"The Gift of Christmas Past" by Cindy Woodsmall and Erin Woodsmall

 


There's been a good amount of excitement as Cindy Woodsmall has teamed up with her daughter-in-law Erin to write a non-Amish Christmas story. Readers were excitedly awaiting this release to see a new side of a beloved author, and I was thrilled when I was contacted about writing a review.

Our story starts with Hadley, a teenager in foster care who has been accused of arson. Her boyfriend Monroe comes from a wealthy, privileged background and wants to help in any way he can, even if that means running away with Hadley to evade authorities. But his parents pitch him a deal he cannot resist: they will pay for the finest lawyer and set up a full-ride scholarship for Hadley's higher education if he will agree to never have contact with her again. Monroe believes he is doing the best he can, but Hadley's heart is broken and she cannot understand why he left when she needed him most.

The plot jumps nearly ten years into the future. Hadley and Monroe are once again living in the same city and even working in the same field. They unexpectedly come face to face in caring for one of their speech therapy patients, and everything from their past comes to the forefront again. Monroe still feels bound by hard choices and Hadley still feels angry and betrayed. Can they work through it to help this child, and even have a chance at friendship again?

I felt as though this book broke several industry standards. It starts with a three-chapter flashback, which is strongly frowned upon, and leads directly into a second problem: It establishes our characters as turbulent, moody, angry teenagers. I had a hard time believing them to be anything else even after the jump to the main story. Therefore neither Hadley nor Monroe were particularly likable, and even though it was mentioned that they had become Christians in the intervening years, there was not really a faith aspect to the plot. Additionally, even though the title and cover would lead you to believe this is a Christmas story, there are no scenes involving Christmas until Chapter 21, which is 85% of the way through the book.

When I read the Acknowledgements at the end, I have to admit I was surprised to see that two editors and four proofreaders were listed. Being an English teacher, I cannot overlook clunky wording or grammatical errors. Here's an example from page 108 (emphasis mine): "And once Chloe was better... Hadley would no longer have to deal with the ache that crept into the deepest recesses of her whenever she was reminded of what could have been." This could use a rewording, something like "her deepest recesses" or "the deepest recesses of her heart," because otherwise it sounds awkward. This is one example, but there were many places throughout the book where I shook my head and mentally corrected errors or reworded sentences that did not flow well.

I believe many readers would enjoy this romance and overlook my objections. Something I appreciated about the novel was how it explored several issues that are not common in fiction, such as the emotional needs of those raised in foster care and the struggle of children who have apraxia of speech. I love it when authors incorporate unique things into their stories!

I received my copy of the book from the authors. All opinions in this review are my own.