A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Published: 2017
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Recommended Age: 8+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Family, Adventure, Christmas, Magic
BLURB:
You are about to read the true story of Father Christmas. It is a story that proves that nothing is impossible. If you are one of those people who believe that some things are impossible, you should put this book down right away. It is most certainly not for you. Because this book is FULL of impossible things.
One would say that it is not the right month to read this book.
I say every month is the right month to read any book, especially this under-the-radar treasure that makes for a perfect (if somewhat long) bedtime story.
Before he was Father Christmas, Nikolas was just a little boy whose mother died and whose father left on a quest to find proof elves exist, leaving him with his atrocious aunt that treats him like garbage.
But Nikolas, the courageous boy that he is, will not stand still and wait for his father to come back home, especially since it’s been months and it doesn’t seem like that will happen any time soon.
Every middle grade story should be as well-crafted as this one. Not only did this author create a character to whom any human being can relate and who is worthy of anyone’s time, but he developed some important themes.
It’s not only entertaining, it teaches you different lessons, one of them being that ‘‘we must never let fear be our guide,’’ or it will keep us from accomplishing all that we are capable of.
I was actually surprised by how dark it got at times. There is talk of death at various moments, and some characters are quite creepy—and here I am referring mostly to you strange, blood-thirsty pixie that creeped me out quite a bit.
The parts with the troll and the pixie weren’t memorable. Nikolas already has a large amount of elves wanting his head, so why add these two creatures? But they do offer help in their own way, so they’re not all bad, just rather silly and hard to take seriously, even if they genuinely were eager to kill Nikolas.
Don’t wait until December 2018 to give this one a chance! You’ll see, it is quite surprising.
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