Luke Bowen grew up in a small country town and left as quick as he could. Rising to the top of fame and fortune, he was the town’s one claim to fame. Only in time, Luke’s popularity and choice of lifestyle caused him to drift away from his family and friends. He never thought he would go back to his small town since his world traveling was more important. When a moment he could not ignore presentsitself, Luke heads home expecting a warm welcoming committee. This he does not receive. As his visit progresses, Luke is left wondering if all his fame, fortune, and rich friends are really what he wanted, or if he has everything he needed at home and never noticed. Will Luke decide if his rich lifestyle or his family is more important?

A Hometown Boy is a short story about going home to find that things look a lot different when you have grown up and time has slipped by. Luke’s emotions will go from one extreme to another throughout this story. Anne Whitfield does a good job at creating strong, emotional imagery along side believable characters. With the additional family members, a flame from the past, and a new friend, this reader was amazed at the differences between each character and the emotions they inspired in Luke. With some decisions left in the balance upon the completion of A Hometown Boy, I was impressed with the journey that Luke managed to take in such a short number of pages. 4 Angels!


Reviewed by: Shayley