I just finished reading The Christmas Village, by Melissa Ann Goodwin. And I really loved it! The story is about a 12-year-old boy, who winds up back in time (and miniaturized) in a pretend Christmas village that comes to life. Sounds kind of wild, right? I have to be honest; I went into the reading with a good dose of skepticism. I thought it might be one of those too sugary stories that tries too hard to be a classic holiday tale. You know the type. I also knew the time travel could be difficult to pull off.
But here are a few reasons why the story works: It's fast-paced. The unbelievable events are presented in a way that makes them believable to the reader nonetheless. The characters have, well, not a lot of depth, but enough to make you care about them. And perhaps most importantly, the story doesn't sell out in the end. I'm going to give something away here, so stop reading if you don't want to know...
I loved that it didn't turn out to be a dream in the end! I also loved the way the whole thing wrapped up. Because the book could have ended without the denouement, but I would have missed it if it did.
So thank you, Ms. Goodwin, for a heart-warming Christmas tale - and I mean that in the best possible, not too sugary way!
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