Book Review – The Boys Upstairs

Last updated on: January 18, 2017 at 9:19 pm by Kate Cousino

Book Review – The Boys Upstairs 2017-01-18T21:19:52-04:00 Kate Cousino

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The Boys Upstairs, by Jane Lebak. E-book, Museit Up Publishing.

Fr. Jay is a veteran, a cripple, a pastor, a former hell-raiser turned father-figure and provider for the homeless boys he now shelters under his rectory roof. This task is complicated by a lack of resources and, at times, by the boys themselves.

His brother, Kevin, is a police officer who is both drawn in by Jay’s altruism and repelled by his priesthood and the Church and God he serves. The Boys Upstairs is as much a story about the boys these two once were and the men they have become as it is about the boys referenced in the title.

More than that, this brief novella tackles some weighty topics over its eighty-odd pages. Themes like suffering, death, faith, sin and conversion are handled in an easy conversational style that only occasionally seems over-packed. Here’s a brief excerpt to show you what I mean:

“The police and I are doing the same work.” Jay sat back on his heels, rubbing the dirt granules from his palms. “They’re cutting off the leaves, and I’m pulling out the roots. What you’re going to learn, Spider, is that evil has taproots. You can slice it apart all you want, but if that root’s intact below, the leaves will show up again. You’ve never completely weeded a garden. But it helps to be doing something, and both kinds of work are worthwhile.”

“I don’t really get you. You became a priest to fight bad guys?”

“I became a priest because I fell headfirst into something I didn’t understand but loved anyhow. Keeping up the fight is an unexpected bonus. It’s like getting back something you thought you’d lost forever.”

I really enjoyed this refreshing seasonal read. This is the perfect story to get you in the real holiday spirit – and looking around you with a renewed perspective.

You can buy the e-book The Boys Upstairs by Jane Lebak from Museit Up Publishing. For the cost of a couple lattes it is a lot more affordable than the seasonal offerings that pop up in bookstores this time of year, and better yet you can get a discount up until the 10th. From the author’s blog:

Here’s a super-secret discount code that will get you 25% off the cover price (which is $4.50 Canadian; it drops to $3.38 with the code). Put HC2010D at checkout in the discount code box before going to Paypal. (That’s good until December 10th.)

Thanks Jane for sending me a copy and letting me review your novella!

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