Janet Kay Jensen, Author: Book Review: Healing Stone by Brock Booher

One boy's gift may be more than his town is ready for.

Book Review: Healing Stone by Brock Booher

First, the cover: It is eye-catching and catches the spirit of the story. It has a dark background with beautiful contrast of the golden elements of stalks of wheat, and the shading on the lettering is very effective.

Stone Molony, age 17, is already a most unusual young man---insightful, mature, and wise beyond his years--- when he discovers he has the gift of healing, something so powerful and life-changing that a lesser character wouldn’t be able to cope with it. “The day I discovered my gift, I saved Rusty’s life, and then he saved mine,” Stone relates. Stunned that he was able to touch his gravely injured dog and restore his limbs and his health, he hardly has time to process this miracle before Rusty takes a snake bite intended for Stone and dies.

Word of Stone’s gift spreads rapidly in his small rural town and a series of healings takes place. Within his own family, though, is a grave need that Stone cannot meet, and it is devastating. His older brother, Leck, suffered serious injuries in Korea and has come home embittered and hopeless. His parents don’t understand why Stone cannot heal his own brother, and Stone lives with their grief and disapproval. But Stone has learned something very important about his gift: it is dependent on the faith of the sufferer.

From the publisher: “Set in 1955 Kentucky, Healing Stone explores the effects of racism and corruption hidden in a small town and the redemptive power of hope discovered in one unique boy.”

The plot is original and unpredictable, the characters well-drawn, and the language simply musical. The colloquialisms are vivid and often laugh-out-loud funny, as well as spot-on.

With hints of Huck Finn and Elmer Gantry, Brock Booher's Healing Stone is a compelling and uplifting read.

Brock Booher grew up on a farm in rural Kentucky, the fourth of ten children, where he learned to work hard, use his imagination, and believe in himself. He left the farm to pursue the friendly skies as a pilot, and currently flies for a major US carrier. A dedicated husband and father of six children, he began writing out of sheer arrogance, but the writing craft quickly humbled him. During that process, he discovered that he enjoyed writing because it is an endeavor that can never quite be mastered. He still gladly struggles everyday to improve his writing and storytelling skills

You can buy the book here: here