Watch Over Me

by Christa Parrish

Book Overview

A Stirring Novel of Love Rediscovered Deputy Benjamin Patil is the one to find the infant girl hours old, abandoned in a field. When the mother can't be located, Ben and his wife, Abbi, seem like the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764205544
• ISBN13: 9780764205545
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Length: 349 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Storybuzz.net review

"There are thoughts which are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the posture of the body, the soul is on its knees."-Victor Hugo On a lark I entered a contest on a similar site to Storybuzz called [...]. And was pleasantly surprised to find myself the winner and recipient of two autographed books and a high quality box of chocolates. I was instantly drawn to the cover of one novel titled Watch Over Me by Christa Parrish. It depicted a sweet baby staring directly at the reader over the shoulder of a woman. Cheek to cheek with the baby, the woman's hair in a ponytail, lent an air of fragility to the woman's exposed back and shoulders. The book opens when Deputy Benjamin Patil, local law enforcement and soldier who survived the Afghanistan war with the loss of his toes and his best friend finds an abandoned baby girl only hours old in a plastic grocery bag by the side of the river. He and his wife Abbi, who are unable to have children, are chosen to be foster parents for her. But, their home is filled with stress and disagreement and may not be the ideal home for this baby. Between the tension of Benjamin's trauma while serving in Afghanistan and his pacifist, hippie, vegan wife's struggle with an eating disorder and her helplessness in the face of so much wrong between them. Their lives intersect with Matthew, a deaf teenager, who suffers from several medical issues and comes from a troubled family. As Abbi and Benjamin continue to take care of the baby, more and more pain is revealed and their marriage struggles to survive. "He heard Abbi come out of the bedroom, the swollen door opening with a sticky pop. Everything swelled in the heat. Problems. Fears. Sins. All puffed with humidity and ready to rain out with the slightest change in air pressure." Silvia, the abandoned baby brings a purpose into the Patil's life. Named for a Shakespeare's line, "Who is Silvia? What is she, that all our swains commend her? Holy, fair, and wise is she; the heaven such grace did lend her, that she might admired be." As baby Silvia brings Ben and Abbi together in a common cause, they soon learn that she's only a bandage for their lurking problems. And they are forced to ask themselves, if they lose Silvia, will their marriage survive? Parenting is explored in depth in this story. From Ben's immigrant parents; To Matthew and his cousins being raised fatherless; Through Silvia's abandonment and Abbi's understanding of her dysfunction parent relationship. Matthew is a precious character and carrying too much on his shoulders in this story. If I talk as though they are real person, it is because Parrish made them seem so to me as I read their stories. Caring for his young cousins as almost a father figure, while navigating through dialysis, he comes into the Patil's life to mow the lawn and care for Silvia when Abbi does her pottery. A strong believer and a math whiz, it is he who must figure out the most difficult equation in the story, who should

Masterful Storytelling

Parrish's first book Home Another Way was so amazingly original, I didn't think she could top it. But I was wrong. Abbi, Benjamin, and Matthew are real in their uniqueness, but so is every other character in the book. Parrish masterfully tells an atypical, thoroughly entertaining story, staying away from all kinds of stereotypes--especially with Benjamin. Ultimately, the novel reflects a journey we are all on: what being a mother/father or husband/wife or friend or Christian means in our everyday life. I can't wait for her third book to release!

Intertwining

Deputy Benjamin Patil has recently returned from a military tour, minus a few toes, and survivors' guilt. Because of his troubles, his marriage has begun to crumble. His wife, Abbi, is at her wits end and no longer knows if she can continue with Ben. When the Deputy finds an abandoned baby, just a few hours old, in an open field he immediately bonds with her. He and his wife Abbi decide to take her in while the case is worked and the police try to find her mother. There is another story entwined with this one; a story of a deaf teenage boy with serious kidney problems and is in need of a kidney transplant. When his mother gives him up he lives with his worthless Aunt and her 4 daughters. He becomes involved with the Patils and finds what he has been looking for. The author of this book does an excellent job of drawing you in emotionally and you really start to feel for the characters. This is a touching story centered on faith in God and how He can take the worst circumstances and turn them into blessings. This book is different than most Christian fiction books that I have read, but in a good way. It's not overly sappy or unrealistic. The characters are average people with everyday problems.

Watch Over Me A Page Turner from the Beginning!

OMG! Watch Over Me by Christa Parrish is a page turner from the beginning. You will not want to put this book down! I am not kidding! The book is excellent and worth 10 stars! You laugh, you cry, you sympathize, you can relate to all the characters in the book. Christa Parrish draws you in to the lives of each character. You become a part of their lives. She did a beautiful job with this book. You will not want to put it down. The book has three main characters: Ben and Abbi Patil and Matthew. Ben and Abbi are having problems in their marriage. Ben has returned home from Afghanistan and can not shake the demons which are attacking his mind about incidents he saw and lived fighting for his country. Needless to say his faith in God is gone. Abbi, his wife does, not know why Ben has become so distant towards her. She knows God is the only One who can help her, yet she does not know how to talk with God. Matthew is deaf, has a drug addicted mother and is living with the fact that he may not live much longer if he does not receive a kidney transplant. He knows that God is all He has. All three lives become intertwined by one common thread, a baby. Trust me there is a lot which happens in this book, but you will have to find out the rest on your own. You will not be sorry you purchased this book. It is a must to add to your Contemporary Fiction library. Watch Over Me was provided by Bethany House Book Reviewer Program. To join go to: [...]

I love these characters

I truly fell in love with the struggling characters in Watch Over Me, a novel about loss, need, soul damage, and relationships that heal. Christa Parrish knows how to draw a reader into a complex, emotional, but not overwrought story. Her subtlety is superb. She entices the reader with just enough to want more, painstakingly unfolding the story. Watch over Me opens with a marriage in crisis, a PTSD former soldier struggling with unruly emotions and his peace-loving wife. Distance defines them. When the husband, now a police officer, finds an abandoned baby and brings her home to foster, the fissures in their marriage widen. Woven into that relationship is a deaf teenage boy who desperately needs a family. I loved this book. Loved the characters. Loved everything about it.