museofnightmares's review against another edition
5.0
'Smile. “Anything’s possible, I suppose. It’s a wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.'
This book was a Christmas present on its own. I did not expect to like the story as much as I did. This book brought me back to the time that I read 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' which is, in all honesty, one of my favorite standalones of all time. Which says a lot. This novel smacked all the holiday spirits right into my face and it is exactly what I needed as my portion of festive jitters of the year. It is such a silly, funny but yet such a heartwarming re-telling that it makes me want to put on my most ugly Christmas sweater, slide across the room with my daily extra-extra large cup of extra-extra strong coffee into my hand and re-watch the utterly famous 'Home Alone' movies three times in a row.
'Everyone started sniffling at that point. Everyone, that is, except me. I never did the crying thing. It would have ruined my makeup.'
And in all honestly, I would have cried some happy tears if it were not for the eyelash extensions that I am currently wearing, since my dearest mother decided to surprise me with a treatment last week.
So, I have warned you: tears may shed.
'Because that’s what it’s all about, right?
Connection. Togetherness. Love.'
This book was a Christmas present on its own. I did not expect to like the story as much as I did. This book brought me back to the time that I read 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' which is, in all honesty, one of my favorite standalones of all time. Which says a lot. This novel smacked all the holiday spirits right into my face and it is exactly what I needed as my portion of festive jitters of the year. It is such a silly, funny but yet such a heartwarming re-telling that it makes me want to put on my most ugly Christmas sweater, slide across the room with my daily extra-extra large cup of extra-extra strong coffee into my hand and re-watch the utterly famous 'Home Alone' movies three times in a row.
'Everyone started sniffling at that point. Everyone, that is, except me. I never did the crying thing. It would have ruined my makeup.'
And in all honestly, I would have cried some happy tears if it were not for the eyelash extensions that I am currently wearing, since my dearest mother decided to surprise me with a treatment last week.
So, I have warned you: tears may shed.
'Because that’s what it’s all about, right?
Connection. Togetherness. Love.'
kay_slayerofbooks's review
5.0
A Christmas Carol has to be my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE holiday story. Book and movie. This story of a company dedicated to saving a "Scrooge" every year and not giving up on them regardless of time has to now be my favorite holiday story. Not only did Holly Chase fail and fall hard but when it was time for her to make amends, she did it in the biggest way possible. It was pretty amazing. I loved it.
savannah_trosper's review against another edition
3.0
I love books that are a retelling of a classic story. I love how authors are able to take these stories that are already loved by everyone, and put a whole new spin and meaning to it, thus, drawing even more people in to love this story. In this instance, this author gave a more modern theme to this retelling of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This story had death, romance, despair, sadness, and everything else the original story-line has. What makes this story different is that the Scrooge is a girl, a 17 year old dead zombie girl! That definitely took me by surprise! Also, they give this idea that a business named Project Scrooge is actually the brains behind everything the Scrooge goes through on the night of Christmas Eve. I have to admit that I loved the story telling aspect behind this book, it was very well thought out and each character fit their role perfectly! The ending did catch me off guard, but I believe that it made the book all that much better. Not every girl ends up with their love interest, but in the end, Holly was better off by reestablishing her bond with her father and her best friend, and even though she will not get to have the relationship she wanted, she did change Ethan's life for the better! I would give this book a 8/10 recommend, and I definitely would recommend this book to anyone who love the Hallmark Christmas movies, because if this book could be made into a movie, that is exactly what it would be!
a_ab's review against another edition
2.0
1.5*, really. Unlike the "All About Us" retelling, this one neither justifies its length, nor adds anything to the original, which was very disappointing.
This retelling is following the original definitions of Scrooginess, but turns the whole divine miracle aspect into everyday corporate drudgery - hardly an improvement. What I did appreciate about this book was the fact that romantic love was not positioned as the ultimate end-goal, even as it still was shown to be the strongest motivator.
This book did provide some shallow entertainment, but that's where the book's length turns it into a real slog.
This retelling is following the original definitions of Scrooginess, but turns the whole divine miracle aspect into everyday corporate drudgery - hardly an improvement. What I did appreciate about this book was the fact that romantic love was not positioned as the ultimate end-goal, even as it still was shown to be the strongest motivator.
This book did provide some shallow entertainment, but that's where the book's length turns it into a real slog.
nukie19's review against another edition
4.0
Finally a December book club read that wasn't just terrible. Its definitely YA but a fun, one-day read just right for this time of year.
sammantha25's review against another edition
4.0
This was an enjoyable read! A great little Christmas book and YA retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It was a fairly quick read and although cheesy at times, it was such a creative take of the classic Scrooge tale.
Holly Chase is a 17 year old wealthy and stuck up snob when she is visited by her dead mother and 3 ghosts on Christmas Eve. When she doesn’t learn from her mistakes and change her ways, she ends up dead and later working at a place called “Project Scrooge” where she is helping to better the world by finding a new Scrooge each year to hopefully change for the better. After 5 years, the newest Scrooge is a wildly attractive teenage Ethan who is in many ways similar to Holly. Que romance.
This was cute and I truly enjoyed the idea behind this book. The romance was a bit sudden and of course Holly is mostly unlikeable considering she’s a failed Scrooge, but this was such a fun Christmas read! I also enjoyed the use of Dickens other characters too, that was a nice touch. And I adored that ending!
Holly Chase is a 17 year old wealthy and stuck up snob when she is visited by her dead mother and 3 ghosts on Christmas Eve. When she doesn’t learn from her mistakes and change her ways, she ends up dead and later working at a place called “Project Scrooge” where she is helping to better the world by finding a new Scrooge each year to hopefully change for the better. After 5 years, the newest Scrooge is a wildly attractive teenage Ethan who is in many ways similar to Holly. Que romance.
This was cute and I truly enjoyed the idea behind this book. The romance was a bit sudden and of course Holly is mostly unlikeable considering she’s a failed Scrooge, but this was such a fun Christmas read! I also enjoyed the use of Dickens other characters too, that was a nice touch. And I adored that ending!
gaby_aldridge's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down and finished it in 1 day!! Great Christmas read!!
read_plan_laundry's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it fine but it was nothing spectacular. I liked the different take on A Christmas Carol but I had no fond feelings toward the main character throughout the whole story. Not much else to say without giving any spoilers but there was a lot more that I didn't like.
philipmills's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0