Becki reviewed on
Twelve year-old Eddie makes something of a mess of Christmas when he opens a less than desirable gift (a hand-knitted Christmas sweater) and is less than appreciative of it, and his actions lead him to serious regrets. As Beck lets us into the mind of self-tortured 12 year-old boy, I find I am transported back to my own childhood and I can relate to the disappointment Eddie feels and the actions he displays, and the trap of behaviors he finds himself in. Something tells me that Eddie is going to find out the true meaning and cost of the gift of love - and the Christmas sweater is a key to that discovery.
What was written up to this point was written when I was about a third of the way in. I don't want to give anything away about this story, but my intuition was correct. Eddie learns a lot about himself, and about love, and thankfulness in the pages of this story. Don't fail to read to the last page in this book (perhaps especially, if you're not a person of faith and are skeptical about this story). All of it is inspiring - even the end notes (perhaps more so the endnotes): A Special Message from Glenn.
As a Christian, I will say I don't care for stories that are obvious in their attempts to either proselytize unbelievers, or swaddle believers in sentiment. While, at times I thought it was going to, in the end I didn't find this book did either of these things. While there is reference to church and heaven, and even faith is mentioned, I'd think even an open-minded non-believer-in-spiritual-things would find the ultimate points made in this book to be true (telling the ultimate points, of course, would be giving away too much). Regardless of how great (or not) the overall writing is thought to be, I suspect there are some nuggets of gold to be found for any reader of this book.
What was written up to this point was written when I was about a third of the way in. I don't want to give anything away about this story, but my intuition was correct. Eddie learns a lot about himself, and about love, and thankfulness in the pages of this story. Don't fail to read to the last page in this book (perhaps especially, if you're not a person of faith and are skeptical about this story). All of it is inspiring - even the end notes (perhaps more so the endnotes): A Special Message from Glenn.
As a Christian, I will say I don't care for stories that are obvious in their attempts to either proselytize unbelievers, or swaddle believers in sentiment. While, at times I thought it was going to, in the end I didn't find this book did either of these things. While there is reference to church and heaven, and even faith is mentioned, I'd think even an open-minded non-believer-in-spiritual-things would find the ultimate points made in this book to be true (telling the ultimate points, of course, would be giving away too much). Regardless of how great (or not) the overall writing is thought to be, I suspect there are some nuggets of gold to be found for any reader of this book.
