Matchless by Gregory Maguire

Genre: Short story

Published: Nov. 1, 2009, 112 pgs.

Source: Library

Review: 3/5 stars

Gregory Maguire has taken the rather dark tale of "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Andersen and has added a little light. This story was first heard on NPR and was written as a read-aloud Christmas story. It's a tragic story but feels a little less so as Maguire puts his spin on it. I wasn't very familiar with the story of "The Little Match Girl" when I read this book and I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more had I known the original tale better. It takes only 15-20 minutes to read so it's definitely worth the time. It really is a lovely story but I finished it feeling like I wanted a little "more". I'm not even sure what "more" I wanted but I wasn't completely satisfied. Has anyone else read this? I'm interested to hear what you think.

Rating: 1.1.1 As my mom used to call a good cleaning job--spic 'n' span clean.

The Gift by Richard Paul Evans

Rating: 1.1.1

Recommended audience: Teen to adult

Category: Inspirational

The Gift tells the story of a boy who has the power to heal people and the effect this has on the people around him. I listened to this book on CD and found it hard to turn it off. It is a compelling story and the characters are likable and seem fairly real. I didn't love it though and I think it's because I just don't care for this genre of books. I had the same problem with Christmas Jars. I think I just prefer the messages of a book to be more subtle. I know many people have adored this book and all the others by Richard Paul Evans. I do think it is well written and the characters are well developed so if you like inspirational books you should definitely pick this one up. There are some very thought provoking ideas.

Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright

Rating: 1.1.1

Recommended audience: Pre-teen and up

Category: Inspirational, Holiday

This is a cute book. It made me cry and cry again. When I was done reading it I thought it was a good, inspiring book. Now given time to reflect on it, I still think it's an inpiring book but I'm kind of mad at the author. It's probably like almost all Christmas books but I haven't read very many so I'm feeling annoyed now that the book seems so contrived to make people cry. I probably just have a bad attitude and am feeling a little hum-buggy this Christmas. I would still recommend this book. It's a quick read and definitely will put you in the Christmas spirit.