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6th out of 36 books
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21 voters
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What Child Is This?: A Christmas Story (Laurel-Leaf Books)
Not everyone is lucky at Christmas. Some people would call 16-year-old Liz Kitchell and her family truly fortunate, but it doens't feel that way to her. It seems that only a miracle can give 8-year-old Katie her holiday wish. She wants a family, something she does not have as a foster child. As for 17-year-old Matt, he too is in a foster home and is finally letting himself...more
Mass Market Paperback, 160 pages
Published
October 12th 1999
by Laurel Leaf
(first published January 1st 1997)
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Everything comes together in an extremely coincidental way (which is acknowledged within the book itself), but all-in-all a lovely story about what Christmas means--or comes to mean--to several young people. I really enjoy the technique of changing viewpoint so that we see how characters appear to the rest of the group (high schoolers stuck doing a writing assignment together in this case) and then discover how incredibly amiss those impressions are. Reminds me of The Exception in that respect ...more
Get out the tissues, I cried most of the way through. The message is clear, foster kids need families too. The story is centered on two foster children that have had lives full of disappointments and sadness. Both have known what it means to be rejected. At one point, the older foster boy thinks, "Who is going to want to adopt an 8 year old girl?" I'm afraid that his question reflects reality, who wants older children? Unfortunately, not enough people or the people in the story that ne...more
Nice, warm, fuzzy Christmas read about making wishes and hoping they come true. Also, I enjoyed thinking about how we perceive others isn't always accurate. I found the Kitchell parents to be horrible but was so glad their daughter, Liz had a heart. In the end, I was so glad Katie, the foster girl who wished for a family found one. Very soap-operish but nice to read at Christmas-time!
The free shelf at the library provided me with another great book!
The free shelf at the library provided me with another great book!
I have to admit that I really enjoyed this book. It is a little sappy and predictable, but it was a very sweet and hopeful christmas story. I am glad I picked it up. I think it is a great story about hope and love and people trying to find the true meaning of Christmas and life. I enjoyed the way it was written, with the song titles for chapter headings as well. Very sweet and a feel good story. It made me think as well and reevaluate myself.
this was the most awful book i have ever read. and all you pplz out there who like it there is something wrong with you brain! if i could give it 0 stars i would. if i could give it negative eighty two stars i would! don't EVER read this book EVER! unless you like boring, pointless, completely not-creative book in the world! it is the only book i didn't like one bit! and i had to read it for a book report it was awful.
For me, the BEST book I've read all year! I was so moved by how everyone who wanted to do good got the opportunity, and they took the opportunities to do the right thing. Those in pain take steps toward healing and all in one hideous disaster, the blessings of love and hope imerge and conquer despair for so many. I wept and rejoiced!
Kind of depressing. It left me feeling like I needed to go out and be a foster parent to every needy kid out there. I guess if it left me feeling like that, it is a good thing because it motivated me to change or at least change my mindset a little bit.
I just finished this little jem of a book last night. While it is for the younger crowd, I still found it to be pretty good. Of course, one could guess what would happen, but for a quick little read, it was just right.
This is the second time I have read this book and I loved it. It is heart-wrenching and wonderful. If you don't cry when reading this book, or at least get a little misty-eyed, then you don't have a heart.
I've read this book about ten times, and I'll probably read it again. I have the whole thing almost memorized and it still makes me cry.
I have no idea why any of this is, but I think it deserves the rating.
I have no idea why any of this is, but I think it deserves the rating.
At first I thought this was another cheesy Christmas book. I was then surprised by a little depth and enjoyed a few passages. But in the end, it was contrived and cheesy.
A very lovely book about Christmas miracles. I did get the chills! YA holiday reads are working out pretty well for me! Merry! Merry!
A great book to get you in the mood for Christmas. There were times that I wondered if it was a happy book, but all does end well.
interesting view of children who are in foster care- about dreams and hopes and giving during the Christmas season- with unselfishness-
What an great Christmas story. Perfect for a night cuddled in a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate!
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This is a great little book - a short read. It is hopeful and poignant. I am glad I read it.
A Christmas story about kids in foster care. Very spartan writing, but what a emotional wallop at the end. Great story for the season.
Read my review at Let's Talk Books
Thanks Emily for giving me this book. I really enjoyed it, but needed a box of Kleenex at the end.
Awesome, made me want to become a foster parent, almost.
What a great Christmas book, so full of hope.
Really liked her style of writing. Nice story.
A nice quick Christmas time feel good story.
One of the best Christmas stories ever written!!!
Even having read this about seven or so times, I never get tired of it. The decision to head chapters with song lines instead of numbers gives each snippet a different personality. The characters are beautifully real. Cooney skirts the edges of religion with just enough passion to ask the question of Christmas and then leave the reader alone with his or her answer; there are no heavy-handed decisions either way here. A wonderful tale of Hope, one of the greatest gifts of all.
Made me cry... I'm such a sap.
Great book.
My daughter was reading this for school, so I picked it up one night. What a sweet, heartwarming book. For an adult, it is predictable, but worth the read anyway.
A heart-warming quick read for the holiday season
I enjoy reading this holiday book about a Christmas miracle every December.
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