A review by gwendolyn_kensinger
The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman

3.0

If you’re looking for a contemporary story of friendship rather than romance during the holiday season I would recommend this book. While it is a debut and lacks some depth and finesse, it still offers so many great lessons about friendship, as well as themes of found family, traditions and second chances. The structure of the story hops back and forth through the different Christmases our characters spend together rather than a linear timeline which I would have preferred. The holiday atmosphere and growing pains the characters experience are real. 

Hannah and Finn become best friends when they are stuck on campus over the holidays. Hannah’s an orphan and Finn’s family disowned him after he came out as gay, so neither has anywhere else to go—but they make things merry by dressing up in costumes from the drama department and holding a pancake feast. Christmas together becomes a tradition, and the festivities only get more elaborate when they add Hannah’s roommate, Priya, and Theo, Finn’s one time Christmas Eve hookup to the mix. This year, however, Finn drops a bombshell: he’s moving cross-country for work. Hannah is devastated but determined to make this last Christmas one to remember.