Wreath, a Girl (A Wreath Willis Novel Book 1)

Wreath and her mother, Frankie, live as transients never able to call any place home. After Wreath’s father dies in an accident, Frankie is not able to find love. Instead,o she struggles financially and finally settles for a relationship with an abusive man known as Big Fun (Fred).When Frankie gets sick and knows she mooay die, she comes up with a plan to protect Wreath and secure her future. However, when Wreath is faced with the challenges of executing the plan, she alters it in ways that lead to an unexpected outcome.This book will keep you engaged to the very end. Christie creates great characters and develops a story that is suspenseful and satisfying.

Wreath is a lovely, talented orphan trying to make it on her own living in a junkyard and hiding from her mother's vicious boyfriend. She wins her way into the hearts of many of the townsfolk and into the heart of the reader too! I loved her tenacity and resourcefulness. In situations where her life could have been easier if she stole or lied, she held on to her strong sense of what is right.Many of the situations in the book are pretty fantastic. I find it hard to believe everyone suddenly enjoyed wearing outdated yard sale knock offs, and I didn't completely understand what was happening with the store. I can't imagine anyone enrolling in school without a birth certificate and proof of residence. However, the story works. It's a delightful read and I look forward to reading the next one.(I believe there are several places where perhaps it was re written and mistakes happened. For example, Faye was putting together a purple and gold box...that seemed to become brown and pink...but overall the writing was of good quality.)

How could a sixteen-year-old girl live in a junk yard her senior year while she keeps up her appearance so well that she sets the fashion trends for her school? Wreath makes it possible for a reader to believe such a thing could happen.Wreath is a greater-than-life character. Starving, she maintains her attractive appearance and super strength. She passes through a year in an abandoned van, where her companions are snakes, wild hogs, and mice.Wreath is a symbolic narrative. The title Wreath, the character Wreath, and the character Big Fun give the book the flavor of an allegory. It’s a bit like John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, with its characters Pilgrim and Christian. The discussion questions at the end continue to develop the impression that the book is a teaching tool developed to influence the thinking of teenagers.Each person needs to formulate her own opinion about what the story is teaching. Without preaching, the author gently takes the main character on a journey from not knowing about God to trusting in the goodness and power of God.Wreath, a Girl, has an abundance of coincidences, which require the reader to ponder over the cogency of the plot. The author is able to make the reader enjoy the anticipation of the implausible events.What matters most is that the book, Wreath, a Girl, engages the reader so much it’s impossible to stop reading except for the unavoidable interruptions of living until the story comes to an end. Also, the novel has a magnificent beginning. The first chapter grabbed my attention as Judy Christie jumped into the middle of Wreath’s thoughts and precarious situation.It’s exciting that the book has a sequel, Wreath in Summer.

I loved this book, I read it in 3 days and hated to see it end. I was thrilled to see it is part of a series, tho this book can stand alone. I just purchased the 2nd book. Wreath is 16 year old girl who is homeless after her mother passes away..She moves to her mom childhood town but doesn't trust anyone. She gets a job to support herself and signs up for her senior year of high school. All the while keeping an eye on her surroundings as she hides out from her mom's boyfriend who wants to make sure she doesn't reveal what she knows about him. She is a courageous, resourceful young girl, who finds more than she expects in her search.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. From the beginning it got my attention and kept it. "Wreath, a Girl" is one of those books I had a hard time putting down each time I picked it up. Judy Christie took me on a journey with this girl. I hoped for her, feared for her, loved her, and wanted the very best to happen for her. It was amazing how God put people in her life at every turn, and when she thought she was all alone in this world God helped her have relationships with people who fell in love with her and did all to help her.In the end, one of these people turned out to be a long lost family member, so she found she really wasn't alone in this world in more ways than one. If you read this book, you will fall in love with Wreath, too, I am sure.

I felt like I was reading Jan Karon. Characters were fun and well developed as the story progressed. I read this in one day- while home recovering from feeling rotten. The book brightened my day. Some parts were a little hard to imagine progressing as fast as they did, but delightful and entertaining at same time. Good themes running throughout the story. I will read the sequel and look for more from this new to me author.

It took me a bit to get into this book. I found it was a little slow-moving. Some of the situations in the book were a somewhat difficult to believe, yet I was willing to set that aside.I would have given this a three-star rating, but I found the subject matter to be timely and important. Therefore, I bumped my rating up to four stars. The writing is good and the characters were compelling. All in all, not a bad read.

I was drawn into this book and enjoyed every minute I could steal away to read it (and stayed up later a couple nights trying to keep my eyes open to keep reading, lol). This is an awesome book! And with everything going on that could be unbelievable the author made it all believable. I love reading good books and this definitely is one! Looking forward to continuing on with Wreaths life in book two.