Jingle Boy

Rating:
Summary: Good job until...
Review: Kieran Scott has written a book that all ages will enjoy and appreciate. Her narrator is Paul Nicholas, a teenager who is filled with the Christmas spirit--that is until he loses his special Santa hat. Everything goes wrong, and Paul swears he will have his revenge (do not worry...we are talking about a book for early teens here). The story works until a slightly contrived counseling session that may or may not be a dream. This might have worked if it had been done a couple of times before. And readers might question the truth about the group Paul joins to get even with Christmas. Infer/imply away. Fun anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Holiday Fiction for Teens
Review: Paul Nicholas is sure that this Christmas will be the absolute best. For once he has a great girlfriend, Sarah, who just happens to love Christmas as much as he does, or at least the present part; he's got the job of being the mall Santa Claus, and he's getting the absolute perfect present this year, a jeep. Everything is just fine, beyond fine, until Paul loses his lucky Santa hat, and everything goes wrong. First he finds his girlfriend making out with the mall Santa Claus, who just happens to be the same one who'll be training him for his job next week, his father electrocutes himself while putting up Christmas lights, and almost burns down the house at the same time, and his mother loses her job. Now, the kid who has always been the biggest nut over Christmas, has decided to get even with the holiday, and everything associated with it.

As someone who absolutely LOVES reading books about the Christmas season, I was ecstatic to find JINGLE BOY. Not only is it one of the only teen fiction Christmas books on the market, but it is also one of the funniest I've ever read. Reminiscent of John Grisham's SKIPPING CHRISTMAS, JINGLE BOY is a must for all who love (or hate) the holiday season. It will keep you laughing out loud throughout the entire holiday season. Possibly longer. Don't miss it.

Erika Sorocco