Downtown Green: Green Series Book 5 (Green (Abingdon Press)) [Kindle Edition]

Judy Christie (Author)

Book Description

When the short bypass around Green opens with much fanfare, downtown dries up faster than
cement on the roadway. Businesses close and the hospital becomes a clinic. Mayor Eva must decide
whether to sell her historic store or close it. The Holey Moley Antique Mall seems less like a
dream and more like a nightmare. While the road is progress to some, it seems to be leading
Green toward a national trend--a town that is merely a shadow of itself.  
<br
/> With the town going backwards, Lois is both intrigued and jealous when a fellow business
owner come up with a strategy to save Green. <span
style="language: en-us;">But can his plan rescue the town from the path it’s
on? 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Judy Christie, after working as a journalist for twenty-five years, left the daily news business to open a consulting firm that works with individuals, businesses, and churches on strategies for meaningful life and work, including goal-setting, living fully, and balancing personal and professional lives. She is the author of Gone to Green, Goodness Gracious Green, and The Glory of the Green, all part of the six-part Green fiction series, Hurry Less, Worry Less; Hurry Less, Worry Less at Christmas; Hurry Less, Worry Less for Moms; and co-author of Awesome Altars. Judy and her husband live in northwest Louisiana. You can learn more about her at: www.judychristie.com.

Product Details

• File Size: 733 KB
• Print Length: 258 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1426708998
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (April 1, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007EFFC8E
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #155,150 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Definitely missed it was Book 5, ha May 10, 2012

By RivkaBelle

Format:Paperback

Review originally published on my blog: [...]
Book provided by publisher for review.

Note: Downtown Green is the fifth book in a series about Green, Louisiana. I somehow managed to miss this detail until I started reading, but thankfully it can be read as a stand-alone.

As Downtown Green opens, the town is just preparing to celebrate the opening of a new bypass loop - one with more opponents than advocates. With a quicker way to get around town, downtown traffic drops off dramatically, with a direct impact on local business. Finding a way to restore downtown Green, Louisiana becomes Lois Craig's new mission (as if running a newspaper and adjusting to being a new mom weren't enough work). Along the way, she finds surprising allies and hits heads with old enemies - and unexpected tragedy - but never wavers. Green has gotten into her blood, and Lois is like a mama bear defending her cubs (or in this case, her town). This premise alone is an interesting read, and Christie does a wonderful job of fleshing out the characters - which results in even more layers to the story, as each player in the cast of characters goes through their own set of misadventures, linking everyone in ways that only happens in small, Southern towns.

What I really, really loved about Downtown Green was the realistic feel. Green, LA could have been any number of small towns in the Deep South - it reminded me of several I have experienced. Everyone knows everybody else's business, and actually cares. The town is more than just a group of people and shops, it's the heartbeat of the community, and as people rally around the common cause, they rediscover existing bonds and forge new ones - both with their town and with each other. Meeting these characters, peeking into their lives, made me want to take a stroll through Downtown and stop to chat with whoever I happened to meet. Well, with almost anyone, some of them I could happily avoid, but you'll have to read about them yourself. These are real characters, flawed but good. They're truly wanting to do what's right for their community and fellow man. There is an element of "God talk" to Downtown Green, but it's gentle and has the same sense of authenticity as the characters and town. This is the Deep South, after all. All in all, an easy read that I think a lot of people can relate to - even if they're not from the South.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome back to community April 10, 2012

By R. Sperling VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

You could probably read this book as a stand alone, but I believe that you will enjoy it more if you read it after enjoying the other books in the "Green" series (Gone to Green, Goodness Gracious Green, The Glory of Green and Rally Round Green). If you have already gotten a taste of Green and her unique cast of characters then prepare to come back to your favorite small town full of all the antics and turmoil that captured your heart in the previous novels.

Join Lois and Chris, Katy and Molly, Eva and Dub, Tammy and Walt, Kevin and Terrance and the whole gang for a new set of challenges and joys.

In this fifth installment in the Green saga welcome back to community. Community that rally's around each other and hopes for the future. Community that is more about roots and relationships than it is about ease and convenience. Community that knows that God is at work even when life appears to be pure chaos. Community that knows loss and change and isn't destroyed by it. Community - it's what keeps drawing me back to Green time and time again.

I received a free digital copy of this book for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars delightful March 2, 2012

By Kristen Lowery

Format:Paperback

This book as with all in the series, keeps the reader hoping. It is fast paced but thoroughly entertaining.

Downtown Green, book 5 in the Green Series, begins with the opening of the highway bypass. It's not long until the convenience of a quicker commute lures even Lois away from the local roads--as a new mom she needs every extra moment she can get.

When the highway claims it's first victim, someone who Lois has strong ties to, she is devastated. When businesses close and the hospital becomes a clinic, Lois knows that, barring a miracle, Green is soon going to dry up like so many small towns.

Lois is insulted when the Midwest newspaper she used to work for sends someone to buy her out, but with the way things are going is it time for her and Chris to move on? When someone comes up with a wild suggestion to save the town, Lois and Chris must decide if they are willing to put everything on the line for the sake of the town. Can the hope of the town really lie in an abandoned milkshake shoppe?

The Green Series by Judy Christie follows the story of Lois,owner of the Green newspaper, but is filled with plenty of other well developed characters who each have their own plot-lines.

I received this book from the publisher to review. All opinions are my own.

More About the Author

Author Judy Christie writes fiction with a Louisiana flavor.

From her 5-part Green Series, about a big-city journalist in the Louisiana town of Green, to "Wreath," about a 16-year-old who lives in a junkyard by night and goes to high school by day, Christie takes you to Louisiana with a cast of characters you can root for. She's partial to small Southern towns with big-hearted people.

When she's not making up stories, Christie helps busy people slow down and enjoy life more. She is the writer of the popular "Hurry Less Worry Less" nonfiction series and leads retreats around the country.

She loves to visit on her green kitchen couch and enjoys hearing from readers on her blog at www.judychristie.com and on Facebook and Twitter. She offers tips on how to hurry less and worry less in her podcast on iTunes. For more info, see www.judychristie.com.