Helpful Score: 6
I loved this book! I want to start my own Christmas Jar now! It's amazing to think that if everybody who reads this book starts a Christmas Jar and keeps it up every year, how wonderful this world we live in would become! This reminded me of the movie "Pay It Forward." Everybody should read this!
Helpful Score: 5
This is by far one of my favorite books of the year! Like others before me mentioned, it is more about the spirit of giving and less about Christmas! My husband & I are going to start it with our children with a little bit of twist. We're going to have them research the organization that they would like to give the "Christmas Jar" to each year. I'm also planning on giving this book, along with a jar, to my closest friends for Christmas next year! To keep it going!!
Helpful Score: 3
I read this book in one day. It is one of the best written books I ever read. It has very little to do with Christmas and so much to do with giving. I love this author.
Helpful Score: 2
To start with this is a heart-warming tear-jerker....get the tissues ready! The story that unfolds is a beautiful one. It is a story of heart felt joy, love, grief and giving. The "family" spirit is strong throughout the book. The spirit of giving is enormous...not just monetary but giving of self, true generosity from the heart. One of the best I have read in a long while. It will make you want to start a traditional "Christmas Jar" of your own.
Helpful Score: 2
A wonderful book of giving. It reminds all of us what the true meaning of Christmas is.
Helpful Score: 1
This was such a sweet book. It really made me stop and think which was just what I needed at Christmas time. I've actually started my own Christmas Jar for next year!
Helpful Score: 1
Great book!Challenged my daughter to bless others last year. This year we are reading it as a family.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a fantastic book of agape love. It is amazing how many lives are touched by the beginning of one little gift. Such hope and faith are spread in directions one would never think. GREAT BOOK!!
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent concept and heartwarming story. Definitely worth the time to read and consider starting your own tradition.
Helpful Score: 1
This book gave me the warm fuzzies. :) What a sweet Christmas story, and tradition.
Helpful Score: 1
Sappy, yeah. But it's an uplifting Christmas book. It's not a religious book, just a feel good story (think Pay It Forward vein). This was a very fast read and made me want to go out and do a good deed for someone. I think we sometimes get so wrapped up in ourselves that we forgot even the smallest of kindnesses.
It was a good book to read this time of the year. Had I read it in February or something, I might have said it was too sappy and had some "flow" issues, but ya know what? It doesn't matter. It was a very sweet storyline. This would also make a great gift!
It was a good book to read this time of the year. Had I read it in February or something, I might have said it was too sappy and had some "flow" issues, but ya know what? It doesn't matter. It was a very sweet storyline. This would also make a great gift!
Really nice read. It is about giving, forgiving and being aware of others around you. I laughed and cried!
I really enjoyed this book. It is very poignant. Be sure to have your box of tissues handy because it is a very touching story.
Fine for a Christmas book, but not a great story,
I absolutely loved this book!!!...it's a very quick read. I read it in a few hours and had a good cry. While reading, it fills you with a sense to want to make a difference, just like the characters in the book. Well written...writes like Nicholas Sparks, will definitely tell friends about this author.
EVERYONE should read this book. Heartwarming, loving, wonderful. Don't miss it!
Wonderful book. I read it and have given a Christmas Jar each of the last three Christmas'. It not only helps others in a small way at the holidays, it also helps me be a better person and think of others before I think of myself. I highly recommend reading this book and saving your change in a jar and giving it away on Christmas.
In a plot reminiscent of Penelope Stokes's The Blue Bottle Club and Angela Hunt's The Note, a journalist happens upon a human interest story that winds up teaching her lessons about love and forgiveness and renewing her own faith in human kindness. On Christmas Eve, twenty-something Hope Jensen is quietly grieving the recent loss of her adoptive mother when her apartment is robbed. The one bright spot in the midst of Hope's despair is a small jar full of money someone has anonymously left on her doorstep. Eager to learn the source of this unexpected generosity, Hope uses her newswoman instincts to find other recipients of "Christmas jars," digging until her search leads her to the family who first began the tradition of saving a year's worth of spare change to give to someone in need at the holiday. Wright commits some rookie mistakes in style and pacing; the novel veers heavily toward melodrama at some junctures, and he tends to show us and tell us about his characters. Still, the heart of this novella is its transformative message about the power of giving, a compelling theme that calls to mind books like Pay It Forward and The Kingdom Assignment.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW
Heart warming story. A short and sweet read.
This is one of those types of books that I would definitely recommend to read around the holidays. The story of course is predictable but its the kind of story that makes a person feel good after they have read it. Plus, what a concept to give for giving's sake. A great read!
Gift Copy! Hope Jensen is a young, single woman and an aspiring newspaper writer, and when she receives a much-needed but anonymous Christmas gift, she's determined to find her benefactor. That search leads her to an unusual family with a longstanding Christmas tradition. Sensing a front-page feature article, Hope desperately wants to publish their story, but doing so would be a breach of trust. What she decides to do will change her life forever.
I really enjoyed reading this book.
It was a great book, just in time for Christmas! I Loved It!
I love this story, Jason has done another super book that brings the reader to the setting and keeps the reader turning pages... I love the joy the Christmas Jar brings to each recipient and have started my own Christmas Jar.. what a delightful and great idea.. I am excited to read the next book Christmas Jar Reunion, pick up a copy and settle down for a super read...
This is a wonderful short story. I started this year giving a Christmas Jar and give a copy of the book with it. We can all do a Christmas Jar if we try.
A thoughtful and inspiring read for the Holidays.
I received and read this book in 1 day. What a great book not for just the holiday season, but for anytime. You can't go wrong reading a Jason Wright book. Can't wait to read the sequel!
What an amazing book..
Hope Jensen receives an anonymous gift . The search for the sender leads her to a new faith in people and in the Christmas spirit.
Good, inspirational story at Christma - or any other time!
Good, inspirational story at Christma - or any other time!
Excellant and quick read. If you like Christmas series stories, this is a must read.
Christmas Jars is a lovely feel good story with a wonderful idea behind it that created a movement http://christmasjars.com/ to start jars to save to give to others. Pay it forward. Christmas jars is not just for Christmas. This was also made into a movie. Read it, share it, enjoy it!
When Hope Jensen, a newspaper writer receives an anonymous Christmas gift she is determined to find her benefactor. Her search found an unusual family with a long standing tradition. Hope wants to publish their story but can't breach their trust. What she decides to do will change her life forever.
This is a very nice christmas story that really sets a seasonal mood.
Hope Jensen was abandoned as an infant on Christmas Eve. She was raised by a loving, doting single woman, and she grew to become a driven newspaper editor and reporter. One day, she recieves a mysterious jar filled with coins and cash. She seeks to uncover this mystery in journalistic fashion, but she learns more than she ever hoped to learn.
Great story of hope -- not just for Christmas time!
Great story of hope -- not just for Christmas time!
Sweet, inspiring, uplifting fiction.
It took me about two hours to read this afternoon - once I picked it up I did not want to put it down.
Really good reminder that giving should be a blessing on both ends, and sacrificial giving can be rewarding.
It took me about two hours to read this afternoon - once I picked it up I did not want to put it down.
Really good reminder that giving should be a blessing on both ends, and sacrificial giving can be rewarding.
Keep some tissues on hand for this holiday story that is sure to be a Christmas classic! Where had it come from? Whose money was it? Was I to spend it? Save it? Pass it on to the someone more needy? Above all else, why was I chosen? Certainly there were others, countless others more needy than I...Her reporters intuition insisted that a remarkable story was on the verge of the front page. Rising newspaper reporter Hope Jensen uncovers the secret behind the "Christmas Jars" glass jars filled with coins and bills anonymously given to people in need. But Hope discovers much more than she bargained for when some unexpected news sets off a chain reaction of kindness and brings above a Christmas Eve wish come true.
This is a wonderful story and lovely copy.
This is a wonderful story and lovely copy.
