1. If Only

By Richard Paul Evans (2015)

Genre: Fiction – Christmas/Young Adult

Pages: 288 (paperback)

Via: Library

Mom’s in her kerchief and I’m in my cap. We’ve just settled down for a long winter’s nap.  We’re waiting for some dude to show up. He has a little round belly that shakes when he laughs like a bowlful of jelly.

No idea what that means. But if Mom likes it, then so do I.

Anywho, we’re talking about Christmas books today. And one of our favorite authors popped up. Richard Paul Evans reigns supreme as “the King of the Christmas novel.” Evans perches high on our Favorite Authors List. We’ve read just about every title he’s ever written. And Evans is a prolific writer, if ya know what I mean. Mom’s been reading his books ever since 2003, when she nabbed the Evans book that started it all: The Christmas Box. It’s a perennial fave. And if you haven’t read it, you should. Cuz it’s really really good. (Mom re-reads it every holiday season. Since 2003. That must be some kind of a record. And yes, she has it pretty much memorized.)

Blue Plate Special

Anyway, today we’re bringing you an Honest to Goodness, Tail-Waggin’, Bow-wowin’, Bark-worthy Mom and Kimber Blue Plate Special. Also known as a “Richard Paul Evans Twofer.”

First, we recently re-read an Evans Christmassy novel called If Only. One of us didn’t realize we’d already read it until she was about halfway in. But you know Mom. (It was previously published as Grace. That’s what threw us off. So there!)

Anyway again, If Only isn’t Evans’ typical Christmas novel. Those usually center around love found. Love lost. Hopes dashed. Lives ruined. But then…. Redemption. Rescue. Love rediscovered. Forgiveness. Grace. Strong undercurrents of faith, hope, and love swirl throughout the typical Evans Christmas novel. And although there’s All of the Above in If Only, it marks a dramatic departure from Evans’ typical Christmas fare.

That’s cuz If Only touches on a difficult topic: child abuse. Not exactly the stuff that makes for chestnuts roasting on an open fire or Jack Frost nipping at your nose. But Evans’ handling of the topic is so sensitive and poignant and understated, he pulls it off. One powerful page after another. Like this:

The Basics

It’s the 1960s. The Cuban Missile Crisis. Fourteen yar-old Eric and his family of four have just moved out of Southern California and relocated into a rough neighborhood on the fringes of Salt Lake City. Recently diagnosed with Guillan Bere Syndrome, his dad is unable to work. They lose their house and pretty much everything else. Hence the move to SLC where a deceased relative has an unsold, beat up old house available, cheap.

Pulled out of their school, neighborhood, and all that’s familiar, Eric and his kid bro Joel are inseparable. They look out for each other. Have each other’s backs. Until the day Eric discovers a teenage girl dumpster diving in the parking lot outside his part time job at McBurger Queen. (I’m not making this up.) Turns out soon-to-be-sixteen year old Grace has run away from home. For good reason. Without giving too much away, let’s just say it’s her stepfather. This guy gives toe lint a bad name. (Kimmi: Can I bite him? Mom: Please do!)

Joel and Eric hide Grace in a large clubhouse the boys previously constructed in their ginormous backyard of about five acres. The clubhouse is out of sight and neither parent ever ventures outside that far during winter. Which it is. It’s also Erics’s first crush.  

Eric and Joel look after Grace. Figure out how to keep her warm, fed, clothed, and most of all, safe. It’s a big undertaking for a fourteen year-old and his ten year-old  bro. But Eric and Joel are equal to the task.

Celebrating Grace’s birthday in the clubhouse one evening, Eric presents her with a chocolate cake he bought. And a candle. Grace stares into the candle’s flame and makes a couple predictions about the boys’ futures. Joel is a baseball fanatic who adores Joe DiMaggio. Grace predicts Joel will become famous some day. And Eric? Grace predicts that one day he will be feared. Eric’s a bit jealous. To put it mildly.

Both predictions come to pass, but first…

Oh, wait. To find out what happens next, you’ll have to read If Only yourself.

Now. I know what you’re thinking says I, Kimber the Magnificent. You’re thinking, “What does poverty, loss, young love, a runaway girl, and an abusive stepfather have to do with Christmas?”

The Evans Magic

Well. Glad you asked. Cuz that’s where the old Evans magic comes in. A master storyteller, Evans serves up a powerfully poignant story that gets right to the heart of Christmas. And I ain’t talking reindeer with a red nose or a frosty snowman with a black felt hat. 

Told in the first person from Eric‘s POV, If Only is a tender, touching story of love. Sacrifice. Courage. Loyalty. And second chances. It’s unexpected. Beautiful. Brilliant. And sure to make your season bright. (Note: If Only doesn’t include the usual upbeat, ebullient ending that marks most Evans Christmas novels. For that, see below.)

I’d bring tissue ‘fize you.

2. A Christmas Memory

By Richard Paul Evans (2022)

Genre: Fiction – Christmas/Holidays

Pages: 223 (paperback)

Via: Library

“I’m what they call a bibliophile. Books are an important part of my life…. Mr. (Booker T.) Washington liked books, too. He once said, ‘If you can’t read, it’s going to be hard to realize your dreams.'”

Second, what is it about the holidays that so often makes us sigh or smile or shed a tear at the same time? What is it about Christmas that so often sets the stage for a trip into Yesteryear, with memories bubbling up like Yuletide carols being sung by a choir and folks dressed up like Eskimos? There’s All of the Above and more in this RPE Christmas book from 2022, A Christmas Memory. Read on for more.

“The way I see it, a person’s got two choices. One, he can hold on to his anger, or two, he can let his anger go. Only one of those choices brings freedom.”

The Story

It’s 1967. For young Richard, age eight, it’s a time of heartbreak, loss, and turmoil. First his brother, Mark, is killed in Vietnam. Then “Rick’s” father loses his job and moves the family from California to his grandmother’s abandoned home in Utah. Next, his parents decide to separate.

Lonely, uncertain, uprooted from all that is familiar, secure, and warm, Rick feels as lost as a camel in Siberia. The bullies at school make matters worse. When they run Rick down after school, an elderly neighbor, Mr. Foster, chases off the jerks and invites Richard in for a cup of cocoa. Richard becomes fast friends with the wise, solitary man who inspires Richard’s love for books. Of course Mr. Foster’s dog, Gollum (“my precious“), becomes Rick’s closest companion.

“This won’t be the only time in your life that someone tries to steal your dreams. … They are people who are too unhappy and too cowardly to believe in their own dreams, so they justify their misery by throwing stones at other people’s dreams.”

As the holidays approach, the joy and light of Christmas seem unlikely to permeate the Evans home as things take a grim turn for the worse. And just when it seems like he has nothing left to lose, Richard is confronted by a startling revelation. But with Mr. Foster’s wisdom and kindness, he learns for the first time what truly matters about the spirit of the season: that forgiveness can heal even the deepest wounds, and love endures long after the pain of loss subsides.

“Mr. Washington once said, ‘Few things help someone more than to let them know that you believe in them.'”

A Christmas Memory is vintage Evans. Heartfelt and poignant, it takes readers deep into the author’s childhood memories to remind us that the light of hope can still shine even in the darkest of times.

“Grief is the truest evidence of love. And we should always be grateful to have something to love, even if it means that we have to lose it.”

The True Hero

Now, most readers are gonna think Mr. Foster is the hero of this book. And he comes close. But True Hero honors go to Mr. Foster’s dog, re-christened “Beau” by Rick. You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out why. 

We loved this book! You will, too.

Have you read any Richard Paul Evans novels? Which one(s)?

By the way – throwin’ this in for free: