A Most Delightful Nostalgic Holiday Read... Where Treetops Glisten

Thank you Litfuse for this review copy.

One of the things that I love about Autumn is the chill in the air.  When I first feel that chill, my thoughts drift to evenings spent wrapped in a warm blanket, sipping cocoa, and reading a good book. My favorite autumn books are Christmas books.  I love to read them in Autumn because I'm so busy making Christmas in December.

Three lovely short stories make up Where Treetops Glisten a beautifully nostalgic look at the lives of three young adult siblings, Abigail, Pete, and Merry Turner.  I enjoyed how the three stories fit together so beautifully.

The first, White Christmas, is written by Cara Putman.  I'd not heard of Mrs. Putman before, but I really enjoyed her style of writing.  It was relaxed and easy to read.  Her mention of the movie, Holiday Inn, sent my mind spinning back to 1942 and Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire singing and dancing their way across the big screen, or in my case, my little screen!  Nostalgia flooded over me along with thoughts of my grandparents since 1942 was their generation.  Abigail's story was set with a backdrop of World War II, but it wasn't directly about the war.  It was refreshing little story of boy meets girl and a beautiful depiction of a small town Christmas in the forties. Soda fountain Coca Cola, handmade candy canes, cardboard puzzles and play sets, gas and sugar rationing, a desperate bad guy make this a great little holiday read.

The second, I'll Be Home for Christmas, was Pete's story.  Sarah Sundin painted a picture of the bully and the bullied with snowballs flying.  It's often so hard to live down our past, but praise God for His redemption!  Pete meets a darling little girl, Linnie, as she's gazing in the store window at a Christmas display.  My thoughts went back to Dudley looking on as children pressed their faces to the window in The Bishop's Wife in a film made during the same era.  The tension was a bit higher in this story but the writing was dynamic.  The descriptions were vivid enough that I was seeing it all in my mind as I read.

The third, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, had a different flavor altogether.  It followed little sister, Merry, overseas in her nursing duties.  Some of the details were a bit difficult, but nothing compared to the reality of being a war nurse.  Tricia Goyer made something beautiful out of a heartrending situation.  I don't really know what I can share about this story that won't spoil it for you, but I assure you it's wonderful as well.

I highly recommend Where Treetops Glisten.  

This post is part of a Litfuse Blog Tour.

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About the book:  The crunch of newly fallen snow, the weight of wartime Siblings forging new paths and finding love in three stories, filled with the wonder of Christmas Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America's involvement in the Second World War change the lives of the Turner family in Lafayette, Indiana. In Cara Putman's White Christmas, Abigail Turner is holding down the Home Front as a college student and a part-time employee at a one-of-a-kind candy shop. Loss of a beau to the war has Abigail skittish about romantic entanglements---until a hard-working young man with a serious problem needs her help. Abigail's brother Pete is a fighter pilot hero returned from the European Theater in Sarah Sundin's I'll Be Home for Christmas, trying to recapture the hope and peace his time at war has eroded. But when he encounters a precocious little girl in need of Pete's friendship, can he convince her widowed mother that he's no longer the bully she once knew? In Tricia Goyer's Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Meredith Turner, "Merry" to those who know her best, is using her skills as a combat nurse on the frontline in the Netherlands. Halfway around the world from home, Merry never expects to face her deepest betrayal head on, but that's precisely what God has in mind to redeem her broken heart. The Turner family believes in God's providence during such a tumultuous time. Can they absorb the miracle of Christ's birth and His plan for a future? Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/BwVP9 About the authors:  TRICIA GOYER is a prolific author of nearly forty books, including Chasing Mona Lisa, and a speaker and blogger.  Website, Facebook, Twitter CARA PUTMAN is the author of twenty books including Shadowed by Grace. She is the winner of the 2008 Carol Award for historical fiction.  Website, Facebook, Twitter SARAH SUNDIN is the critically-acclaimed author of the Wings of the Nightingale series, the Wings of Glory series, and the forthcoming Waves of Freedom novels. Website, Facebook, Twitter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher.   I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”