Rating: 
Summary: A new holiday classic
Review: I must admit that I can relate to Luther Krank.Although I love Christmas, sometimes I feel that I can do without it. This book would certainly make a good movie.
Rating: 
Summary: shallow and racist
Review: The only reason I bought this book is because I had read and liked some previous books by Grisham. I definetely don't recommend it! It is a shallow book, nothing special about it but most important, clauses like "he wasn't dark at all" a comment that makes a dark! expected Peruvian suddenly handsome and "he moved up another notch" because he had been educated abroad in England (Peru is not abroad??) are unacceptable.
Grisham dropped more than a couple of notches!!
Rating:
Summary: GREAT CHRISTMAS BOOK
Review: This book is, as it says somewhere on the cover, "a modern holiday classic". It is about a couple whose daughter leaves to join the Peace Corps and help people less fortunate. Her parents decide that since she isn't going to be home with them, they will skip the hassle of Christmas all together (no lights, no tree, no cards, not a single thing) and go on a ten day cruise. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) things do not work out at all as planned.
This book is very short and sweet. I read in one sitting while sitting in my favorite chair under an afghan (it's cold here in Cleveland!) on Christmas Eve. It not only entertained me and made me laugh, but it also put me in the mood for the holidays. I will, without a doubt be re-reading this book many Christmas Eves to come. It has become a part of my holiday ritual and I'm sure you will feel the same once you read it.
(By the way, Grisham is coming out with another book called The Summons this coming February. It is a regular length Grisham book unlike this one, and from the title, I'm guessing it has lawyers in it which means Grisham is returning to his original genre. Two books in one year! What luck for us Grisham fans!)
Rating:
Summary: Did your "A Painted House" school boy write this one?
Review: Trying to offset the agony of a huge, pre-Christmas airport line, I purchased this book in an airport bookstore at full price. At over ten-cents a page, I was determined to savor every word of this book. Unfortunately, this short story of near magazine thickness was one dimensional, predictable, and flat-out disappointing. Worse yet, I finished it before reaching the ticket counter! I felt taken having purchased this book. John, if you care anymore and are reading these reviews, please do us all a favor and spend some time on your next one!
Rating: 
Summary: Christmas in a Flash.
Review: This Christmas book is relatively short (+170 pages) and is easy to read. It took me a little more than two hours to finish the novel. It was an enjoyable read. However, other than the fact that I learned there are people who spend thousands of dollars at Christmas time, I didn't learn anything from the book. Nor did it move me in any serious way. I found several parts to be quite hilarious (it is a satire after all), but laughter was the only emotion I felt./The story revolves around Luther and Nora Krank (anyone catch the symbolic last name). The book opens on the Sunday after Thanksgiving as Luther and Nora send their one and only child, their daughter Blair, off to Peru to begin a term of service with the Peace Corp. As the Kranks leave the airport and make a few trips on the way home (which causes much tension between the couple), Luther gets the brilliant idea of "skipping Christmas", taking a cruise, and still saving thousands of dollars. Luther's plan goes off without too many problems. But then, something happens to turn his perfect idea into shambles./Grisham's novel seems to contain a lot of fluff. However, to assume the book is nothing but fluff, is a misunderstanding. SKIPPING CHRISTMAS is a satire largely lampooning the Christmas season in middle-class America. Some have suggested the book is racist because of certain comments. This is not true; racism is just one of the many societal ills satirized in this novel. The book is written in such a way that the ideas and attitudes being lampooned, could be disregarded because of the simple way in which the story is told./Overall, an entertaining novel that won't take much time to read but will make you laugh.
Rating:
Summary: Skipping Christmas
Review: Although the book is a bit predictable it was an easy read. It made me laugh at the things we do all for the sake of a holiday. I forgot all about holiday stress for a couple of hours.
Rating:
Summary: A reminder of the true meaning of Christmas
Review: This work juxtaposes the commercial trappings of the sacred holiday with the true Christmas spirit, social interference with human interdependence, individual freedoms with community obligations, and it does so by satirizing the monolithic conventions of conformity. One clever touch: the out-of-synch protagonist's surname, Krank, means "sick" in German, and, although he and his family are portrayed as Roman Catholics, his first name, Luther, clearly suggests a budding Protestantism, expressed not by nailing documents to a church door but by distributing among his office co-workers a memo detailing his intended non-observance. In all, a gem.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing but a good read
Review: I was expecting something "more" from a John Grisham novel. I found this one lacking in some respects. There wasn't a "punch" or an "oh wow" moment at all! Very lighthearted and "quick reading", but didn't get any "warm fuzzies" from the book.
Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous!
Review: The only reason I gave this book 1 stars is because it was light reading.It's amazing that you can put Grisham's name on a book and throw a title into it with the word "Christmas"...release it after Thanksgiving, and lo and behold...it's a best seller! Who said marketing is dead in America?? Very dull book that could have been written by my 14 year old!
Rating:
Summary: It will make a great Holiday Movie!
Review: I loved this book! I chuckled and giggled the whole way through, because it was so true to life!
Grisham's focus on the obscenity of Christmas overspending is right on target.
Yes, it was predictable, and hoaky, and maybe even a bit shallow, but it was a terrific read.
As far as The Krank's concern over their daughter's engagement to a Peruvian (dark skinned), I think that was part of the whole hypocrisy aspect that Grisham was trying to show. Here they were going to a tanning bed to make themselves darker, but were concerned that their daughter was marrying a dark skinned person.
I read it in about 4 hours, and it was wonderful. I can't wait for it to be made into a movie; my friends and I at work are taking bets on who gets the leady roles. I'm thinking Gene Hackman for Luther, and Goldie Hawn for his wife.... Great Christmas Reading!
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