The seemingly never-ending Cabinda War (1975—) has left multitudes dead in its wake and thousands of children homeless and orphaned.

Jackaleena N’denga, a young Angolan girl, has become the sole survivor of one specifically brutal village massacre carried out by a band of guerrilla boy-soldiers.

Jackaleena’s resilience leads her to an orphanage on the west coast of Africa, known as Benguela by the Sea, where she and other children are taken in and protected. Her brilliant mind and endless questions capture the heart of her mentor, Margaret, who ensures her that her survival thus far—especially being the survivor from her village—must mean she has big things ahead of her. When the opportunity arises, she must find her purpose.

Not without a plan, Jackaleena stows away on a mercy ship that has made its yearly visit to the orphanage and is now preparing to return to America. Her journey takes her across the ocean, into the arms of New York City’s customs officials, and finally into placement in a temporary foster home in Texas.

Enter Alfie Carter—a workaholic, small-town detective who is also battling memories of his past. His life is forever changed when he meets a young African girl looking for her higher purpose.

Purchase: Skyhorse Publishing

“God knew what he was a doing when he was a balancing out the food chain and so forth.”

Alfie Carter caught me by quite a surprise. While I was expecting something along the lines of a strong character-driven story, which indeed it is… It gave me something considerably more. It became like an earthquake that gave me pause to think by looking at a different interpretation of wildlife and nature. A bit more on this later.

Alfie Carter relates two different character stories which come together seamlessly in the end. One is of a little girl in Africa, and another is of Alfie in Texas. Exquisitely written, author B.J. Mayo, took me on two independent journeys of these main characters whose lives come together at the end perfectly. If you love a wholesome, well-written story that is told with cherished details that it transports you then Alfie Carter is a must-read.

As a side note, my background as a wildlife biologist tends to give me a different perspective on many nature-related aspects. So, I am going, to be honest about this book.  I never thought by reading a fiction book that my perspective might change regarding all living creatures.

While this book is not about nature it does mention and talks about nature and God in a fresh and distinctive way. Almost like an earthquake, I started reflecting and thinking about the nature perspectives mentioned by Mayo. I have read a big part of the Bible. But I never interpreted it as God really did create the animals first not us humans. Technically, the plants were created first. What does that mean in the overall scheme of life on earth? That is indeed a philosophical question to be talked about at some point.

Here is some new wildlife takes from the book from me:

Mesquite trees have a purpose and one unique purpose for their thorns is cleaning your teeth with them. That’s a new one I will have to try.

I love the giant sentinels of Texas winter skies and hearing their voices call from overheard. Those sandhill cranes have made their north and south journeys for decades upon decades from Siberia to Texas and they will continue to do so as long as earth and they are still here. The latter is something I never considered before.

How did God know to create coyotes? I mean I know they are essential for an ecosystem. Matter of fact I love coyotes. There is a definite love-hate relationship with them but if you look at this from the point of view of a higher power – how did God know that coyotes were needed to help control all the other lower mammals He created?

This book makes me think of these relational things like I have never thought about them before.

I thoroughly relished this earthquake of a book Alfie Carter. The engaging character stories mixed with a bit of God and nature made this a winning book because mainly it continues to make me think and reflect. Thank you, Mr. Mayo!

BJ Mayo was born in an oil field town in Texas. He spent the first few years of his life living in a company field camp twenty-five miles from the closest town. His career in the energy industry took him to various points in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Louisiana, Bangladesh, Australia, and Angola West Africa. He and his wife were high school sweethearts and have been married for forty-six years with two grown children. They live on a working farm near San Angelo, Texas.

Visit BJ Mayo at his website: https://bjmayo.com/

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