Rating: 
Summary: Quick Read
Review: When Blair Krank leaves home for a year in Peru, her parents realize that Christmas just won't be the same this year. Luther Krank, a tax accountant, calculates that last year Christmas cost them $6,100 and decides that this year the Kranks should skip the Christmas festivities altogether and take a Caribbean cruise instead. With the cruise booked and word out that they won't be celebrating this year, the Krank's begin to prepare for their departure on 25 December but what they aren't prepared for is the reaction of their friends and neighbors who are determined that they won't skip Christmas that easily. But, when 'disaster' strikes the neighbors all pull together and show that they really are full of the Christmas spirit. This short novel is a quick and funny read. I recommend it to anyone whether you love Christmas or can think of nothing better than skipping Christmas yourself. Also read "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Little Book of Wisdom" by Taro Gold.
Rating: 
Summary: Not impressed.
Review: I got this book hoping that it would help me get into the spirit of Christmas. It only served to get me in an even worse frame of mind.I agreed with the Krank's decision at first but then felt very let down as the book continued. If John Grisham was trying to convey the spirit of Christmas, he failed in my eyes. I just thought the whole thing was a little too contrived. I know the author is trying to spread his wings but this was not a good attempt. Just another commercial ploy to sell books (he got my money). Maybe he should just stick to what he does best-thrillers. The shelves are filled with wonderful, heartwarming stories of the holiday spirit and those struggling to find it, this book should not be a part of them.
Rating:
Summary: Skip Christmas, that¿s un-American.
Review: The Kranks have decided to take a cruise this year and just skip Christmas altogether. Is that possible in a neighborhood that holds their plastic Frosty the snowmen hostage till once a year when each and every person on the street climbs up on his roof and lashes him to their chimney? When Luther Krank refuses to take part in the yearly Christmas contest for the most decorated street, he opens a can of worms, and it looks like there is no going back. There will be no office Christmas parties and no big Christmas Eve bash at their house. No lights, no tree, no cards, not a thing to remind them of Christmas. At the last minute their daughter calls to say she is flying home from the Peace Corps to introduce them to her fiancé and show him a good old-fashioned American Christmas. All of a sudden Christmas is on and the last minute production will have you rolling in your seats. All I can say is thank goodness Scrooge had neighbors. The beginning of this book was irritating and the characters were far from likable but the last 100 pages redeemed the story. It was a fun Christmas read. I read it in two short sittings.
Rating: 
Summary: hmm..not so much...
Review: thought it would be a great novel, since grisham is amazing, but wound up falling asleep w/in the first 20 pgs. woke up, gave it a second chance, thinking it would be a cute little book, but just got irritated the more i read. sorry. i love john grisham, but this is one i wouldn't recommend, esp. if you've read his other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Christmas fun
Review: Skipping Christmas is great and an enjoyable read. I like the way Grisham deals with Christmas from various points of view. His portrayal Luther and Nora Krank is XLNT. I saw a lot of my thoughts and feelings in them. To go into detail may take away from such a good story, so I won't. Pick the book up and read it. It is good for some laughs as well as a multi-faceted view of Christmas.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip "Skipping Christmas"
Review: John Grisham is not what you would call a great prose stylist, and his canon is not what you'd call brain food. Character development isn't a particular strong suit either. (Can you even name any of his characters more than a couple of days after putting down one of his books?) But when he's at his best the man does spin a good yarn. Unfortunately he is far from his best in SKIPPING CHRISTMAS. The premise is fine. Luther and Nora Krank, facing their first Christmas without their daughter, Blair, who has joined the Peace Corp, decide to forego all the trappings just this one year and take off on a Caribbean cruise. Who hasn't dreamed at one point or another of avoiding the commercial morass that Christmas has become? I'm single with no children, and I spent close to $4000 meeting my Christmas "obligations" last year. I like Christmas, but I can relate to the Kranks. There's a wealth of comic material to be mined here, but Grisham's plot is a contrived mess, his characters (caricatures) a faceless mob, his ending an unabashed rip-off of "It's a Wonderful Life." It is unlikely that the fascistic, shallow, vindictive, downright nasty families of Hemlock Street could have anything to teach the Kranks or anyone else about the meaning of Christmas. The book, short as it is, needs editing: too many of the descriptions are repetitive. There are too many unresolved plot points: just who is Marty Whathisname, the mystery guest? Worst of all, and I don't remember this from any of the other Grisham novels I have read, he's offensive. The Kranks' concern over the skin color of their daughter's South American fiance is resolved thus: "He wasn't dark at all! At least two shades lighter than Luther himself! They hugged and squeezed their daughter as if she'd been gone for years, then, with great relief, met their future son-in-law." End of subject. When I was in med school I was part of the transcription service. I'd end each of my transcribed lectures with a couple of relevant quotes. I'd like to do the same here: "A classic tale for modern times"--from the dust jacket, SKIPPING CHRISTMAS.
"Bah, humbug."--from a true classic tale.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Story
Review: I do not believe this will be a Christmas classic. In fact I do not consider it a John Grisham classic. Nevertheless it is light reading and enjoyable. The author spins an interesting tale of a couple who had reached the point of not wishing to participate in Christmas activities, at least for this particular Christmas. Perhaps most of us at one time or another were not enthusiastic for Christmas decorating, Christmas shopping or Christmas parties. This particular couple dicided to do something about it. As a result we are privy to the obstacles they faced laced with a fair amount of humor. Some Christmas spirit did find its way into the story.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing and not at all funny.
Review: I agree with all the other one or two star reviews of this "Holiday" story. Mr. Grisham should donate his profits (including my few dollars) to the Salvation Army. Many things were irritating about this book. One of the things that stood out to me was the fact that main characters were running to a tanning booth before their cruise - but on the other hand the father was afraid that his daughter's Peruvian boyfriend was dark skinned. It was OK that he was a doctor! What garbage! Don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham's Skipping Christmas
Review: Just a short note. If you have read Grisham's novels and have been hooked by the story lines but distracted by the virulently racist characters you'll appreciate this warning.
Don't get cozy with the Kranks.
The reader is informed, halfway through the book, that the Kranks don't want their daughter to marry a man with dark skin. Its impossible to care about what happens to these two from then on.
Skip Skipping Christmas. Or stop reading at page 112 and dream up your own ending. Its a fun book up to chapter 13.
Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming!
Review: I enjoyed this book from cover to cover! Just when I thought the spirit of Christmas was lost on these people, the theme of the story turned around, and a wonderful change took place in all of the characters. Thanks again, John Grisham!
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