Welcome! I hope everyone has had a happy Wednesday. We are halfway through another week. This year is quickly marching towards the end. My daughter was trying to take a picture last night for me and Doozy kept getting into the frame. Doozy, as many of you know, is my half St. Bernard and half English Pointer dog. He will be three years old next month. He is such a ham! He just loves getting his picture taken (almost as much as he likes peanut butter cookies)!
The Christmas Town by Donna VanLiere is a novel that will linger with you long after you finish reading
it. The novel starts in November of
2010. Lauren Gabriel (20) gets off work
from Gordon’s Grocery in Whitall where she is a check-out clerk. She does not wish to go home and deal with
her roommate. Lauren decides to take a
drive and ends up about an hour away in Grandon. She stops at Clauson’s to get something to
eat when she realizes she has not had anything to eat in a while. Lauren heads for the check-out and notices
that one line is significantly longer than the other. The manager is trying to encourage people to
move to the short line, but they want to wait for their slip from Ben. Lauren was going to get into the short line
until she heard the comment. She decides
to wait and see what the other are talking about. The check-out boy bags her groceries and then
puts a slip of paper into her bag.
Lauren exits the store and reads her message. It states it is a great day because Lauren is
a part of it. Lauren was
astonished. No one had ever told her
such a thing in her whole life. Lauren
goes back into the store to talk to the young man. His name is Ben. Ben gives each customer a different message
based on the person. Ben felt the
message he gave Lauren was for her. Lauren
had a rough childhood. Her father,
Victor left when she was four years old.
Lauren’s mother was arrested when Lauren was eight. Lauren ended up in foster care bouncing from
home to home until she was eighteen.
After receiving Ben’s message, Lauren decides to advertise on Craigslist
for a family for Christmas. Lauren soon
ends up back in Grandon. After
witnessing a car accident, Lauren meets Stacy Engler. Lauren ends up volunteering at Glory’s Place,
a center for single mothers and families who are having a hard time (a place of
hope and help). Read The Christmas Town
to see how Lauren gets her family for Christmas and a new take on life.
The Christmas Town was a delight
to read. I did not want this story to
end. The writing is masterful. Donna VanLiere does a wonderful job at
weaving the people and events together into one heartwarming novel. It is very clever how everything fit together
like a jigsaw puzzle. The Christmas Town
has engaging characters. It also has a
small town where people help each other out (they care for each other). I give The Christmas Town 5 out of 5 stars. One line in the novel is very special (and my
favorite). It read “miracles occur in
the most unlikely of places and in the most unusual ways.” This
is one of the novels that you will continue to think about long after you
finish it (you will also be left with a smile on her face)! This is by far my favorite novel by Donna VanLiere. The Christmas Town is a part of the Christmas Hope series which includes The Christmas Shoes, The Christmas Blessing, The Christmas Hope, The Christmas Promise, The Christmas Secret, The Christmas Journey, The Christmas Note, and The Christmas Light.
Thank you for visiting. I really do appreciate it. If you like my reviews, please consider joining (at right) my blog. I am off to cook dinner and then relax for the evening. I will be back tomorrow to review Behind Chocolate Bars by Kathy Aarons. Have a lovely evening, take care, and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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