, Louisiana just as if I were visiting with old friends. Once again, Lois, owner of the Green newspaper finds herself in the middle of a town concern when the school of her small town is rumored to be closing in just 3 short months at the recommendation of the new principal and her well-paid consultant. Investigative reporting is not something Lois shies away from, but with her husband being a respected coach and teacher at the school, rocking the boat may not be in the best interest of his job or their recent marriage. It's the strength of that marriage and the strength of the determined townspeople that finally kick-starts the movement to do all that can be done to the save the school. The Green community members are used to rallying: fighting small town corruption, rebuilding after a devastating tornado or saving businesses when a new bypass is built that just may take Green off the map. The Green people do not go down without a fight! Christie's Green series makes me smile, laugh, cheer, and in this particular book, cry. I love the characters of the town. They are not perfect, but they are able to admit their mistakes. They ask for forgiveness. They forgive. They are just regular people trying to make the best life for themselves and for their neighbors. If I can't live in Green, Louisiana, the next best thing is to visit through Christie's books and I hope that there are many more to come.
See my profile for my star rating system. Thank you to Abingdon Press for sending me a free digital copy of the book to review.
I picked up Gone to Green free for my Kindle and the story reeled me in, hook, line and sinker. Four books later I’m still engaged with the ongoing saga in the lives of the residents of Green, Louisiana. The characters grow on you with every book, but what really sets this series apart is the focus on community.
Community remains something we all crave. The need is hard wired into our souls. It is beautiful. It is messy. And it is at the core of the what makes the Green novels so appealing.
In the beginning of the series Lois was the big city reporter trying to “fit in” in small town Green. This book brings that cycle full circle with Lois as down home resident, battling the new big city assistant school principle who is in cahoots with a high-paid consultant wanting to shut down the local school.
In Rally Round Green we witness Lois and other characters learning how to fight for what they believe in, while looking to the Lord to help them give grace and support to those who are turning their lives around.
This book is about choices, new beginnings and second chances.
Join the characters that we have come to love as they rally ’round their town and remind us all that true community is worth the investment that it takes to keep it alive.
A cute little read about a small town that is in a fight to save the school that provides the entertainment and social center for the community. Coming from a very small town, three stop lights in all, I related closely to the ability for a school to be the heart of a community and without that school the community would fall apart.
An extremely large cast of characters which at times were very hard to keep straight. I almost made a cheat sheet to remind me who was married to whom, who was fighting with whom, and where each of them worked. I think this was the key aspect that made it hard for me to fall absolutely in love with the book. Everytime I set it down, it was even harder to pick up because I just wasn't sure where everyone stood in the context of the main character Lois.
A christian fiction that didn't beat me over the head with its bible verses and messages to urge the reader to "come to jesus." I enjoyed that this book was sweet and thoughtful, but not crazy christian fiction as some stories can become. A great read for the beach, but please start at the beginning of this series as it may help with the merry cast of characters.
As I was finishing this book, I found out it was the 4th book in a series, so I will have to go found the first three and read them now - such a bummer.
I liked it. I like the small town. I like the people in it. My problem with this one was that the issue appeared to go away on its own. The town is facing a crisis; the state wants to close the public school because it's too expensive to operate for the low enrollment and graduations rates. So the paper gets behind the cause (Lois is in a funk, so had been scooped by Shreveport), and is able to dig up enough dirt on the people in charge of the closing that it saves the day. Or was it the fact that several citizens walked to Baton Rouge to make their point. We aren't sure. The pacing of the book was nice and slow; letting the reader enjoy the rhythm and then wham – there's the end with no explanation. How did Green save their school?
Oh, and Molly still working three jobs, plus taking care of siblings and helping with boyfriend who was injured on basketball court. Lois warms to Dub. Lee Roy shows back up in town after being incarcerated in book one. Iris Jo and Stan pregnant towards end of novel. Tammy happy with lawyer hubby, but feeling less than worthy because she never graduated high school. Oh, and newspaper starts and GED help program. Lois and Chris still trying to get through fixing up their house.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Book 4 in series: A year after the tornado that nearly destroyed the town of Green, Lois and Chris Craig are hip deep in home renovations and life is not yet back to normal for the newlyweds. In this episode the local school is being slated for closure due to state budget cuts - bringing Chris more centrally into the story line as a teacher and coach at the school.
A school related tragedy occurs around which the town 'rallies', and the school closure plan is another 'rallying' point. Lois is faced with facing up to old foes and digging deep for seeds of forgiveness. Mayor Eva gets a surprise from her past. "Everybody" shows up again in this book, and there is a theme of new beginnings and second chances as well.
I liked it, because I've read the three prior books and for the most the cast of characters are likeable characters I can care about. However, something niggled though and chewed away at my enjoyment - can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's that Lois just seems a bit off her game in this book, and she gets pulled into the story rather than charging into it. I don't know what - maybe a combination of factors.
I liked this book but not as much as the previous ones.
The state is planning on closing Green's high school. They've sent in experts to facilitate the closure. Lois is not going to go down without a fight! The residents of Green need a school and Lois is determined to do all in her power to save theirs. Everyone rally's around saving Green's schools. Chris has pressure at work from the new person sent in to transition the school for closure. Lois, on top of running the newspaper, also is in the midst of remodeling she and Chris's new home.
I really enjoyed Rally Round Green. I liked the message of forgiveness and restoration. I liked that even though Lois was wronged in the past by certain people she was able to forgive them and give them a second chance. I love how the whole town comes together to help each other and to help save their school. I've really enjoyed the Green series and look forward to the next one.
When I downloaded a few of the books in the Green series last week for free, I thought I had the whole series. So I went about reading them. I read the first three. Unfortunately, I then opened what I assumed was the 4th book (Downtown Green,) and upon reading the list of "other books by Judy Christie", I discovered it was actually the 5th book. I don't have this one. Would anyone who owns this book (for nook) be willing to lend it to me?
edit: I was able to get this book via inter-library loan on mel.org. It came from all the way across the state, since not many libraries own this. Anyway... It was decent. No better or worse than others in the series.
I loved this entire series. My grandmother and grandfather owned a newspaper in a small town up north and I used to spend summers there. Sitting in the love seat in the apartment over looking main street. Helping to fold papers for the insert to the Sunday edition.
Lois is married in this book. Problems really heat up in Green this time. She has to unite with the school kids and their parents to help save the schools or lose the down town and small businesses in Green. They would all be affected. Bussing, and the poor citizens couldn't get to the schools. In addiition her new husband would be without a job. She is also trying to rehab their home during this time. Great surprises!
This is book #4 of Judy Christie's Green series. Since I'd read the first three, (all freebies) I figured I'd finish book 4 and call it a day. It doesn't take me long to figure things out: new characters were introduced, that encroaching highway issue was barely addressed, and a tiny inkling that someone is going to have a baby lead me to think that a 5th installment is on the way. Bingo! There's a 5th book out!
Overall, this was a cute, easy read; best suited for mindless just-before-bedtime reading. But let's end it at number five, please. These characters just aren't that interesting.
I liked this but I didnt think it was as good as the first 3. It seemed a bit slower and jumped around a little bit. The state threatens to close the school so the town rallies to keep it open. I thought the book ended a bit abruptly and didnt let you know what happened with a few new characters. Still fun to read. Also ends with a cliff hanger so I am looking forward to the next one that i due in 2012.
I found this book tedious and difficult to get through. The part about finding ways to stop the evil Marc and Priscilla to save the local school was okay, but that plot took up much too little of the story, and the rest of the filler put in as padding was just a big ho-hum--too little meat and too much extraneous fat.
Installment four in the Green series, and I've enjoyed all of that. I still have #5 to read, Downtown Green, I think it is. I wonder if that's the last one in the series, or just the last one written? Good books, I always recommend them to others to read, especially since I've gotten all 5 free for my Kindle. Can't beat that!
After three books, you wonder what Lois will save next. Well, she's trying to save the small school in Green, LA. She has a lot of help, and, of course, ferrets out some bad guys in the process. Forgiveness plays a big part in this book. It shows the blessings that can come from our being forgiving. I look forward to the final book of this series.
After the tornado you would think could have a little bit of a rest, but trouble brews again with the threat of Green schools closing. Lois and the whole town rally to save Green schools. I like that Christie points out the troubles small towns face. I also like the stories of true redemption in her books.
Book four of the Green saga was just as good as the other three! I so enjoyed all the characters in the book. I hope there is more to come as some story lines were finished there were two or three that could go on.
I've really enjoyed Judy Christie's books. The "Green" series of books has been so enjoyable. I love that the stories are clean and inspirational. I've gobbled each one up! I can't wait to read more!
I found the first three books enjoyable "enough." For some reason, I liked the fourth one more. I find the characters real & somewhat appealing. Nobody is perfect. Some of it seems unrealistic, but then I think that of things in real life, too.
I am actually rating this higher than it was for me. I got this for free on my kindle. It did not tell me (or I missed it) that it was number four in a series. I felt out of step and didn't enjoy it, but it is probably cute if you know the background.