Book Review–Unexpected Hope

About the Book:

Book: Unexpected Hope (Sully Parkway Comfort Dogs Book One)

Author: Pam Green

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction

Release date: October 15, 2024

When Jack Shelton hightails it out of Lexington, Virginia, for the suburbs of Washington, DC, he just wants out. Now. First on the agenda: put mountains and miles between him and his hometown memories. Second: find a job as a reporter. Fast.

Those two things—no other expectations. If he gets that far, maybe he’ll make room for God in his life again.

Then Jack wanders into the Church on the Parkway, and a case of mistaken identity entangles him in ministry with a team of broken people and a golden retriever puppy.

Can Jack get back on track with his new career plans, or will he find something unexpected as he travels Sully Parkway with Team Hope?

Guest Review From My Mom:

The cover of this book shows a photo of a Golden Retriever, a lovely, long-legged critter, with an attractive backdrop of grounds and a building that could be a church or other institution, and it is labeled as Number 1 of the Sully Parkway Comfort Dogs series. Though I have nothing against dogs, I am not a dog lover; nevertheless the write-up on the back of this book looked intriguing. How bad can a book be that talks about working/service dogs?

Well, the author did an excellent job on the plot and characterization. The change in the heart of the main character was very plausible and glorified Christ.  The copy editing was also excellent: poor editing is one of my pet peeves, and definitely makes a difference in how I respond to a book, no matter how good it is in other aspects. The technique of beginning each chapter with a “notification” from the comfort team’s IT person kept me reading so I could find out how the chapter would work out.

While I am acquainted with the use of dogs in service to the blind, deaf, and other applications, this book introduced me to the use of dogs as comforters. I also had never heard of “comfort” teams as an outreach for a church! What a great idea! And I was impressed that the congregation portrayed in the book seemed to truly be working as a Christian fellowship ought to.

The dog involved is a pup in training, a Golden Retriever; I have met a couple of them and the author seems to catch the friendly, intelligent, and active personality. However, there are several references to “the little dog” and a couple of times a seated character reaches over and seemingly easily lifts the dog onto a lap, which implies a small animal. These I found hard to reconcile (and my mind sure tried!) when at the vet visit that is detailed we are told that Hope is 7 months old, and weighs 52 pounds.

The last word, then, is that I really enjoyed reading this book, and would be interested in looking for others by this author.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Pam Green made her writing début in fifth grade when drafted to write the class play, Ghosts! Ghosts! Ghosts! At twelve, she fell in love with the French language. After a satisfying teaching career, she still peeks in the windows of empty schools while traveling and lingers in school supply aisles in August. Her stories show that God is always working in the lives of His children and seeking new members of His family.

More from Pam:

“Sully Parkway? Where’s that? I’ve never heard of the Church on the Parkway either. This area is changing so fast nobody can keep up!”

Life in the Virginia suburbs outside Washington, DC reflects the fast pace of our nation’s capital, and I know I’ve fooled some residents by sticking Sully Parkway and its non-denominational megachurch somewhere—and everywhere—in the area.

Welcome to my world! Sully Parkway is anywhere I want it to be!

You’ll have no difficulty recognizing the Church on the Parkway, or COP. Maybe it’s your church, with all its shortcomings, victories, quirky characters, inspiring leaders—and comfort dogs?!

Yes, COP takes its outreach responsibilities seriously, and they started a comfort dog ministry!

What Christian hasn’t struggled in situations where words fail to soothe a hurting soul? Real life comfort dogs, such as the 100-plus golden retrievers deployed by the Lutheran Church Charities, are ambassadors of Christ’s love in a range of challenging situations, from the minor anxiety of learning to read aloud to the unthinkable tragedy of a school shooting, and everything in between.

I fell in love with these sweet creatures of God who know intuitively how to reach out to hurting humans. Find out how Hope, COP’s golden retriever puppy, grows into her mission.

You’ll discover that some of the hope she brings is completely unexpected!

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