Forever X

by Geraldine McCaughrean

When their car breaks down, the Shepherd family have to stay in a hotel called Forever Xmas. Here they celebrate Christmas every day of the year, complete with Christmas dinner, Santa Claus, and Christmas presents.
Complications arrive when Mr Angel lands up in a tree, when the police arrive looking for the Starrs, and when Santa Claus escapes in a bus.
This is an imaginative and very lively comic novel by the award-winning author, Geraldine McCaughrean.

Genres: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Fiction, Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Geraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quite liked the old style of writing with all the similies and specific terminology but the story was a bit too slow so I ended up skipping to the end.

[Seonaid · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the Shepherd family car breaks down on a hot August afternoon in the Lake District, there is only one B&B in the area - Forever X, where every day is Christmas, and every dinner is roast turkey. The Shepherd family - Mum, Dad, 11 year old Joy and 4 year old Mel - find themselves caught up in the bizarre world of eternal Christmas, made worse by the extreme heat wave.

There is obviously room in this scenario for plenty of Christmas based humour, but with an author as adept as Geraldine McCaughrean, there is also room for far deeper issues to be explored - the nature of friendship, of family, of Christmas itself. The characters tend towards the 2-dimensional at times, but there are some great one-liners ('This was what Angel chiefly hated about small children, the random outpourings of disconnected thoughts - like a Virginia Woolf novel on legs'), and the all-important feel good ending.

Recommended for older kids (10 and up). It might have a feel good ending, but there is some pretty heavy-duty drama to get through first.

[Griselda Heppel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful, slightly bonkers tale of a car breakdown which lands Joy and her family in a hotel that celebrates Christmas all the year round. The contrast between the baking hot August weather and the atmosphere of roast turkey, plum pudding, crackers, roaring log fires and visits from Santa every night is both hilarious and mildly sinister, moving the story from surreal beginnings to a warm, funny, very human depiction of families overcoming difficulties together.

[Flapidouille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Supposedly for YA, but there is no age-limit.
Don't wait, rush for it ! Do not forget handkerchieves, a whole pile of them !(I cried so much reading this book... but not for sadness.)
Should be compulsory reading, on every doctor's prescription.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

That was a really bizarre story. And not in a good way.

[Mimia The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I don’t like the idea that Christmas is whenever we want it but besides that it was a lovely if probably forgettable book

[Ora · Rating 2 out of 5]

It suprised me a little, but ultimately I was just uninterested throughout.

[Kate Pinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't give this review one star because I wasn't the intended audience. I didn't particularly enjoy it but I'm sure some younger people would. The blurb was misleading as it seemed to be aimed at people my age (or maybe I just misinterpreted it). Anyway, here are my detailed thoughts:
http://anotherbookblogwhore.blogspot....

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a sweet book and I was glad to have something Christmassy to read. It wasn't quite what I expected though. Everything was very straight forward and as it seemed. I know I wasn't really the target audience. I might have appreciated the book more if I'd read it the year I bought it. Overall it was nice and quick to read and I enjoyed reading something seasonal.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet little Christmassy read! Great characters for such a short little book, and a lovely story!

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

[Mashael · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I bought the book from an old bookstore, I never thought it'd be this good.

[Chere · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I expected. It's a rather simple story for children, but I liked the way it was told.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, though I didn't like it that one of my favorite characters died.

[Nayera Ahmed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really didn't enjoy this book.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

once i got over my own expectations, this was a pretty good book, with lots of heart and humour. I am curious to try some of her other works, which i think is a good sign;)