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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The premise behind the book was cute. A survivor type elf competition in Santaland at the new mall, with $5k going to the winner. Cam is home from college after losing his acting scholarship and gets the job as an elf to avoid his Dad because he doesn't want to have to tell him and maybe will make some money while he is at it.
I really struggled with this book. Most of it was the relationships were not believable. Cam is super close with his Dad and missed him while he was away at college, but doesn't want to spend time with him, then gets hurt when his Dad starts leaving for work early. Jazz is his absolute best friend but he barely tells her anything, doesn't seem interested in meeting her girlfriend, and barely sees her during his trip home because he is more interested in reconnecting with a mediocre ex so he doesn't have to be alone. Finally, he's kind of a jerk to everyone and still has someone crushing on him?
Maybe this book would appeal to the intended teen audience, but as a parent Cam just made me angry. His Dad is working two jobs to put him through college and he's at the mall buying $50 t-shirts and spending $15 each day on cookies while thinking to himself that he shouldn't be spending so much. He was so self absorbed throughout the entire book that it was annoying.
I really struggled with this book. Most of it was the relationships were not believable. Cam is super close with his Dad and missed him while he was away at college, but doesn't want to spend time with him, then gets hurt when his Dad starts leaving for work early. Jazz is his absolute best friend but he barely tells her anything, doesn't seem interested in meeting her girlfriend, and barely sees her during his trip home because he is more interested in reconnecting with a mediocre ex so he doesn't have to be alone. Finally, he's kind of a jerk to everyone and still has someone crushing on him?
Maybe this book would appeal to the intended teen audience, but as a parent Cam just made me angry. His Dad is working two jobs to put him through college and he's at the mall buying $50 t-shirts and spending $15 each day on cookies while thinking to himself that he shouldn't be spending so much. He was so self absorbed throughout the entire book that it was annoying.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Just yes!!!
Whew this ended so much better than it started! Which honestly does make sense because it's applied to so many holiday books I've read with a Scrooge-type role, like a Christmas grump in a Christmas plot is just gonna be a weight in the story until they learn to get tf out of their own way. I also think it's because I get mixed energy from the whole "chasing after the wrong guy when the right guy is right there waiting for you" story that seems to plague queer YA every few months (@ The Sky Blues, @ 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers, @ Lose You to Find Me), but at least Cam was able to get out of his own way faster than the dummies in these other books lmao. I was also sad because I needed to get out of my OWN way and accept that it wasn't going to be the reality TV story I wanted it to be with alliances and villains and voting off Elf Island.
By the time I got halfway through the story, I was over all of those elements and just really engaged in the story. I wish we'd gotten more of a resolution between Cam and his dad, even the triumphant victory that was Cookie Party was thanks to someone else's meddling. And I wanted both more and less for the whole Leroy storyline lol, like I definitely felt a little gross about the whole thing, Leroy is lowkey gutter trash, but also if you're GONNA BE GUTTER TRASH, GO ALL IN, like babe how are you not embarrassed... The only thing worse than But I loved the end result of the competition, and I did really like Cam and Marco together, they worked for me.
End result is a book I did enjoy and twas the season, but I don't think I'll ever feel inspired to return to. Unless someone makes an audio recording of The Yule Log Song, Fiona was really out there about to get these children charged and booked for sex crimes glksjdf
By the time I got halfway through the story, I was over all of those elements and just really engaged in the story. I wish we'd gotten more of a resolution between Cam and his dad, even the triumphant victory that was Cookie Party was thanks to someone else's meddling. And I wanted both more and less for the whole Leroy storyline lol, like I definitely felt a little gross about the whole thing, Leroy is lowkey gutter trash, but also if you're GONNA BE GUTTER TRASH, GO ALL IN, like babe how are you not embarrassed... The only thing worse than
Spoiler
being a cheating creep cyberbully is being an INEFFECTIVE CHEATING CREEP CYBERBULLY.End result is a book I did enjoy and twas the season, but I don't think I'll ever feel inspired to return to. Unless someone makes an audio recording of The Yule Log Song, Fiona was really out there about to get these children charged and booked for sex crimes glksjdf
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this in one sitting. It was a cute little christmas story. Nothing too crazy. Not mindblowingly amazing, but a fun holiday read.
the two pages of the book explaining that him and jazz were growing apart was weird. it would be a normal thought process in a book about kids growing up but it happened after a whole week of conversation between the two that led to them rebuklding their relationship. It was weird. same with Making Leroy the guy sabotaging Cameron and then flipping immediately to say sorry? Pages 220-229 felt like a speed run of the author just trying to wrap things up. The final chapter was sweet, and showed great character growth. Some things were just cheesy (the “ugh”s and the LOL’s) but it was cute and a quick fun read. I honestly thought it was written by a woman until i was writing this review, which i think is a good sign, because it didnt feel gross at any point. The representation was well done and well researched, not just a footnote.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes