A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flag // Book Review

Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Vintage Books USA; New Ed edition (November 1, 2005)
ISBN-10: 009949048X
Genre: Fiction, Christmas Story
Buy On: Amazon

SYNOPSIS:

With the same incomparable style and warm, inviting voice that have made her beloved by millions of readers far and wide, New York Times bestselling author Fannie Flagg has written an enchanting Christmas story of faith and hope for all ages that is sure to become a classic.

Deep in the southernmost part of Alabama, along the banks of a lazy winding river, lies the sleepy little community known as Lost River, a place that time itself seems to have forgotten. After a startling diagnosis from his doctor, Oswald T. Campbell leaves behind the cold and damp of the oncoming Chicago winter to spend what he believes will be his last Christmas in the warm and welcoming town of Lost River. There he meets the postman who delivers mail by boat, the store owner who nurses a broken heart, the ladies of the Mystic Order of the Royal Polka Dots Secret Society, who do clandestine good works. And he meets a little redbird named Jack, who is at the center of this tale of a magical Christmas when something so amazing happened that those who witnessed it have never forgotten it. Once you experience the wonder, you too will never forget A Redbird Christmas.

MY REVIEW:

I have never read a book written by Fannie Flagg so I didn’t know what to expect. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised.

When I first started the book, nothing drew me in, so I was a bit disappointed; however, I gradually got pulled into the book, until I could not put it down!

The characters were expertly written. The plot was beautiful and adorable, and festive. The POV switched between several different characters, so it gave the reader a look at the story from several different perspectives. Overall it really told the story, and made it very followable.

I loved the story line, and I liked the ending. The ending had a twist, but not enough to call it a surprise ending. It had a tragedy leading up to the ending so I was worried that this book would turn out how I absolutely HATE to have books end–with a sad ending. However–without spoiling what happens–I will just say that the author pleased me greatly with how she ended.

I wish I could say that I loved everything about this book and had no complaints, however, I can not. I was disappointed to read light bad language. There was nothing heavy, and when said, the words were not even that bad, but I thought they were used in an unnecessary way. I only take stars off a book for bad language if it is excessive or unnecessary, and unfortunately, in this book it was unnecessary.

In addition, the main character struggled with being an alcoholic–he used it as an escape from reality. However, he overcame this eventually, after he moved to his new home, so I will not take a star off for this.

Overall, the book was very festive, and beautiful (like I said before) and I really enjoyed it! I would definitely recommend this book–after warning about the few content issues I had–and would read it again if I was in the mood for a cute Christmas story. 😉