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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


30 / 30 books. 100% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (7)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (2)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (3)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (3)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (8)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (2)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (2)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (2)

International:
- Australia (2)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (1)
- England (20)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (1)
- Russia (1)
- Scotland (3)
- The Netherlands (1)

My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


44 / 50 books. 88% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


36 / 50 books. 72% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


50 / 52 books. 96% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


36 / 40 books. 90% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


17 / 40 books. 43% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


21 / 25 books. 84% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


17 / 26.2 miles (3rd lap). 65% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


38 / 100 books. 38% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


92 / 104 books. 88% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


125 / 165 books. 76% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:


76 / 100 names. 76% done!
Thursday, February 25, 2016

Realistic but Heartwarming Christmas Tale Can Be Enjoyed Any Time of the Year

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

I know, I know!  We're closer to Easter than we are to Christmas, but since I didn't get around to reviewing this holiday story on December 25, I'm going to do it now, on February 25.  Better late than never, right? 

Home and Away, a short novel by Dean Hughes, takes place in the winter of 1944.  The Hayes Family is trying to make the best of the Christmas season, even while their oldest son fights for his life in Holland and Belgium.  Plagued with worry over her soldier son, money trouble on the home front, and her husband's constant drinking, Norma doesn't know how she'll get through the holiday, let alone make it special for her children.  Although she relies on the God in whom she has unyielding faith, life is difficult for the hardworking woman.  
Sixteen-year-old Dennis hates to see his mother so upset.  By taking extra shifts at the pharmacy where he works, he hopes to buy her a special present, something pretty just for her.  Dennis is unprepared for his father's harsh reaction to the gift, nor can he understand why his dad takes such exception to his youngest son.  

During a Christmas season like no other, the struggles of the Hayes Family put a serious damper on what should be the happiest time of year.  When they get alarming news from the front, they'll have to pull together to mend the cracks in their family's veneer.  Can they fix what's broken?  Or will Christmas 1944 be the ruin of them all?

As you can probably tell from the book's plot summary, Home and Away is not a cheesy, sentimental holiday story.  It's sweet, yes, but it has a lot more depth to it than you would expect.  The Hayes' are not a perfect family and, not surprisingly, they don't get a perfect ending.  Still, the novel is a hopeful one.  Tender and nostalgic, it captures the uncertainties of life, the realities of war, and the blessing of family, however imperfect it may be.  More realistic than many Christmas tales, Home and Away is a heartwarming historical tale that can be enjoyed any time of year (even in February).

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for violence and racial slurs commonly used during the period (Jap, Kraut, etc.)

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Home and Away from the generous folks at Grassroots Agency and Shadow Mountain.  Thank you!
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Reading

<i>Reading</i>
Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong



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