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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I really wanted to love this, but I just didn’t. I thought that it was a solid enough premise, but I found the execution to be a bit lacklustre.
• Amelia was a brilliant protagonist. My favourite part of the story. We see her throughout the years as she’s so hopeful and then losing that hope the more time passes in the workhouse. Loved seeing her journey.
• I somewhat enjoyed Elfhelm, it was a pretty cute place. Also enjoyed learning about the trolls.
• My main issue was the pacing of the story. I felt like it just dragged so much at times and I know that as a child I would have been bored. A lot of the story was standing around talking and my younger self much preferred fast paced action packed stories.
• I think the premise and theme is a good one. It’s about hope and magic and believing in things you don’t know are there. It’s a nice enough message but I’ve just seen it executed in better ways.
All in all, if you’re looking for a fun lighthearted holiday read, you’ll probably enjoy this for the most part.
• Amelia was a brilliant protagonist. My favourite part of the story. We see her throughout the years as she’s so hopeful and then losing that hope the more time passes in the workhouse. Loved seeing her journey.
• I somewhat enjoyed Elfhelm, it was a pretty cute place. Also enjoyed learning about the trolls.
• My main issue was the pacing of the story. I felt like it just dragged so much at times and I know that as a child I would have been bored. A lot of the story was standing around talking and my younger self much preferred fast paced action packed stories.
• I think the premise and theme is a good one. It’s about hope and magic and believing in things you don’t know are there. It’s a nice enough message but I’ve just seen it executed in better ways.
All in all, if you’re looking for a fun lighthearted holiday read, you’ll probably enjoy this for the most part.
The Girl Who Saved Christmas is another heart warming read, perfect for the season. We follow Amelia, a poor girl living in Victorian London. Her mother is dying and she is writing a letter to Father Christmas, wishing for him to save her mother. However, it seems that magic is disappearing in the land of elves when Father Christmas is getting ready for another Christmas. In the beginning of the book, we follow two story lines, Amelia and Father Christmas, but their story lines come together pretty quickly. I found the beginning a bit weak and it got little bit time to start enjoying the book. However, I really love the Victorian setting and how Haig includes real life people like Charles Dickens and Queen Victoria in his story. Of course, the setting doesn't feel entirely Victorian but I thought it is well enough for middle grade. All in all, I enjoyed it in the end as much as The Boy Called Christmas. The audiobook is brilliantly narrated by Carey Mulligan and I think her narration added up so much to the story.
These books are incredible wholesome and I love Amelia so, so much!
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
The was a fun follow-up to A Boy Called Christmas. I actually hope that he writes more of these - there are plenty of interesting characters that could support their own stories.
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book started out so bleak and depressing for the first 100 pages and was never able to recover from that. It just had no or very little Christmas joy in it. I hope the third book in the series isn’t as dark as this one.
A nice little Christmas tale. Not quite as magic as 'A Boy...' but still delightful.
I loved this story!
This story was a lot more complex than the first story, since all of the characters were introduced before. There were three separate plots in this story. First there was Amelia, who was sent to a workhouse and no longer believes in magic. Then there was Father Christmas who helps fix the Elfhelm after it was destroyed in a troll attack. Finally, Noosh and Little Mim went to investigate the trolls.
Amelia’s story reminded me of Charles Dickens stories. She was sent to a workhouse when her mother died to work for an evil old man named Mr. Creeper. He was like Scrooge from A Christmas Story. My thoughts were confirmed when Amelia met Charles Dickens! That was a great cameo appearance that I was so excited to see.
Since this story was more complex, I recommend reading The Boy Named Christmas first, though you don’t have to. Either way, this is another great Christmas story!
This story was a lot more complex than the first story, since all of the characters were introduced before. There were three separate plots in this story. First there was Amelia, who was sent to a workhouse and no longer believes in magic. Then there was Father Christmas who helps fix the Elfhelm after it was destroyed in a troll attack. Finally, Noosh and Little Mim went to investigate the trolls.
Amelia’s story reminded me of Charles Dickens stories. She was sent to a workhouse when her mother died to work for an evil old man named Mr. Creeper. He was like Scrooge from A Christmas Story. My thoughts were confirmed when Amelia met Charles Dickens! That was a great cameo appearance that I was so excited to see.
Since this story was more complex, I recommend reading The Boy Named Christmas first, though you don’t have to. Either way, this is another great Christmas story!
