by: Eileen Key

Dancing Word Reviewer

 

Title: The Celebrity

Author: Robert Elmer

Publisher: WaterBrook Press

ISBN: 1-57856-741-6

Genre: Inspirational/Contemporary/Fiction

 

When famous singer Jamie D. Lane’s mother dies, it affords him an opportunity to skip Los Angeles and visit her hometown. At her request, he’s returning her ashes for burial. Jaime, pressured in his career, craves time out of the limelight. He sneaks away from his agent and heads to Riverdale determined to have a few days of normal life.

 

Anne Stewart returned to her hometown a different person. She was involved in an automobile accident that resulted in severe head injuries. Her short-term memory loss requires her to learn many coping strategies. A limp accompanies her walk, and a deep anger at the drunk driver burns within. She’s sure the teaching job she received is given out of pity, but she accepts it anyway.

 

Jaime is enthralled with the small town. He visits a monastery and learns he can rent a room there. On a whim, he takes a job at the town donut shop. He becomes entrenched in the every day life of people in the town. No one recognizes him, and no one clambers for his attention. The deep gnawing inside of him begins to be filled with love for others and a whiff of the spiritual from the monastery. Will it be enough for him, or will the big city lights lure him back?

 

The school play allows Jaime an opportunity to work closely with Anne. He’s delighted to volunteer. Their relationship begins to bud, yet she holds back for fear of being hurt, and he worries about what will happen when he leaves. The answers for both of them are complex. Only God can weave the pattern that will set them free. Especially when a reporter spots Jaime.

 

Robert Elmer has created characters riddled with frailties yet determined to succeed. His portrayal of small town life involves the reader with the setting giving it a personality of its own. The Celebrity should certainly stay in the spotlight. It’s an excellent read.