Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock

Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock ISBN-13: 9780310351726 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Thomas Nelson Released: Oct. 9, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
As a first-year law associate, Sydney Batson knows she will be updating her resume by New Year’s if she loses her current court case. So when her grandmother gets inexplicably ill while she’s in court, Sydney arranges for a cab to get her to the clinic.

The last thing cab driver Finn Parrish wants is to be saddled with a wheelchair-bound old lady with dementia. But because Miss Callie reminds him of his own mother, whom he failed miserably in her last days, he can’t say no when she keeps calling him for rides. Once a successful gourmet chef, Finn’s biggest concern now is making his rent, but half the time Callie doesn’t remember to pay him. She leads him on wild goose chases to find a Christmas date for her granddaughter.

He’s reluctantly willing to help fulfill Callie’s Christmas wish. He just never expected to be a vital part of it.


My Review:
Catching Christmas is a rather depressing Christian general fiction novel. The whole story is full of sadness, guilt, and frustration. The story was written in first person, present tense and switched between Sydney and Finn. They initially had separate story lines. They didn't even meet until 36% of the way in to the story, when they briefly met and fought because Finn put a major guilt trip on Sydney. They don't meet again until halfway in, and they're still fighting. At 77%, after a sad, frustrating Christmas day (though with some happy moments), they're suddenly kissing each other. I've never felt inclined to kiss someone who makes me feel bad, so I just don't get it except that maybe she wanted someone to hold onto in her sadness.

So it's basically about: Callie, an old woman who publicly embarrasses people by pointing out their shortcomings and who is dying. Her granddaughter, Sydney, who is being used by her law firm to take the fall on a case that cannot be won. She went around feeling frustrated, angry, and guilty about the case preventing her from taking care of her grandmother. And Finn, who feels guilty that he let his own mother down when she was dying. He helped Callie due to guilt but resented every moment of it and felt like God--if there is a God--was punishing him. Though, by the end, he's thanking God for giving him a second chance.

The story's theme was about having correct priorities and spending time with the people we love while we still have the chance. Both Sydney and Finn were inspired by Callie's faith in God in the face of imminent death. There is no sex or bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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