Another enjoyable Christmas book was just published by award winning author Melody Carlson. You'll want a copy of her new book The Christmas Dog just for the cover photo alone-it's going to capture your heart! In this Christmas book, a runaway daughter seeks the safety of her Grandma's home, a few days before Christmas. A relationship develops between Avery, a young woman in her mid-twenties, and Betty, the Christian grandmother living alone. The young woman is seeking shelter from a difficult mother, as she desires maturity and independence. Another relationship in The Christmas Dog occurs between Grandma and her neighbors, revealing a level of mistrust, gossip and fear.
The Christmas Dog is about a tiny lost dog finding his way into the lives of these characters. While he never speaks words in the story, the Christmas Dog shares a language of love and imprints on each of the people in the story. I wasn't pleased with the dog's name-Ralph-since he's so much cuter on the cover photo and in the story. As a dog owner, I think the author could have selected a dog name rather than a human name, that's just my opinion. Overall, the book is excellent, even my middle-school daughter enjoyed it!
Loved this book. Clean who some entertainment. Great holiday read but good reading any time of year. Carlson has a wonderful way with keeping the suspense going while keeping paralell stories moving along simultaneously. I cant wait to try another of her books.