The Wish Book Christmas

The Wish Book Christmas by Lynn Austin 304 pages

 

We may be a few days away from Easter 2024, but I stumbled upon a Christmas story that I love. As I was scrolling through my local library’s catalog looking for more Lynn Austin reads, I came across “The Wish Book Christmas.” Ah, I remember it like it was yesterday when the Sears Roebuck or Montgomery Ward Christmas would arrive, my brother and I would spend hours and hours wanting every pictured toy.

 

That is the premise of this Lynn Austin novel, but this one held an even bigger surprise for me! This is a sequel to Austin’s “If I Were You,” that I recently read and loved. I missed Audrey and Eve and wondered what happened to them.

 

It’s 1951, and Audrey and Even are still best friends. They have made a life for themselves in Connecticut after escaping World War II London with their sons. Both families are healthy and happy. Harry, Eve’s son, and Bobby are now five years old, and like me brother and I, were completely mesmerized by the color photos spreads that went on for pages and pages and pages that had arrived 20 days before Christmas. (I remember them arriving earlier though, I think).

 

This was fine, at first. When the boys start fighting about the toys, Audrey and Eve realize that they have not been teaching them that it is better to give than receive. Over the next 19 days, the two friends, nay sisters by this point, devise ways to teach their sons that Christmas isn’t about getting toys.

 

I can’t remember exactly how many “lessons” there were, but each was sweet. I highly recommend reading “The Wish Book Christmas” anytime of the year. It receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.