When Finley Brown spontaneously decides to fly back to her hometown, Christmas Oklahoma, for the holidays, she discovers that quite a few things have changed while she was at boarding school. For starters, her parents have separated (her mother isn’t even in Oklahoma when Finley arrives), her old school rival now works at her Grandmother’s Inn, and her supposed best friend is now dating Finley’s ex-boyfriend. On top of that, a cute yet high-class boy named Arthur from Finley’s boarding school has unexpectedly shown up in Christmas Oklahoma for the holidays because of changes that Finley made to the town’s website led her classmates to believe that Christmases in Christmas Oklahoma are a lot more epic than they really are. Now, to save face, Finley is forced to show Arthur and his Aunt Esha the best Christmas ever.
So, This Is Christmas is a cute Christmas-themed romantic comedy and since this book takes place over Finley’s Christmas holidays, this would be perfect for reading at the same time of year. So, This Is Christmas would be a great read for lovers of Let It Snow by John Green and co, What Light by Jay Asher, Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, and All I Want for Christmas by Wendy Loggia. This book deals with themes such as love and heartbreak, family, change versus tradition, convention versus rebellion, expectation versus reality, growing up, fear of failure, identity, sexuality, loneliness, and vulnerability. The moral of the story is that like conker (Arthur’s game in which each person has a chestnut tied to the end of a string and the players take turns trying to break each others’ chestnuts), even when things get tough, you need to keep on working hard (or keep on “swinging”) in order to achieve your goals. “But with me, I need to keep swinging, too. Until I get what I want.”
This was a fun Christmas story full of family, love, holiday magic, and heartwarming moments. I absolutely loved the Christmas-themed setting; especially the fact that all the places in Christmas Oklahoma had Christmas-themed names (e.g., Gingerbread Café, Claus Kitchen, Santa’s Sleigh Repair, etc). Similarly, I enjoyed reading about all the festive holiday adventures that Finley and Arthur go on, such as a hilarious reindeer sleigh ride, a disastrous cookie baking experience, and a surprisingly good Christmas parade. Without giving anything away, there were some unexpected twists throughout the book, and I loved how this novel featured more than one romance story. Lastly, Andreen chose unique names for her characters (e.g., Finley, Arthur, Esha, Bronwyn, Ayisha, Thea, etc.), which made it made it easier for me to differentiate one character from another.
Some cons include that there was a lot of instances regarding unplanned teen pregnancies and I also found that some parts of this book dragged on and could have been a little more concise. Furthermore, since I read So, This Is Christmas in the summer, I found that this book was hard to get into for me and may have been better read in the winter.
Overall, I thought that this book was very cute and heartwarming, and it would make a perfect gift for YA lovers on your Christmas list!
So, This Is Christmas is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 5th 2021.
Will you be picking up So, This Is Christmas? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Sarah Dessen meets Let It Snow in this new YA Christmas romance!
When Finley Brown returned to her hometown of Christmas, Oklahoma, from boarding school, she expected to find it just as she left it. Christmas hasn’t changed much in her sixteen years. But instead she returns to find that her best friend is dating her ex-boyfriend, her parents have separated, and her archnemesis got a job working at her grandmother’s inn. And she certainly didn’t expect to find the boy she may or may not have tricked into believing that Christmas was an idyllic holiday paradise on her grandmother’s doorstep. It’s up to Finley to make sure he gets the Christmas he was promised. This is Finley’s Christmas. It’s about home and family and friends and finding her place, and along the way she also finds the best Christmas present of all: love.
