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Summary: VALUE THE GIFT
Review: A few days before Christmas nine-year-old Marcel and his family are driving to their new house--an old farm deep in the snowy woods, then get lost. Luckily they find an old hotel which at first seemed to be closed. Marcel is fascinated by their quaint but kindly host, Pappy, who promises to provide them with directions to their destination the next day. But the man mysteriously disappears, leaving them only an unsigned, unaddressed Christmas card, which has no words--just a curious sketch of the woods. Marcel gradually realizes that this card is a kind of map to their new home, yet it is much more than that. It is a Magic card, which changes to reflect conditions of the real world outside--of time, light and location. Still Marcel experiences alternating fear and peace in the days preceding the Christian holiday, as a result of the card's shifting hints. The family of four is confused by the mysterious fire glowing in the old cabin; did they just stumble upon a meeting and inadvertantly drive the people away? Secular and sacred connotations combine to make a fascinating, enjoy-in-one-sitting read. Will Marcel ever see his beloved Pappy again--just who and what is he anyway? A literary chiaroscuro where the Light combats the Darkness and a young boy tries to choose the right path and make the best "trade."
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