The Paper Bag Christmas

One of my most treasured books in my permanent library at home is the Winner's Game by Kevin Alan Milne. It was in that novel that not only was I introduced to a talented author, but also to the incredible life-changing stories that he could weave through the use of words on a simple piece of paper. They are the kinds of stories that stay with you long after you have put it down. I have to share the one book I will probably buy for all my family members this Christmas and it is The Paper Bag Christmas.

Its a short book, with a lasting message. When two young boys Molar Alan and his brother Aaron are taken to visit Santa Claus late one evening, they are challenged by him despite their lengthy Christmas lists for all the presents that can think of, to take a gift of everything they never wanted. That alone is enough to make most readers want to read this book. I mean, just what does that entail? The boys are taken into confidence by Dr. Ringle, a generous old man who loves to spend time visiting the children in his oncology ward at the hospital and brings the boys along dressed as his elves. Besides handing out the required red paper wish lists and candy canes, each of the boys are tasked with befriending a child in the hospital.

They will spend the next several days acting in Dr. Ringle's absence to break through the barriers each of these children are facing. For Aaron, his is a young boy from India, Madhu, who longs to understand the Jesus of the Bible when faced with Santa Claus. As the upcoming Christmas pageant approaches, he longs to be considered as one of the wise men, and when he learns those have all been filled, he makes a wonderful intelligent plea for them to reconsider more than just three. For Molar, his is the most difficult. Katrina is living on borrowed time. Everyone in her family has already died and now she is a ward of the hospital waiting to see when her last day will come. She is also bitter and wants nothing to do with Christmas. It was something she shared with her grandfather who has died and to enjoy it would feel like she is betraying him. So she remains shut in her room and the only way she will allow visitors is when she is cloaked in a paper bag she wears to cover her face.

I received The Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne compliments of Center Street Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Groups. This is such a wonderful and heartwarming book as you discover deep down inside what will break through each of the children. Despite what you might think more than just one life will be changed through their assigned tasks and the gifts they receive will be priceless in the end. I encourage you all to pick up a copy of this book, and incorporate it into that tradition of storybook time with your children especially at Christmas. This is the one book that your children will want to read again and again, and so will you. I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars and hope you decide to pick it up!

For more information about The Paper Bag Christmas, Kevin Alan Milne or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

The Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne

You can find Kevin Alan Milne on Facebook to stay up to date with all his books.

To read more reviews on The Paper Bag Christmas, please visit Hachette Book Group's website.

The Winner's Game

Just when seventeen-year-old Ann Bennett believed she had everything going for her and she was truly at the top of her game, disaster struck that would change not only her life but the lives of her entire family. As a high school competitive swimmer Ann had hoped to clinch her final meet and show everyone just how good she really was. The butterflies she was used to feeling as nerves before each race, never bothered her until they began to attack her check and begin to bite as she was way ahead of all the other swimmers. It was at that moment that Ann died.

When the EMS crew revived her, tests would indicate that Ann had congenital cardiomyopathy, a defect she has had her whole life. It was the strain of swimming that caused her to have a seizure in the pool and then she went into cardiac arrest. She was truly lucky to be alive. But when Ann had hoped that she could be treated for the heart issue, she was dealt another hand of fate. She needed a heart transplant or she would die while possibly waiting for one. Each day until she received one, would truly be a wait and see game. A miracle. A day to be thankful for.

The strain is was having on her entire family was more than she could bear. Her parents decided to utilize the family beach house in Cannon Beach as a way to get away from everything and hopefully find a way to get back to some sense of normal if that was possible. Her parents were barely on speaking terms and were using the weekend as family time, while her dad would stay in the city during the week and work. It was a separation to see if they could work things out somehow and provide some peace to all their fighting when they were together.

Ann's youngest sister, Bree and her brother Cade were growing tired of all the special treatment Ann was getting having to pick up doing her chores so she could rest and not be strained in any way. While her brother looked forward to spending the entire summer at the beach, her sister Bree was more than resentful at having to give up her time with friends this summer just for Ann's sake. However instead of making things better, the in-fighting between everyone was simply growing out of control. It seems like nothing will help heal them until Emily, Ann's mother finds her grandmother's journals that outline the details of the success of their marriage. Quite simply, everyone must be willing to play The Winner's Game. But will there be enough time to restore what's broken in their family before fate intervenes for the last time?

I received The Winner's Game by Kevin Alan Milne compliments of Center Street Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Groups for my honest review. This is such an amazing story because of the depth Kevin goes through to show the feelings each of the family members is dealing with as each chapter rotates among all five. We get a sense of how they are dealing not only with the mortality facing them with Ann's heart, but also in coming to terms with how to move forward despite all the overwhelming odds working against them. Parents are fighting, kids are fighting, and Ann simply wants to be a normal girl for just the summer without people treating her any different. Is that even possible? I love the concept of the winner's game so much that we have incorporated it into our family. It truly is a life changing game! I personally rate this novel a 5 out of 5 stars and even cried when telling my husband about it. We both teared up as I told him how it all ended. That to me is a sign of a great novel when it can pull at your heart strings!

For more information about The Winner's Game, Kevin Alan Milne or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Winner's Game by Kevin Alan Milne

You can find Kevin Alan Milne on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Winner's Game, please visit Center Street's Website. 

Sweet Misfortune Giveaway and Review

Sophie owns a chocolate shop where she sells Misfortune Cookies-dipped in bitter chocolate they contain messages she hand writes each day such as "Your car seems fine now, but just wait...it will eventually be a source of frustration and unexpected delay." What starts as a gimmick, turns into a surprise hit with customers. But when her ex-fiancée moves back to their small Washington town, he is surprised at how bitter and unhappy Sophie has become. He proposes a bet--she must place an ad in the paper that simply states "Wanted: Happiness.(excerpt from inside cover).

My Review:

This is such a wonderful story and you'll be so surprised at how it ends up. At the beginning of each chapter there are cynical fortunes that Sophie personally writes and inserts into each of the bitter fortune cookies she sells in her chocolate shop. It is easy to figure out just why she is that way after her fiancee dumps her just a week before her wedding. At least she has found an outlet for her pain and it's the best seller at her shop.

We find the book opening to Sophie's birthday and one she hates to celebrate. It's on that fateful day twenty years ago that her life would be forever changed when she loses her family in a horrible car accident leaving her an orphan.

Yet Garrett Black shows up that on her birthday wanting to explain why he called off the wedding if she is only willing to give him a date. Sophie has no intention on following through and decides that placing an ad in the Times looking for happiness is the best way to deal with him. She tells him if 100 responses come in that she approves are true feelings of happiness, than she will agree to go on that one date and learn the truth of why he devastated her life that day.

I received this wonderful, rainy day, romance book, Sweet Misfortune, by Kevin Alan Milne, compliments of Hachette Book Groups in exchange for my honest review. This one rates a perfect 10. The story and characters are so believable that I was turning pages as fast as I could read them. It's a heart rendering story of how God can use bad things to bring about true and lasting happiness.

For more information on this book, the author and where to pick up a copy of this book, simply click on the link below. This book is available in hard cover and eBook formats.

http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9781599952970.htm

Thanks to the generosity of Hachette Book Groups, I am offering 3 beautiful copies of this book, to followers of my blog. This giveaway is available to US and Canada residents only and No P.O. Boxes please. Simply leave me a comment on the best fortune you've ever gotten and I will be drawing winners on July 19th.