Jazz has one sister, Sam who is younger and still lives at home. Jazz, and his job at Wal-Mart, is his family's only hope to pay the bills and put food on the table. If things were not bad enough, Jazz, now eighteen, has been falsely accused of a crime, and may not be allowed to graduate from high school.
Through all this turmoil, Jazz still feels blessed. He is grateful for his job as a Wal-Mart cart-pusher, thanks to his role model and advocate Miss Mary, the store "Greeter." Everyone starts somewhere and The Store is a shining hope for Jazz, who had no opportunities until it came to town.
Jazz loves and admires Miss Mary. She is a pillar of Evanston , Georgia , helping out with local fund raisers and watching over the people of this small southern town, who shop and work at their local Wal-Mart. Real southern traditions, sayings, food, music and mystery are woven into this uplifting novel. You can almost smell the pleasant aroma from the kitchen and hear Bluegrass music playing on the radio.
People coming in and out of their Wal-Mart bring constant news and excitement from their daily lives that we can all relate to. Mr. and Mrs. Clayton, an elderly couple in the community, are daily visitors – until suddenly Mrs. Clayton stops coming in and Mr. Clayton starts acting differently. No one believes Miss Mary when she says something sinister has happened to Mrs. Clayton, except Jazz. His belief could cost him what he needs and values most – his job at Wal-Mart!
If you have ever been treated unfairly, you can understand where Jazz is coming from and how important his church, his Wal-Mart family, his job and especially Miss Mary is to him. You will enjoy The Greeter's home spun southern family humor, good morals and strong ethics. You may even cry with Miss Mary and Jazz because life never turns out quite the way we plan.
Will Jazz lose his job? What has happened to Mrs. Clayton? Will Jazz's father die? Readers can relate to The Greeter because in some way or another, we have all been treated unfairly and we all have unanswered questions in our lives. For most of us, we have hope. For Jazz and Miss Mary, their store is the life's blood of the community.
