Finding Father Christmas

I hope you enjoyed the solid week of Christmas books. There might be one or two more scattered until December 25th. I thought the Thanksgiving week was the perfect time to kick off the holiday season with appropriate books. Maybe you found one title that was new, or that you enjoyed.

Like Unwrapping Christmas, Robin Jones Gunn's Finding Father Christmas has a Christian angle. However, this story isn't quite as pushy about the message. In fact, for me, the story stood out in this novella about a lost young woman.

On impulse, Miranda Carson took off for England at Christmas, hoping to find some traces of the father she never knew. At twenty-nine, she was alone in the world. Her mother, Eve Carson, had been an actress. Together they led a magical, gypsy life until Miranda found a birth certificate listing her father. Some of the spark left her life that day. Following the death of her mother, and then, four years later, the death of the woman who took her in, Miranda lost all trust in the world.

In Carlton Heath, a small British town, Miranda stumbled into a tea shop. From there, someone else seemed in control of her life. The welcome from the owners, their friends in a small community theater, and the Whitcombe family overwhelmed the young woman. She felt a warm welcome and acceptance, and received some special gifts. When she made an unexpected discovery, she was afraid to reveal that she had discovered her father's identity. Despite the kindness shown by her new friends, she was afraid the truth would ruin that friendship.

Robin Jones Gunn's Finding Father Christmas is a warm, endearing story about a naive young woman who stumbles into Christmas Present.

Robin Gunn's website is www.robingunn.com

Finding Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn. Faith Words, ©2007. ISBN 978-0-446-52629-6 (hardcover), 161p.