Christmas at Harrington's by Melody Carlson ~review

Product Description


Christmas is approaching, and Lena Markham finds herself penniless, friendless, and nearly hopeless. She is trying to restart her life after false accusations landed her in prison, but job opportunities are practically nonexistent. When a secondhand red coat unexpectedly lands her a job as Mrs. Santa at a department store, Lena finally thinks her luck is changing. But can she keep her past a secret? This tender story about fresh starts will charm readers as all of Melody Carlson's Christmas offerings do. Full of redemption and true holiday spirit, Christmas at Harrington's will be readers' newest Christmas tradition.
 
My take on this book:
I must say that I am guilty of judging a book by its cover, when I saw the cover for Christmas at Harrington's I immediately felt like it was going to be an amazing Christmas story, on the cover you find yourself on a street of any small town in the USA, you have a smiling lady, dressed in a red coat peering into a store window with a display of a Christmas tree and toys snowflakes falling all around her, its just beautiful and depicts the holiday season perfectly.
In this story we are introduced to Lena Markham,its less than four weeks till Christmas and she has just been released from prison after serving and eight year sentence for a crime she didn't commit, she was set up by her husband to take the fall for something he did. She decides she wants a fresh start in a new town, so a social worker puts together a release package for her, finding a town to locate her to, setting her up with a place to live and a temporary job, and a bus trip to get her to get her there, while on the bus she meets an elderly lady, Moira who befriends her,telling Lena that she knows despite whatever happened in her past she is sure Lena is a good person. Once they get off the bus together in New Haven, MN she is introduced to Moira's son Sam, who is a lawyer. She soon realizes that the job that she anticipated isn't there, and the only job available is playing Mrs. Santa.
Can Lena find the new start in this town she hopes for, and can she keep her past a secret, and what about Sam, how does he play into all of this, you need to read this heartwarming story of second chances to find out!
While the story that unfolded inside the pages of this book wasn't exactly what I anticipated , it is exactly what the holiday season is all about, a perfect Christmas read filled with hope, inspiration and second chances.

About the author:
 

 

 

 

 

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over 50 books for children, teens, and adults. Her young-adult titles include "Jessica," The Allison O'Brian Chronicles, "Letters from God for Teens," and "Diary of a Teenage Girl." Her fiction books include The Whispering Pine series, "Isaac's Angel," "Awakening Heart," "Heartland Skies," "The Wise Man's House," and "Homeward." Melody also published the nonfiction title "How to Start a Quality Child Care Business in Your Home."


Melody has enjoyed careers as a preschool teacher, political activist, and senior editor; she currently writes full-time from her home. She lives in Sisters, Oregon, with her husband and two teenage sons. The family enjoys skiing, hiking, biking, and boating in the beautiful Cascade Mountains.

Even though I was provided a review copy of this book by Revell Publishing (thanks Donna) it in no way alters my opinion of this book.


“Available November 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”