Snow Day by Billy Coffey - REVIEWED

From the book jacket:

Awakened by radio broadcasts urging the residents of a small Virginia town to take a snow day rather than travel to school and work, Peter Boyd finds himself with both an unexpected day off and an opportunity to find big truths in small moments and surprise encounters.

Peter believes he has a good life, with a decent job and a family he loves. But he’s quietly worried he’ll be cut when downsizing takes effect at the factory, his family will lose the home they love, and his faith will crumble along with his bank account.

Through the course of one day, Peter finds himself revisiting his past through old friends, finding out there is a Santa Claus—though he drives a truck instead of a sleigh—and rediscovering that whatever comes in life, hope is the only choice that makes sense.

In lyrical writing, debut novelist Billy Coffey offers a heartwarming and beautifully crafted book about the faithful way God speaks even when we won’t listen. Like Peter, you’ll reaffirm that faith is worth having and your worst fears are no match for an astounding, loving God.

My Thoughts:

“I asked God to help me believe that if I lost what means much, it would be so I could find what means more.” (p. 14)

I think the author of Snow Day, Billy Coffey, has had moments in which he anticipated and even experienced loss. Yet in losing something, he found a truth and purpose far more meaningful than the loss he experienced. The debut author, has given me a gift – he has written a story that contains the very message my heart needed to hear at this moment. Like the lighted church sign that he speaks of in his personal testimony, Snow Day has reminded me that God is with me in every single circumstance. And with every circumstance, positive or negative, I can choose to trust my Savior to work thing out just as He planned, to allow me to be a light for Him.

Peter Boyd, the main character in Snow Day, finds himself with an unexpected gift of time and some surprising opportunities to rediscover God’s presence in his life. Each chapter of the book thoughtfully records the experiences of this ordinary – albeit extraordinary – day. By the end of the tale, you will have experienced some heart-searching moments of your own and probably realized some new things about your own relationship with God.

The beauty of this book is found in the way Billy Coffey invites you into his heart and onto his front porch to share a tale or two. That’s exactly what this book made me feel – as though I’d just shared a few very pleasant hours with a good friend, talking about and exploring life and experiencing the love of God in a very personal way. Your heart with be so much richer for the reading!

This is a book that now sports many neon sticky notes – each marking a passage I fully intend to revisit. Think about. Enjoy. This, my friend, is a very special book indeed! May we all be blessed with a Snow Day of our own!

About the Author:

Billy Coffey was raised on stories. The first ones came on the front porches of relatives, tales laced with local charm and deep meaning. Then came the stories from people like Max Lucado and Robert Fulghum, who write with a charm and deep meaning of their own. He lives with his wife and two children in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. If you drive by his house, you’ll probably spot him on the front porch. If you do, give him a wave. He’ll wave back.