Sophia, an
elementary school music teacher and director of the children’s
choir at St Margaret’s Catholic Church, isn’t feeling much like
Christmas. She’s just gotten the word that her teaching position
will be eliminated at the end of the school year. Lucas, accompanist
for the choir, is in love with Sophia, but afraid to tell her and be
rejected.
Alex, a boy who
sings in the children’s choir, isn’t feeling much like Christmas,
either. His father, a member of the National Guard, has been deployed
to Afghanistan. Alex hasn’t heard from his father in a while, and
he misses him. It won’t feel like Christmas without his father.
Each story is told
in a chapter from the point of view of the affected person. All fit
together because of their interactions in St. Margaret’s. When the
novel opens, the choir is rehearsing “Christmas Bells” a poem by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose house is located not far from the
church.
Longfellow was also
experiencing tragedy when he wrote the beautiful poem. His story and
that of his family are told in interleaving fashion with the modern
stories. The novel illustrates the wonder of Christmas where hearing
the bells and feeling the spirit of the holiday can ease suffering.
This is a lovely
book. The Christmas theme shows the beauty of the holiday where
suffering people can begin to see the light of hope. I thoroughly
enjoyed the book and recommend it as a treat for the holiday.
I received this book
from Dutton for this review.
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