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A review by girlreading
I'll Be Home for Christmas by Holly Bourne
3.0
3.5* A really great collection of Christmas theme short stories. Some I enjoyed more than others but overall it was a really enjoyable read and one I'm definitely glad I picked up around the holidays! A lot of the stories touched on some hard hitting topics, so it wasn't by any means a 'fluffy' Christmas read but I liked that and thought the diversity surrounding the characters and stories was great! Overall my favourites from this collection were Home and Away by Benjamin Zephaniah, Ghosts of Christmas Past by Non Pratt, Family You Choose by Cat Clarke and Routes and Wings by Lisa Williamson!
5/5* 'Home and Away' by Benjamin Zephaniah ~ I've only just recently started reading poetry but it always amazes me how much can be said, so profoundly and clearly, in so little words. An extremely thought provoking, touching piece of writing. Fantastic.
4/5* 'Ghosts of Christmas Past' by Non Pratt ~ This was adorable. I really loved Non Pratt's writing, it's simple but in a really lovely, comfortable way. A cute, homely story with a lovely message that perfectly fits the theme of this anthology!
2.5/5* 'If Only In My Dreams' by Marcus Sedgwick ~ not the biggest fan of this one, the writing style wasn't really my cup of tea and I found it a bit confusing. It was definitely intriguing though, I would have been interested to have seen where this story was leading to!
4/5* 'Family You Choose' by Cat Clarke ~ this was fantastic, so lovely. I loved the diverse cast of characters and the mishmash Christmas feel to it. I really the sentiment and message and the way it was written, you could 110% picture the setting perfectly. A warm and lovely story! I would love to read more from these characters, I just want to learn all their stories!
2.75/5* 'The Associates' by Kevin Brooks. I'm not quite sure what to make of this, it was sad but somewhat heartwarming in a way? I think it was just a little too short for me to make my mind up on it and for it to make much of an impact. I wish it had just been a few pages longer!
3.75* 'The After School Club' by Holly Bourne. How can something be heartwarming and yet so heartbreaking in such a short amount of words? I'd have loved this to have been a full length novel. It was such an interesting concept and one I instantly found myself engrossed in.
3/5* 'Homo for Christmas' by Juno Dawson ~ That ending was so lovely!!
3.5/5* 'Amir and George' by Sita Brahmachari ~ this was heartbreaking but very relevant to current situations and the news right now.
3/5* 'The Letter' by Tracy Darnton
3.5/5* 'Claws' by Tom Becker ~ ooh, this was so creepy!!
4/5* 'Christmas, Take Two' by Katy Cannon ~ this was so lovely! Heartwarming and adorable! One of my favourites so far!
3.5/5* 'When Daddy Comes Home' by Melvin Burgess ~ this was totally bizarre, kind of dark and twisted but super intriguing. I had no idea where it was going but it definitely kept me reading and interested! A very unique short story from others I've read but nonetheless, a very intriguing one!
4/5* 'The Bluebird' by Julie Mayhew ~ this was so unique and interestingly written, I don't think I've read anything written quite like it!
4.5/5* 'Routes and Wings' by Lisa Williamson ~ this was fantastic, I throughly enjoyed it and the ending was so lovely!!
5/5* 'Home and Away' by Benjamin Zephaniah ~ I've only just recently started reading poetry but it always amazes me how much can be said, so profoundly and clearly, in so little words. An extremely thought provoking, touching piece of writing. Fantastic.
4/5* 'Ghosts of Christmas Past' by Non Pratt ~ This was adorable. I really loved Non Pratt's writing, it's simple but in a really lovely, comfortable way. A cute, homely story with a lovely message that perfectly fits the theme of this anthology!
2.5/5* 'If Only In My Dreams' by Marcus Sedgwick ~ not the biggest fan of this one, the writing style wasn't really my cup of tea and I found it a bit confusing. It was definitely intriguing though, I would have been interested to have seen where this story was leading to!
4/5* 'Family You Choose' by Cat Clarke ~ this was fantastic, so lovely. I loved the diverse cast of characters and the mishmash Christmas feel to it. I really the sentiment and message and the way it was written, you could 110% picture the setting perfectly. A warm and lovely story! I would love to read more from these characters, I just want to learn all their stories!
2.75/5* 'The Associates' by Kevin Brooks. I'm not quite sure what to make of this, it was sad but somewhat heartwarming in a way? I think it was just a little too short for me to make my mind up on it and for it to make much of an impact. I wish it had just been a few pages longer!
3.75* 'The After School Club' by Holly Bourne. How can something be heartwarming and yet so heartbreaking in such a short amount of words? I'd have loved this to have been a full length novel. It was such an interesting concept and one I instantly found myself engrossed in.
3/5* 'Homo for Christmas' by Juno Dawson ~ That ending was so lovely!!
3.5/5* 'Amir and George' by Sita Brahmachari ~ this was heartbreaking but very relevant to current situations and the news right now.
3/5* 'The Letter' by Tracy Darnton
3.5/5* 'Claws' by Tom Becker ~ ooh, this was so creepy!!
4/5* 'Christmas, Take Two' by Katy Cannon ~ this was so lovely! Heartwarming and adorable! One of my favourites so far!
3.5/5* 'When Daddy Comes Home' by Melvin Burgess ~ this was totally bizarre, kind of dark and twisted but super intriguing. I had no idea where it was going but it definitely kept me reading and interested! A very unique short story from others I've read but nonetheless, a very intriguing one!
4/5* 'The Bluebird' by Julie Mayhew ~ this was so unique and interestingly written, I don't think I've read anything written quite like it!
4.5/5* 'Routes and Wings' by Lisa Williamson ~ this was fantastic, I throughly enjoyed it and the ending was so lovely!!