Wedgewood Grey: The Black or White Chronicles: Book Two

John Aubrey Anderson
FaithWords (2007)
ISBN 0446579505
Reviewed by Susan Pettrone for Reader Views (2/07)

In "Wedgewood Grey," a sequel to 'The Black and White Chronicles: Book One,” we pick up the story as Mose Washington, a quiet black man just out of prison, tries to put his life back together in a solitary cabin on the eastern shore of Cat Lake.

Quiet as though the lake may be, reminders of events of Mose’s past are all around him. His daughter Pearl tries to rise above the past by avoiding the lake and its memories, but finds they are too strong, haunting her until her visits become virtually non-existent.

As Mose spends his solitary days on the lake with visits from his longtime friend Missy and her husband nearby, the darkness continues to mock him and he takes to spending nights in the loft of an old barn near his home, feeling strangely safe within its walls.

One night Mose becomes entangled in another horror much like that of his past, when a black woman and her son are singled out by a group of local youths bent on terrorizing and abusing the duo for sport. What happens next can only be described as chilling. For it seems the demons who were so strong years before are back and are hell bent on destruction and death with the woman and boy at the center of their evil.

Drawn into this group of once innocent young men, is Tripper Sherman, a boy who longs to be accepted but finds out soon enough that acceptance has a price with the group he chose to run with that night and that price is high indeed.

As the horrors of that night unfold, others come into the scene and prove pivotal to the storyline as well. A man thought to be a "ghost" by the young black boy is instrumental in ending the carnage with a calm, determined strength that leaves no doubt in the minds of the young men there that the terror will end or they will die.

By the time the battle with the demon has ceased for the night, three young men are dead, a black woman and her son are both beaten and battered, and six youths are left behind to escape their bonds and hopefully start their lives anew from that night on. Some succeed and unfortunately some do not as we learn later in the book.

After the horror has ended and the woman is laid to rest, Mose and the "ghost" realize that Mose must take the young boy and disappear for their safety. Through a deep faith and strong will, they do just that…..beginning anew, a life as father and son along with their redbone hound.

Through the remainder of the book, the reader witnesses how Mose and "Bill Mann" are never really alone, but are guarded by messengers from God, determined to protect the man and boy from the demons who wish to kill them.

From the moment Mose uttered his first prayer that dark angry night and throughout the remainder of the book, these angels are by their side. The characterization and quiet determination of these angels is amazing and this reader was swept up into their world with no hope of returning to everyday life until the book was ended and the last page read.

After closing this book, I found myself strangely contemplative. For this was no regular "run on the mill" thriller. "Wedgewood Grey" was a Christian book unlike any I've ever read previously. For not only did it hold my attention and keep me on edge throughout it's duration, but it also made me question if I would have survived a battle like the one Mose faced and still held firm to my faith as he did that night.

I recommend this book to readers from young adults on up through adulthood. "Wedgewood Grey" is a book that will not only entertain, but cause the reader to stop and contemplate his/her faith and its importance in life. But best of all, this book will make the reader "think" and to me, any book that does that is a winner hands down.

For in this day and age of anger and pain any book that can make the reader pause and think is a book well worth reading!

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