Mr. Miracle

Mr. Miracle by Debbie Macomber              Audio Book:5 hours       Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages          

Harry Mills is an angel sent to earth as a college professor on a mission to help the people that attend his classes.   Addie Folsom has dyslexia but is determined to try to make it at college if at all possible, everyone in class has an issue they are dealing with,  the Latino kitchen worker who while on her breaks tries to stand as close to the classroom doorways as she can to glean as much from the lectures as she can before she gets caught by campus security officer (who has a bit of a Gestapo complex) or the veteran in the class who attends with his service dog by his side to help calm him when his PTDS kicks in.   There is a young man who has just been released from prison who wants so much to do better with his life and get a college education but puts people off by his brash way of speaking and his many jail house tattoos.   Can’t read a book by its cover.    All of these people have lots going on in their lives and backstories that come out during their time together in Harry Mills class.   Lots of side stories, Harry’s mentor (angel) is a barista at the on campus coffee shop – sounds a lot like Starbucks but they don’t say it is.    Like Clarence before him, Harry is trying to earn his wings so to speak.   He is trying to prove he has got what it takes to help humans with their circumstances.    Harry has lots of rules to abide by and the head of the college seems to be a demon or heavily influenced by the darkside and laying in wait to thwart Harry in every attempt at goodness he tries to accomplish.    Being that this is Harry’s first time actually on earth instead of observing from heaven (while playing his harp), he has a few things to learn such as how to avoid the divorced French Teacher who is like a hound in romantic pursuit of him and almost gets him sacked from his job over a private champagne picnic in the classroom, or how he hadn’t noticed the DO NOT WALK ON THE GRASS sign as he cut across the grass on his way to class his first day getting him in bad from the start with his boss at the college.   There is another thing going on with Addie besides dyslexia, one of her brother’s friend has always been a jerk to her since they were little.   To say they hate each other seems to be putting it mildly, but, when he, Erich, is in a car accident breaking both wrists and their mothers who happen to be best friends have non-refundable tickets for a cruise at the same time that Erich is requiring someone to be his caretaker till he heals enemies end up having to confront each other because they love their moms.     It was a fun story.    Debbie Macomber is a good writer, but there were a couple of things I thought she didn’t address that could have been done although it would have sent the story line in a completely different direction if she had.  Nonetheless, I still liked the story very much and would recommend it to folks who love holiday stories, angels and romance novels.    I think it would make a great Hallmark movie.