The Twelve Topsy-Turvy Very Messy Days of Christmas by James Patterson and Tad Safran

 

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at Christmas?

One of my favorite Christmas stories is that when my eldest son Kile was one almost two, he was very excited to come downstairs and discover all of the toys under the tree. He was so excited, he ran down again the next morning only to discover that Christmas only comes once a year.  Also that same year before Christmas there was a large crash and he and our cat ran out from the living room.  We still don’t know what happened, but the Christmas tree was ruined.

The Twelve Topsy-Turvy Very Messy Days of Christmas is a funny new Christmas novel.  It is the November selection of the Brenda Novak Book Club.   While I read all of the Brenda Novak Book Group selections last year, I have not been as successful this year.  I’m glad that I was able to read this one in November.

Henry is a professor who lost his wife five years ago.  He and his children, Will and Ella, have been struggling since then.  Henry is trying to hang onto his job, while Will and Ella just want to have a Christmas again.  They decide to create a fake dating profile for their dad and find a likely candidate, Ms. Truelove.  Ms. Truelove starts to send mysterious presents to their home in the twelve days leading up to Christmas that follow the Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Christmas.  This wreaks havoc on the family and home, but through it all, will they discover what is the most important thing of all?  And how will they get Ms. Truelove to stop sending the gifts?

I thought this was a very fun book, but it was also heartwarming in it’s look at how a missing family member can impact your holidays and life.  It was also about how to move on.  I would call this a zany Christmas fantasy novel.  It did make me think about the song The Twelve Days of Christmas much more.  Why would someone’s true love really give you all of those gifts?  They are crazy gifts!!

Book Source:  Kewaunee Public Library