Customer Reviews

With a Name like Love

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"With a Name Like Love" is a mystery about a girl named Ollie. Ollie and her family live in a travel trailer. Her father, Reverend Love, is a traveling preacher. One day the family travels to Binder, Arkansas where they meet Jimmy who's mother is in jail for apparently killing her husband. The Love family decides to stay in Binder and set things straight.

My favorite part of the book is the end because they solve the mystery.

I loved this book and I think that other kids ages 9 through 12 will like it too.

Review by Young Mensan Grace, age 10

Excellent read. I got into the story very quickly and it kept my attention all the way through. The story had me laughing during some parts and teary eyed in others. I recommend this book to kids and adults!

Thirteen-year-old Olivene Love is the oldest daughter of the Reverend Everlasting Love. For as long as she can remember, her family has traveled through the South, staying in small towns for just three days to hold tent revival meetings. At their current stop, Ollie soon discovers that this small town is a bit different than others she's been in. There is hatred and anger and cruelty, and Ollie can't figure out how she can solve the biggest problem she's ever seen. Can she talk her father into staying a little longer to figure it out?

Told with kindness and good humor, this story for middle-graders has the gentle tone of Because of Wynn-Dixie, but has much more plot and excitement. Although the main characters are in a preacher's family, this is not a book about religion. It is more about helping those who can't help themselves, and caring when others don't care. Danger, prayers and loneliness are all here in this sweet and exciting story.

Ollie Love will grab hold of your heart from the very first page. Tess does such a wonderful job of bringing to life the Love family and all the colorful residents of Binder, Arkansas that you will really feel like you have stepped back in time and are spending a summer in the sweltering town. A mystery and Ollie's crusade to spring an innocent woman from jail make this book a page turner that's suitable for younger readers but enjoyable for readers of all ages.

Tess Hilmo's book, With a Name Like Love, was such a delightful read. I don't know which one of my kids snatched the book the second I was done, but I haven't seen it since. This means the book has been claimed by one of them - and that only happens to books they would read again and again. High praise, indeed!

I am not sure what to say about this book other than I loved, loved, loved it. I normally shy away from books that have religion in them (the Love family is headed by a reverend and they travel around the south to preach in small, poor towns) but this is not a book about religion, this is a book about goodness and overcoming the bad stuff that happens, and embracing people who have become bitter and full of hate, to try to help them, instead of turning away. There are many bad things that happen in this book, but the characters are so good and lovable that no matter what happened to them, I was filled with a strange sense of joy as I read about their troubles and how they handled them with grace, positivity and the determination to make things better. It sounds cliche, but I loved the whole Love family, particularly Ollie and her daddy, the Reverend Everlasting Love, and thought this story was beautifully drawn from beginning to end. What a wonderful read for kids and grown-ups alike.

I'm happily surprised! This book has a "House on the Prairie" approach but then zings you with an unexpected murder mystery, all the while keeping the context clean and family friendly. A little humor from time to time spins this tale and provokes the reader to read on. A delightful read! My 12 year old daughter is now enjoying it. Thanks Tess!

This is a great little book. It manages to be sweet without being too syrupy. The characters and setting were thoughtfully and carefully rendered. Well worth a read!

This book was wonderfully engaging and kept my interest that I couldn't put it down. The characters were well defined and I was swallowed up in the people as though they were mine. I spent days digesting it after I read it and look forward to rereading it. It was a warm and tender story--one I will ponder.

I loved this book. After a few pages I couldn't put it down and read it through the night. The characters became real to me and I thought about them long after the book was done. Loved the southern feel and the love of this family. Such a beautiful story!