The cover of 25 Days 'Til Christmas (#869) asks the question "Will This Christmas Be Her Best Ever?" beneath a clever illustration based on an Advent Calendar. I was expecting "a heartwarming, feel-good holiday" read. I was badly mistaken. This was a real Debbie Downer of a Christmas book. Author Poppy Alexander hit almost every negative cliché in this depressing tale of an British Afghan War Widow with an autistic child, miserable, degrading minimum wage job, unable to make ends meet while fending off a lecherous boss eager to find an excuse to fire her. Oh, and did I mention the grand-mother-in-law whose nursing home is about to give her the boot?
Yes, Kate does meet a lovely man, but she willfully refuses to give up her sacrifice of personal happiness in memory of her lost husband. Yes, there is ultimately a happy ending, but it comes too little, too late. By the time she calls the Crisisline where Daniel is working the Christmas shift (of course, because he's so noble and suffering from his own loss), I wanted to commit suicide!
At least Dickens in his A Christmas Carol, spread the redemptive feeling around when Scrooge realized the error of his ways! Kate, not so much. She just comes off as pathetic. If you are looking for a feel-good story, this definitely isn't it. I'm ashamed I spent precious time finishing this one. Bah, humbug!
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