"Checkin' It Twice" Book Review

From the back cover:

Can Santa learn a lesson from the Savior?
Can a foreign exchange student help you see Christmas a little more clearly?
Do things really look better from a distance?
And just how many holiday ornaments does one woman need?

Get in the Christmas Spirit with Volume 2 of award-winning stories from LDS Publisher's 2010 and 2011 Christmas Story Contests! Sixteen short stories from popular LDS authors to help you remember the reason for the season!


Featuring LDS Authors:

Amie Borst • A Soldier’s Christmas
Angie Lofthouse • Broken Things
Brenda J. Anderson • Milkshakes and Mittens
Brian C. Ricks • Third Strike Christmas
Gussie Fick • Substitute Santa
Janice Sperry • Slushballs
Jennifer Carson Shelton • With Wondering Awe
Jennifer Ricks • Christmas Stash
Jennifer Ricks • The Two Hundred Forty-fourth Ornament
Kasey Eyre • Gifts from Jesus
LeeAnn Setzer • Christmas Bus
LisaAnn Turner • The Real Magic
Michael Young • Checkin’ It Twice
Rob Smales • Fishing Buddy
Teresa G. Osgood • Foreign Exchange
Weston Elliott • Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

 

My Review:

 

I really enjoyed this compilation with stories that range from humorous to touching. This is a perfect book to read with your family--you can read one story each night as Christmas nears.

 

I was particularly touched by the story "With Wondering Awe" by Jennifer Carson Shelton. When I was four-year-old little girl, my dad left for work on December 19th. I never saw him again because he died in a car accident that night on his way home from work. His funeral was December 24th. Needless to say, Christmas was very different that year and in subsequent years. It's been four decades since that dark, sad night, but every year I remember my dad and I can't help but be a little sad for all the Christmases over the years that we've missed. 

 

The character in this story, "With Wondering Awe" has a similar experience, except it's her sister. when the story begins she is still mourning the loss of her sister a year before and she doesn't want to enjoy Christmas without her sister. By the end of the story, she realizes that her sister wants her to be happy and to go on living. It reminds me of what the pastor says in Courageous when he tells the main character, a mourning father, to stop being mad about what time he wouldn't have with his daughter and to be thankful for all the time he did have with her.

 

I was also touched by the story, "A Soldier's Christmas" by Amie Borst. It reminded me of my mother and how she must have felt when my father died. In this story, a young mother must face the death of her husband. I loved the poem in the story. It made me all teary.

 

Both of these stories really touched my heart, but I enjoyed all of them. I recommend you read this book next to a roaring fire while sipping some hot chocolate. It's a wonderful compilation from very talented writers.

 

You can learn more about this book here.

You can purchase it here.

 

Right now there's a Bonus Goodies package available for anyone who purchases a print copy before December 15th.  Just send a copy of your Amazon receipt to citbonus@rosehavenpublishing.net.