by Caroline Mickelson
With this novella (meaning shorter than a novel, but longer than a short story), you get exactly what you expect by looking at the cover:
A light, entertaining read, just right for the last few days before Christmas for those train rides to and from work.
Carol Kane Claus is Santa's daughter - and she's on a mission: Her father wants her to give two children a very special Christmas. The kids' mother died of cancer, and their father wants to spare them more grief by making Christmas a totally everyday thing - no ornaments, no singing, no candles, and definitely NO SANTA. Because he "knows" Santa does not exist, and thinks it wrong to tell his children otherwise, which would inevitably lead to disappointment once they found out the truth.
What happens next is of course totally foreseeable, and therefore not necessary to mention; but still, the outcome is not a merry Christmas for the small family (or for Carol). Instead, things first seem to go in the wrong direction until the u-turn happens, and in the end, all's well that ends well.
I did like Carol and the other people in the book, because even with such a short book, the author managed to portray each character so that I was able to picture them in my mind. Some of the quirky ideas about how Santa and his family manage Christmas were rather funny. Editing was good - always a welcome surprise with a free ebook.
The author was unknown to me. Her website is here if you want to know more.
It was not my last seasonal read of this year, but the last one I finished just before Christmas.
I didn't know Santa had a daughter...what an interesting story. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteAccording to Caroline Mickelson, he also has a son (Nick), and of course a wife :-)
DeleteHappy Holidays to you, too!
I have it on my kindle now and may read it later today. Thank you for the tip! And I hope you enjoy the entire Christmas holidays of twelve days.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristi! I am determined to get some welcome rest this holiday and try not to fit too much in...
DeleteToday, for instance, "doing nothing" means washing, ringing my mother-in-law in England, emailing family and friends, and maybe a walk while it is still daylight (grey skies and threatening rain, though). Oh, and I tiny bit of work such as sending my boss a few numbers and creating a backup of all the files on my work laptop.