Ever since he was 10 years old and filled with The Holy Ghost, Little Texas has been a born-again, Evangelical preacher, doing God’s holy work on Earth, bringing souls to the Lord and healing people through his mysterious touch. The trouble is, Ronald Earl, Little Texas that is, is now nearly 16 and starting to grapple with his own doubts, insecurities and bodily needs. He’s still a vessel for the Lord’s power when he’s on stage testifying and preaching, but in the off hours as the ministry that’s built around him travels from one small Southern town to the next, Ronald Earl is plagued by doubt, confusion and shame.
When he’s asked to heal a beautiful girl after a revival meeting, his doubts wash over him as his physical desire rises up and almost blocks his ability to heal for the Lord. After her parents take the girl, Lucy, away, Ronald Earl finds his thoughts fixated on her and he starts to see her everywhere the ministry goes. Who is she?Why is she following him? Is he a fraud? Is there some other life he could be leading? As his doubts increase to the point of jeopardizing the ministry, they set their sites on a Southern plantation, the site of a revival-gone-bad many years ago.
What unfolds at the plantation is more than a chance to revitalize the ministry: it becomes a whirlwind combination of ghost story, love story, chance at redemption, test of faith, and a harrowing confrontation between age-old evil and the power of love. R. A. Nelson eloquently captures both the fire and cadence of Evangalist ministers and the yearnings of loving someone who isn’t attainable. The ghosts and supernatural elements surrounding the plantation are downright chilling, as are the vestiges of slavery that drape the plantation walls like Kudzu. The plot gets a little chaotic at times, making some elements harder to grasp than others, but in the end, Days of Little Texas is an enjoyable story about the complexities of love, faith and growing up.
- Posted by Cori