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Potter Springs
Born and raised in Houston, Amanda Thompson finds her life irrevocably changed when the man she loves, Mark Reynolds, associate pastor of a large church, proposes. But their lives fall apart when Amanda realizes she is pregnant and Mark loses his job because of it. Weeks later, Amanda is devastated when she loses their baby. The young couple hope to start anew in POTTER SPRINGS, but the shadow of their lost child settles in Amanda's soul, and she grows reclusive. After an extended visit to her parents home, Amanda is uncertain of her next move. Meanwhile, Mark is left to struggle with his own future and, as a severe storm brews, to wonder if Amanda will ever come back.
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 16, 2005
35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 28, 2017
I absolutely loved this book. The story is beautiful and so relatable. Britta has a wonderful way of writing and crafting a story. I'm hoping she'll be out with another book soon. She's too gifted to be a one book author.
April 7, 2009
I should start by saying that I'm not even close to the target audience for this book. I happen to have met the author, however (and teach her kids!) and I thought it would be an interesting experience to read the work of someone I actually know, and whom I could probably call up and talk about the process with.
So I opened up to the first chapter with a certain amount of hedging, almost expecting to not like it at all. What followed was an interesting, if light jaunt through a genre I'm pretty foreign to.
The big picture is this: the associate pastor of a Houston mega-church gets his girlfriend in a family way, and is unceremoniously invited to leave. After getting married, the pastor and his wife experience a horrible tragedy, which leads them both to not only leave the big city for a new job at a smalltown Baptist church, but also forces them to reexamine their relationship and lives.
A few things that I liked:
* a friend of mine assumed I wouldn't like this because they said it was 'religious fiction.' I was actually kind of surprised to see that this really isn't the case. There are definitely religious overtones. I mean, the protagonist is a Baptist preacher! But the work never proselytizes, and I appreciate that.
* There is a workmanlike determinedness to how this book smashes from one plot point to the next. Coleman seldom lingers on moments or crises long enough for them to wear out their welcome. Most of the parts of the book I actively disliked were gone so fast I barely remember them. And while the plot is very straight forward, the author still managed to jump around to different people's perspectives and create a few well-earned moments of illumination that I didn't necessarily manage to anticipate. That may sound like faint praise, but the amount of predictability in a book can drastically decrease its enjoyability. While "Potter Springs" isn't going to win any Pulitzers, I actually had to keep reading it to see what would happen next.
* Hurricane Megan and Doppler Dan. Cute.
And then there were the things I didn't care for so much:
* The plot moves along brisky enough, but I think sometimes at the cost of introspection. There were several chapters and sequences that I think almost would have worked more effectively as short stories, given a little room to breathe on their own, without the pressure to give way to the next event or chapter.
* The ending was a little too tidy for my tastes. I think it would have been far more interesting territory to explore for Mark and Amanda to find a way to live with their personal tragedy. I'm pretty sure most of Ms. Coleman's audience preferred it the way she wrote it, though.
* The book jacket touts a cast of memorable and quirky characters, but most of the supporting cast are mere outlines of stock small-town inhabitants who never really earn any kind of real uniqueness. There's the interchangable church women full of nosiness and wisdom, the bumbling head pastor who seems simple except when he needs to be wise, and the spiteful deacon whose cartoonish gossiping is not so believable as necessary to move the plot forward.
* Probably my biggest problem was with the pastor's wife, Amanda. I liked her as a character, but she drove me crazy in her inexplicable devotion to her jerk of a husband. Mark is redeemed somewhat by the end of the novel, but for most of the work, the only thing we see of Mark is how thoughtless and self-centered he is. Yet every time Amanda finds herself pushed away and marginalized by her husband, she begins fondly recalling the warm and loving husband that we the reader have never actually ever met. I'm all for dedication to your spouse, but Amanda started driving me crazy about halfway through, right up to the end.
And honestly, there were other little things that niggled me, but I chalk most of that up to me not being the person Britta Coleman wrote this for. I like things to be ambiguous and rough around the edges; to show how ugly the shadowy mundane can be when you shine a bright light on it. "Potter Springs" deals with some dark secrets, but when it shines its light, things are full of hope and faith. The antithesis of my world-view.
In a perfect world, her next novel would be a more dour and cynical look at the same character-types, but I have a feeling that her audience wouldn't take too kindly to that. Her audience would greatly enjoy another "Potter Springs" and I'll enjoy the next "Empire Falls", and the world will be a happy place.
So I opened up to the first chapter with a certain amount of hedging, almost expecting to not like it at all. What followed was an interesting, if light jaunt through a genre I'm pretty foreign to.
The big picture is this: the associate pastor of a Houston mega-church gets his girlfriend in a family way, and is unceremoniously invited to leave. After getting married, the pastor and his wife experience a horrible tragedy, which leads them both to not only leave the big city for a new job at a smalltown Baptist church, but also forces them to reexamine their relationship and lives.
A few things that I liked:
* a friend of mine assumed I wouldn't like this because they said it was 'religious fiction.' I was actually kind of surprised to see that this really isn't the case. There are definitely religious overtones. I mean, the protagonist is a Baptist preacher! But the work never proselytizes, and I appreciate that.
* There is a workmanlike determinedness to how this book smashes from one plot point to the next. Coleman seldom lingers on moments or crises long enough for them to wear out their welcome. Most of the parts of the book I actively disliked were gone so fast I barely remember them. And while the plot is very straight forward, the author still managed to jump around to different people's perspectives and create a few well-earned moments of illumination that I didn't necessarily manage to anticipate. That may sound like faint praise, but the amount of predictability in a book can drastically decrease its enjoyability. While "Potter Springs" isn't going to win any Pulitzers, I actually had to keep reading it to see what would happen next.
* Hurricane Megan and Doppler Dan. Cute.
And then there were the things I didn't care for so much:
* The plot moves along brisky enough, but I think sometimes at the cost of introspection. There were several chapters and sequences that I think almost would have worked more effectively as short stories, given a little room to breathe on their own, without the pressure to give way to the next event or chapter.
* The ending was a little too tidy for my tastes. I think it would have been far more interesting territory to explore for Mark and Amanda to find a way to live with their personal tragedy. I'm pretty sure most of Ms. Coleman's audience preferred it the way she wrote it, though.
* The book jacket touts a cast of memorable and quirky characters, but most of the supporting cast are mere outlines of stock small-town inhabitants who never really earn any kind of real uniqueness. There's the interchangable church women full of nosiness and wisdom, the bumbling head pastor who seems simple except when he needs to be wise, and the spiteful deacon whose cartoonish gossiping is not so believable as necessary to move the plot forward.
* Probably my biggest problem was with the pastor's wife, Amanda. I liked her as a character, but she drove me crazy in her inexplicable devotion to her jerk of a husband. Mark is redeemed somewhat by the end of the novel, but for most of the work, the only thing we see of Mark is how thoughtless and self-centered he is. Yet every time Amanda finds herself pushed away and marginalized by her husband, she begins fondly recalling the warm and loving husband that we the reader have never actually ever met. I'm all for dedication to your spouse, but Amanda started driving me crazy about halfway through, right up to the end.
And honestly, there were other little things that niggled me, but I chalk most of that up to me not being the person Britta Coleman wrote this for. I like things to be ambiguous and rough around the edges; to show how ugly the shadowy mundane can be when you shine a bright light on it. "Potter Springs" deals with some dark secrets, but when it shines its light, things are full of hope and faith. The antithesis of my world-view.
In a perfect world, her next novel would be a more dour and cynical look at the same character-types, but I have a feeling that her audience wouldn't take too kindly to that. Her audience would greatly enjoy another "Potter Springs" and I'll enjoy the next "Empire Falls", and the world will be a happy place.
May 22, 2019
Mark Reynolds' whole life seems to be falling into place. He's the up-and-coming associate pastor of a mega church in Houston, and it looks like the senior pastor will be stepping down to pursue other ministry opportunities, leaving Mark in charge. To make things even better, he's engaged to a beautiful, talented woman named Amanda. But everything changes when he learns that he and Amanda are expecting a baby. Soon, those who were most supportive of his ministerial career begin to back away, even though he and Amanda have a quick wedding.
Then tragedy strikes the couple, and instead of clinging to each other, they grow apart. Amanda falls back into the safe arms of her parents, and Mark desperately searches for his identity in a new career path. When the opportunity comes up for Mark to take a job as the associate pastor of a small church in Potter Springs, Mark and Amanda decide to try to salvage their lives and their marriage. Will they be able to find their way back to each other before it's too late?
Potter Springs is a touching, heartfelt novel. It explores the realities of life and the consequences of the choices we make. Even more than that, Potter Springs looks at the things that make us human and fallible, and the grace that God provides for our forgiveness of ourselves and each other. Mark has difficulty seeing Amanda's viewpoint, and he can't seem to understand the depth of her hurt. Amanda seems surprised that God reaches out to her through friends and acquaintances. The contrast between life in the big city of Houston and the small town of Potter Springs is poignant. It demonstrates the dichotomy between the two different "lives" as well.
Although the main character is a pastor and there are many spiritual aspects to this story, Potter Springs avoids preaching and instead focuses on gentle spirituality without overt religious overtones. I came to truly care about the characters and their outcomes, and the ending brought me to tears. There are many unexpected twists and turns to the plot which keeps the pace moving quickly. Potter Springs is a beautifully written debut novel. I will definitely be watching for more books from Ms. Coleman. Readers are in for a treat with Potter Springs, a place filled with people not easily forgotten.
Then tragedy strikes the couple, and instead of clinging to each other, they grow apart. Amanda falls back into the safe arms of her parents, and Mark desperately searches for his identity in a new career path. When the opportunity comes up for Mark to take a job as the associate pastor of a small church in Potter Springs, Mark and Amanda decide to try to salvage their lives and their marriage. Will they be able to find their way back to each other before it's too late?
Potter Springs is a touching, heartfelt novel. It explores the realities of life and the consequences of the choices we make. Even more than that, Potter Springs looks at the things that make us human and fallible, and the grace that God provides for our forgiveness of ourselves and each other. Mark has difficulty seeing Amanda's viewpoint, and he can't seem to understand the depth of her hurt. Amanda seems surprised that God reaches out to her through friends and acquaintances. The contrast between life in the big city of Houston and the small town of Potter Springs is poignant. It demonstrates the dichotomy between the two different "lives" as well.
Although the main character is a pastor and there are many spiritual aspects to this story, Potter Springs avoids preaching and instead focuses on gentle spirituality without overt religious overtones. I came to truly care about the characters and their outcomes, and the ending brought me to tears. There are many unexpected twists and turns to the plot which keeps the pace moving quickly. Potter Springs is a beautifully written debut novel. I will definitely be watching for more books from Ms. Coleman. Readers are in for a treat with Potter Springs, a place filled with people not easily forgotten.
September 21, 2008
This was a light, quick little romance. This is a story about Amanda and Mark. Mark is a Baptist minister. He is very much in love with Amanda. So much, they break the moral law and have to quickly get married. Unfortunately, Amanda loses the baby and neither Amanda or Mark know how to deal with their grief or how to console each other. Potter Springs is a small little Texas town where Mark lands a job as an assistant minister of the local church. The rest of the novel takes you through how they establish their life in this new town and how they cope with their loss. The character development isn’t real deep but the story is definitely engrossing. Not really believable, but enjoyable.
June 21, 2010
I bought this book at Big Lots for 50 cents, and I got way more than 50 cents of enjoyment reading it. I thought at first that this was a Christian romance, but it wasn't from the usual Christian presses. I think the story line made me think it would be more-or-less squeaky clean. It turned out to be an enjoyable read and a great bargain.
January 4, 2013
Heartwarming, thoroughly enjoyable but not 'serious' reading; lighthearted. A young married couple (he's a minister) trying to balance life's problems involving demanding families, a congregation that needs his time/efforts for their challenges and the biggest hurdle: figuring out whether they belong together or if pain and bitterness will drive them apart forever.
August 5, 2014
Delightful easy read. Romance and struggles of a young couple and starting minister. You will have to decide how important appearances are to a minister's acceptance and success, if a woman from a very different background can be happy as a minister's wife, what actions have to be forgiven and by which side.
August 10, 2010
It was surprisingly good and well written. I found the more I read about the colorful Texan characters the more I became interested in the story. It held some emotional moments dealing with acceptance of death and love.
October 22, 2015
It was a very fast book to read and was "okay" on the entertaining scale. I liked the mothers the best. It was predictable to the Nth degree and by the end, I couldn't wait for it to be over. I may read more by this author, but just to see if she has matured in her storytelling.
April 18, 2008
This is a good book for people of faith. I met the author. She is really nice!
June 13, 2009
I enjoyed this book and have a signed copy.
November 13, 2009
Rather predictable Christian fiction but I liked it anyway.
February 7, 2013
I ran across this book by accident and I actually quote loved it. The story of the couple is beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews