Book Review: The Christmas Village by Melissa Ann Goodwin #TCVllg

The Christmas Village by Melissa Ann Goodwin

Publisher: Createspace

Publish Date: October 6, 2011

Paperback, 198 pages 
Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade
 ISBN: 978-1463646257

My Review:
Wow, what an amazing book.  Melissa Ann Goodwin crafts a magical story from a boy dealing with a rough situation and puts him into a magical Christmas village to learn lessons that will stick with him and others for a lifetime.  It's just magical and such a wonderful story to epitomize the true spirit of Christmas.

Within ten pages I was sucked right into the story of Jamie and his Mom, Lisa and wondering what had gone so wrong in their life that it had turned around.  As they head to Jamie's grandparents for Christmas, Jamie feels like he is getting away from it all and things will be better but then a chance encounter with gossips at the grocery store in town shows him otherwise.  But then one night he hears the story of his Grandmother's Christmas village and wakes up to save a girl's life in that Christmas village.  From there it moves on through the story and you will fall in love like I did with Jamie and the people in the Christmas village.  The story is woven so well and I loved it.

It captivated me and I think it will captivate the middle grade children that it was written for as well.  I think there is a lot for them to relate to in the book, plus action and some adventure.  And then to make us parents happy, a good lesson as well.  Ms. Goodwin has a definite gift with writing a story and it shines in this book with the plot and the characters.  Even when Jamie is at his most difficult, I still liked him.  I understood his actions, he didn't seem selfish and a handful, he seemed to be acting in accordance with what was going on so it made sense in the story.  All the characters are magical except for the bad guys who are bad, but the rest are wonderful and are special.  I think a lot of them will stick with me for awhile.

Whether you are middle grade or middle age, give The Christmas Village a try, it is one of those perfect feel good Christmas stories that is just perfect for this time of year.   I am so glad I participated in this tour and read this book.  It is a definite bright star in my reading week.


My Rating: 5/0/5.0


About the Book:

It’s the holiday season and Jamie feels anything but jolly. His dad has left and everyone in town is acting funny; people whisper, his friends can’t come out to play. So Jamie and his mom decide to spend Christmas with the grandparents in Vermont.

Time and again he is drawn to Grandma's miniature Christmas Village, where he imagines that life is perfect. Late one night, the village comes to life before his eyes, and his fantasy of escaping into it becomes very real indeed. But is the little village as perfect as it seems?

The Christmas Village is a timeless adventure the whole family will love, filled with suspense, secrets and surprises to the very last page.

About the Author: 

A native New Englander, Melissa Ann Goodwin now lives in Santa Fe with her husband, artist J Richard Secor. Melissa’s many writing credits include Fun for Kidz, Boys’ Quest and Hopscotch for Girls. She was a regular feature article contributor to the Caregiver's Home Companion for more than five years. Her work has appeared in Guideposts’ Angels on Earth, Caregivers’ Home Companion, Caring Today, The Lutheran Digest, The Peak Magazine, The Andover Townsman, and the Martha’s Vineyard Gazette. Her poetry took 10th prize in The Writer’s Digest 2010 annual competition. In addition to writing Melissa is a certified restorative yoga teacher. The Christmas Village is her first novel.

Author Website
Book Website/Blog
Twitter
Facebook

Buy from B&N.com (paperback):


Buy from B&N.com (ebook):


Available at Amazon. Soon to be released for Kindle.
http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Village-Melissa-Ann-Goodwin/dp/1463646259/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317935533&sr=8-1

FTC Information: I received this book through WOW tours for an honest review. 

Note:  I make a small commission on anything bought through links to B&N.com and The Book Depository, so if you click through those and purchase, thank you very much.  Any money made will be used toward shipping of giveaways and funding future giveaways on the blog, not for my personal gain.  Due to NC laws I do not make money off of links to Amazon.com.