All I Want for Christmas

by Rebekah Pace, Alexis J. Pride

LOSING EVERYTHING MAY JUST BE THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL.

James sells toys. He's a workaholic and he's made a very good living, even if his wife and four children don't appreciate it. Truth is, his marriage is falling apart and he barely recognizes his kids.
 
So when James's youngest daughter, 7-year-old Reba, asks God for a Christmas miracle to "fix" her family, something most unexpected happens—unexpected and horrible. The Christmas tree catches fire and the house burns down, taking with it all of their possessions.
 
One bad thing leads to another as rock bottom gives way to new lows and the family is sent spiraling down a dark and unfamiliar path. Reba wonders if God decided to give her the very opposite of what she prayed for.
 
Finally, separated and destitute, James and the family are left with absolutely nothing—nothing but a brand-new understanding of what's actually important in life.
 
Now James must rekindle his faith, learn what's truly important to him, and find a way to win his family back. If he can pull it off, there may just be that Christmas miracle waiting for him.
"Likable, charismatic characters...compelling and emotionally impactful...modern-day Job's tale. " - Screencraft
Fans of The Pursuit of Happiness  and God's not Dead  will love this inspirational book. (Screencraft).

Genres: Holiday

728 pages, Paperback

Published July 11, 2023

About the author

Rebekah Pace is a pseudonym for the writing team of William Roetzheim and Randy Becker. A former naval flight officer, William started his career in the tech industry. After launching multiple software companies, he turned his attention to writing, penning an award-winning trilogy of plays about America’s great poets. He was editor of the anthology and spoken word CD Poems of Inspiration and Faith. Randy is an Emmy-nominated producer who began his career as an actor starring in film, television, and on Broadway (including the Tony Award–winning play Love! Valour! Compassion!). He now expresses his creativity through writing and producing.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I Want For Christmas by Rebekah Pace is a powerful contemporary Christian novel that is a modern retelling of the story of Job.
We witness the faithfulness of God who never leaves us to struggle alone. He provides things for us to be thankful for daily. Sometimes in our pain and hurt, we fail to see God. We cannot feel Him. Worse still, we feel abandoned but God’s silence is never His absence. He is continually and faithfully working behind the scenes.
We see a family who materially have it all but “provision is more than just the stuff you can buy off store shelves.” We can be materially rich but spiritually poor. Modern technology drives wedges between families. Retail therapy offers a quick fix high but fails to satisfy as we chase the next new thing. Only God will truly satisfy. Sometimes modern life intrudes and we fail to make time for God.
True riches are never measured by material wealth but by how much we love and are loved. True riches are found in relationship with God and with each other.
There is much love in the novel. This love is inversely proportional to a family’s financial status. Real love and satisfaction are found in interacting with others.
We witness who are true friends and who are just networking.
Prayer is powerful. “Try prayer if you’re looking for answers.” We may not receive answers straight away but we must keep asking and keep expecting. When we are down to nothing, God is up to something.
God does some of His best work in our brokenness. When we have it all together, we may take our eyes off God. Only when we are at rock bottom do we know that we can and must rely on God. “God can do things I can’t.”
The reader is reminded that God will restore the years the locusts have eaten. When God repays, as in Job, He repays with double portions. We have a generous, loving God. The richest people are those who love and are loved.
All I Want For Christmas was such a powerful read about love and our faithful God.
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC of, All I Want for Christmas, by Alexis J. Pride. I did not care for this book. Its not a warm and fuzzy holiday story at all.

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book at random, and I honestly believe it was meant for me to read. I’ve grown tired of the same-old, same-old types of stories I’ve been reading, and I wanted something different. I didn’t know I needed to read All I Want for Christmas until I was halfway through. It tugged at my emotions more than any book I’ve read in quite some time. This story of a family going from highs to lows and clawing back up again through the grace of God, is a powerful read. This novel is not for the faint of heart, or anyone looking for a fast read. This is a story that a reader needs to spend some time with.

A few weeks ago, I finally watched the movie, War Room. When things started happening to the Harrison family in this book, it carried echoes of that film, but this book has its own journey and what happens to James is a lot worse than what happens to Tony Jordan in the film, War Room. I think the movie had more scripture and passionate faith and it benefited from the guidance and wisdom of Ms. Clara. James and Fran didn’t have anyone in their corner like that. And anyone who could have been, James, with his pride, arrogance and internal fears, would be, and is, blind to it. For an inspirational story, I was amazed at how Fran repeatedly looked for guidance in all the wrong places. I read the titles of those books she kept reading and I felt like calling her up to say, “Fran! Those kinds of How-To books aren’t the answer!!”. But the authors of this novel weren’t going to make it easy on their characters. Lessons had to be learned, and sometimes, the school of hard knocks is the only way.

At times, I felt the story’s pace was bogged down by the details of every little thing that happened, which occurred like heavy megalith dominoes. One bad thing led to another, and another. The seemingly perfect family has a “come to Jesus” moment that was a long time in coming. The authors also went into great depth about the tragedy that affected the whole Harrison family. In the background of my mind I thought, yeah, any parent responsible for their kids must have this horrible thought or worry that this could easily happen to them. It can happen to anyone, really. That means I understand why the authors went to such pains to give a reader a chance to really know the main characters. It’s so you’d feel deeply for them as they went through the court proceedings, the lawyers, the harsh realities that children can find themselves in through the overworked CPS system, the losses and the PTSD such things can leave behind -. it sounds overwhelming, doesn’t it? But that’s the point. There has to be something more, a savior, and there is, but it’s a gentle progression because like chess pieces, everything needed to be in the right place. Things needed to happen, and Mr. & Mrs. Harrison and all four of their children needed to experience situations that helped them grow, to understand, and be ready for the miracle.

It’s a miracle that their youngest daughter, Reba, prayed for under the advice and guidance of her Oma (grandmother). She did receive acknowledgement that her prayer was heard, but I’m sure the little girl never imagined what had to happen in order for it to come to fruition. Faith was tested. James needed to have his priorities reset, Fran had to rediscover her faith in God and remember how it was when she went to church, what made her and James happy when their marriage was young, and their kids were little. The person with the most growth and change had to be James since it was his pride and refusal to communicate and treat Fran like an actual partner in their marriage that allowed things to progress as far as they did. Yeah, his work ethic didn’t produce the results he thought it would. His priorities were a little skewed. This novel is all about change, growth, deep love between husband and wife and the family they created, being open to God’s will and not being selfish and short-sighted in using the talents God gave them. And God gave the Harrison family some pretty awesome gifts. They were woefully underutilized – but that all changed when two people stepped up and offered Fran and James something important that came out of left field. Hope. That was the start of the miracle.

The upswing in their fortunes didn’t happen overnight. The authors take a reader through the whole journey. I felt the fear, the hopelessness, the worry and the feeling of being overwhelmed and lost – but then there was hope. There was optimism. With hard work, and coming together as a family, the hope became a reality. The joy and happiness, the satisfaction and the overall LOVE burst forth from the pages. Yeah, God closed a door in James’ life – hard, but the one that opened up was three times as large. Everything became clearer and the changes brought a deeper satisfaction with rewards unthinkable in the early parts of their crisis. This miracle didn’t just heal James and Fran’s marriage, it brought the family together. In the process, the kids made new friends, better friends – their blessings are too numerous to count but what made it extra wonderful were the people they met along the way, Officer Friendly, Paster Phillips, Casper, and Pastor Murphy, just to name a few.

There is so much more I could mention. This novel is definitely character based. The story is told in different points of view, mostly James and Fran’s, but there are others, so readers get an idea of the motivation behind the actions and dialogue that happen along the way. The story is well-written, and the characters are more three-dimensional than not. This is a great book for readers of Christian Fiction who enjoy seeing someone overcome seemingly insurmountable odds because faith opened their hearts to the will of God. Miracles do happen, just not the way WE think they should. All I Want for Christmas is testimony to that. I’m glad I read this novel.

[Margaret Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many expressions that sum up this novel from “triumph over tragedy,” “rising from the ashes” to “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger,” that it makes one realize that the Harrison family's experience is more common than one would think. I could identify with the characters in this book on so many levels and recognized many of my own experiences in their lives, from the initial devastation of loss to the joy and relief that comes from seeing prayer at work. Hitting “rock bottom” means different things to different people, but when the fridge is empty and there are creditors at the door, it takes a different kind of faith to survive than asking for blessings in everyday circumstances. This novel makes one stop and think and be grateful for every blessing we have. It is also a reminder to withhold judgment when seeing others crash and to be generous in reaching out to give a helping hand without being condescending. Finally, this book brings hope to the brokenhearted and reminds us that Father does answer our prayers. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Harrison family had money from the father James working all the time. He started out as a toy maker and then had stuff made at factories elsewhere. He had a secret that his business was not doing well and they were almost broke. Instead of talking to each other and the family he desperately tried to fix it on his own. Instead things in their life snowballed into literally being on the streets trying to figure out how to keep their family together.
I wasn’t expecting this book to be so serious. It did have a good point to it; not to take anything for granted (especially your family) and money will not always buy you happiness. The story also repeated that the belief in God will get you through anything and everything. For the most part this story could be anyone one tragedy away from the bottom. It was a good story. It did take me a bit to get through it because it was so serious, I did still read it in one day though.
I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book.

What a hard read! Such a real story. I found myself walking around a few times stressed out in real life over the heaviness of the book 😂 A husband who is a great provider but not present in the lives of his wife and children makes a series of mistakes. The little girl prays for God to fix her family. The mistakes of the husband takes the family down a downward spiral, but God ultimately brings the family out better than they went in.

I did not appreciate the cussing in what was supposed to be a faith based story. Although God was mentioned and it was a beautiful story of redemption, there seemed to be a missing element of continued connection with God in the lives of the main characters.

However, I really loved the way generosity played a role in the storyline, as well as the impact we can make in the lives of others.

Not a traditional Christmas read, not light or cheery. I would recommend reading approaching Christmas or maybe after but again, it’s heavy and isn’t a put you in the Christmas spirit type book. Still recommend though!

[Angee Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you have everything, what else more do you need? What about, when you lose everything, then what will you ask for?
James goes through an enticing metamorphosis. He is forced to learn what truly matters, in life, and to recommit his faith to Christ and to trust His timing (which is a point I wish the author would have touched more upon). He's lost everything and is about to lose his family, too. But through finally swallowing his pride and admitting he needs help, he will find a way to climb out of the hole he's dug himself into.
The story focuses much of the plot on the downfall of the family, and not so much on the recovery. And the reader could have really benefitted from witnessing just how the family rallies back together. Nevertheless, a pretty powerful read of how life really does change in an instant and how at the end of everyday, the material items do not matter; your family and the people standing by you are what matter.
Thank you to the author and HiddenGems for an advanced read - these are my honest, unbiased thoughts.

[Yvie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really difficult book for me to read because I've been both Stacy and the CPS lady, so it was a bit of an unexpected blast from the past. That said...someone did their research into the gritty truths of how quickly life can change and what those changes actually look like for folks on an everyday basis. The end of the book was...unrealistic, honestly, but it's a book. All this to say - everyone should read this book. It'll be uncomfortable at times and make you squirm, but it is a story that will also make you examine yourself and think about the world around you just a bit differently.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not your typical Christmas story but instead the story of a child's Christmas wish. James and Fran have four children and appear to have a successful life. However, James' business in trouble and he is keeping it from his family. Disaster hits and the family is on the downward slide. Can the family survive intact or will the marriage and everything else splinter. This is a story of survival and returning to your roots to start again. An emotional read that will have you rooting for this family. I recommend reading this book.

Thank you to #goodreads, #RebekahPace, and #Level4Press for a copy of a very good book.

[Toyenlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an inspiring and emotional read. It's emotional because of what the family had to go through. They reached the rock bottom, and went through a lot of tragedies. It's also inspiring because it gave a message of hope that God always hears and answers prayers, even though it may not be as fast as we expect and also God allows us to go through some situations to bring us back and closer to him. In all, it's a wonderful read. "I received this book from eBook discovery. I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review".

[Deb Raker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very moving story about hitting rock bottom and slowly working your way back up. Putting life in perspective and learning what’s really important. Humbling yourself and accepting help. Most of all relying on God to work things out in his time. James growth as a husband and father as he realizes his need to turn back to God is heartwarming. Fran’s ability to love and honor her commitment to James is humbling. A great read!

[Melissa Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started weird, then sort of came together, then finally I was up reading at 4:30 AM trying to see how it would end. I'm not sure I'd give it 5 stars, though, maybe 3, simply because it seemed like several authors worked on it and no one read the manuscript all the way through before publishing.

[Delene · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I believe in the premise of the book that God can fix anything, I had a very hard time believing the storyline that led this family into such a crisis. Highlighting the broken foster care system is one positive note in the book.

[Cindy Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book.

Cried my eyes out. Very good lessons of what is important in life! All about family and how GOD is always with you.