Christmas Jars (Hardcover)
From Publishers Weekly
In a plot reminiscent of Penelope Stokes’s The Blue Bottle Club and Angela Hunt’s The Note, a journalist happens upon a human interest story that winds up teaching her lessons about love and forgiveness and renewing her own faith in human kindness. On Christmas Eve, twenty-something Hope Jensen is quietly grieving the recent loss of her adoptive mother when her apartment is robbed. The one bright spot in the midst of Hope’s despair is a small jar full of money someone has anonymously left on her doorstep. Eager to learn the source of this unexpected generosity, Hope uses her newswoman instincts to find other recipients of “Christmas jars,” digging until her search leads her to the family who first began the tradition of saving a year’s worth of spare change to give to someone in need at the holiday. Wright commits some rookie mistakes in style and pacing; the novel veers heavily toward melodrama at some junctures, and he tends to show us and tell us about his characters. Still, the heart of this novella is its transformative message about the power of giving, a compelling theme that calls to mind books like Pay It Forward and The Kingdom Assignment.
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Review
“Beautifully written. I believe the Christmas Jars tradition will change lives.” —Richard Paul Evans, New York Times bestselling author of The Christmas Box and Finding Noel
“Just like It’s a Wonderful Life, Christmas Jars is American storytelling at its best. Jason Wright has written the next Christmas classic.” —Glenn Beck, nationally syndicated radio host and host of CNN’s “Glenn Beck” show
“This inspirational Christmas novella will engage readers’ hearts.” —Publishers Weekly
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3 Responses
What a wonderful tale about giving and receiving. Perfect for Christmas time. It tells of a little baby that was left inside a Chuck’s Chicken and is found by a single woman, Louise, who raises her. Hope one day wants to become a journalist for the paper. Just as her dream is about to come true, her mother passes away from cancer. She is robbed, but the night of the robbery someone leaves a jar full of change.
Curious about who did this kind act, Hope sets out to investigate, and write a column for the paper, hoping to make it big with this wonderful story about others giving jars full of change and money to others. What she embarks upon is something different.
You will shed a tear with this one, and it will stay with you forever. What a neat idea!
I don’t usually read Christmas novels, but for some reason I was compelled to read this one. I am so glad that I did. I absolutely love the novel from beginning to end. I was surprised to read the negative comments that were left. Don’t let these discourage you from purchasing this book. Some good reasons to buy this book: it’s a great book to inspire your family to begin your own Christmas Jar or similar type of tradition; it reminds you that Christmas isn’t all about shopping to buy presents for your family and friends, but it’s about giving to those who are sick, afflicted, or poor; it helps you understand the effect you can have on the world by performing one charitable act for someone; it’s an affordable book; it’s a quick and easy read; and it makes for a great Christmas present. It reminds me of the parable of the good Samaritan in which it teaches us that we should give to those in need, regardless of whether they are our friends or not.
This is a fantastic little book with a tremendously moving story. We have bought and distributed at least a dozen copies to friends, family and strangers. The story inspires each reader to perform a specific random act of kindness (remember that term?) in the form of a Christmas Jar. Immediately after everyone in our family had read the book and checked out the true Christmas Jar stories on the Internet (don’t do so until you read the book), we set up our first Christmas Jar (Chanukah Jar). Imagine, Christian or Jew, it is still a “CJ.” Our CJ will be one of our “Mitzvahs” or good deeds for the 2007 holiday season. Every night when we empty our change into the jar, we contemplate who we might give it to this December. Our book gifts have sprouted other CJs and hopefully when the movie hits the theaters this fall there will be a tremendous response and many more CJs for deserving souls.