JUBILEE by W K Parks

Ryan Fulbright, faced with his failures as a husband and father turns to alcohol to forget his shortcomings.  In utter despair over his upcoming divorce and the turmoil the separation is causing his young daughter, June, Ryan stumbles into a Baptist church looking for some type of answer to the hole in his heart.   His encounter with Pastor Jason starts him on a journey searching for a God that he doesn't really believe in.  With misgivings, Pastor Jason sends Ryan on a one-man mission to Jubilee House in Granada, Nicaragua.  Jubilee House takes in and helps women trying to get away from their life of prostitution.  They also offer a safe haven for rescued children that were either sold or kidnapped into the rampant sex trade and trafficking of young children.

This is a tale of man’s inhumanity towards man, especially the most innocent and vulnerable, our children.  Ryan Fulbright is the main character, but we are introduced to several other characters that are intricately woven throughout the plot.  There is Benito the Giant, Miguel the translator and Gabrielle and her brave younger sister Natalia.  This story grabs your attention right from the beginning with the plight of Gabrielle and her sister.  This wasn’t a cliffhanger type of plot, but I was definitely on the edge of my seat during parts of the telling.

W. D. Parks did an awesome job with the depth of the characters and filling in the back stories where needed.  I came to know and feel each of their pain and suffering and also their shared joy.  Parts of these characters will linger with me for a quite a while.  If you’re not shedding a few tears by the end of this story, then you have a hard heart indeed.

The writing was in a descriptive nature, but no fluff.  I loved his usage of unique metaphors.  The author really brought out the dramatic scenes and I felt like I was sitting in the truck with Gabrielle, or tied to the post with Benito, or sitting upside, injured with Ryan. 

There were several proofreading errors, and normally these types of errors have to be taken into consideration during the rating process, but this was such a good story that I will give my 5 feathers anyway.  I highly recommend this book.