A Lot Like Christmas

A Lot Like Christmas by Connie Willis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This collection of a dozen (really long) novellas, each completely unique, is tied together solely by virtue of the Christmas theme/setting and more than a touch of magical realism.

It was almost a 5-star collection for me, but a few of the stories had issues/plot holes that bugged me enough to drop the rating. The biggest one was in "Inn," which told the story of the Holy Family being turned away from shelter in a blizzard by a church in the middle of rehearsing the Christmas pageant. The story would have been fantastic had it not relied on the faulty premise that locked doors (in a church building) keep people from both getting in and out. I yelled at my car stereo so frequently while listening to this one, it's a good thing it wasn't the last story in the collection, or it would have tanked my rating completely.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character and setting vie for secondary, depending on the story. It's a mix of genres, from realistic fiction to sci-fi to fantasy to mystery, although everything has some level of magical realism. At least one story has some swearing, several have a touch of romance, and none have any graphic violence or sexual content.

I think this might become a holiday tradition for me--just remembering to fast-forward through the "Inn."

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The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Possibly 3.5 stars--I keep going back and forth between 3 and 4 stars.

When their prickly headmistress and her odious brother are poisoned at Sunday dinner, the seven students of Saint Etheldreda's School for Young Ladies decide on impulse to cover up the deaths in order to remain at school together, as none of them can bear the thought of returning home. As one might imagine, it doesn't take long for the girls' plan to unravel, the plot to thicken, and events to spiral out of control.

What I most enjoyed about listening to this book was that I truly never had any idea what would happen next. The story was unlike anything I've read before, and it made my commutes fly by. There were twists and turns galore. Likewise, I appreciated the author's accuracy in portraying how a teenage brain, no matter how clever or quick-thinking, simply hasn't yet developed the ability to foresee long-term consequences of actions.

There were so many detailed, well-researched aspects of the story and setting that it made the overlooked ones stand out more strongly. For example, no mention was made of the fact that newly deceased persons, er, empty their bowels. I realize this is rarely mentioned in fiction and perhaps less so in YA fiction, but it is an inconvenient fact the girls would have had to deal with when hiding the evidence/bodies as the guests began arriving for the surprise party.

As I read primarily for character, I would have preferred more character development. The only background we know about each girl comes in the prologue that (cleverly) states what the book is NOT about. I had something of a love/hate relationship with the adjective that preceded each girl's name every time it was mentioned: Dour Elinor, Smooth Kitty, Disgraceful Mary Jane, Pocked Louise, Stout Alice, Dull Martha, and Dear Roberta. On the one hand, the endless repetition of these adjectives contributed to flattening the girls into their stereotypes; on the other hand, it was often the only way I could differentiate/remember each one.

For readers' advisors: Very strong story doorway, and due to the Victorian England village setting with a slightly Gothic feel, also a setting doorway. There were many humorous aspects to the story, albeit often dark humor, but to me it wasn't laugh-out-loud funny. No onscreen violence, unless you count death by poison. No sex or bad language. Target audience is teens and some adults.

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