@Home for the Holidays

SAHM #2

by Meredith Efken

Sitting by the fireside, humming carols and knitting mittens...not For these stay-at-home moms, the weeks before Christmas are anything but mellow. How can you balance housework, home crises and the husband without losing your mind? Plug in your laptop Meet Dulcie, Zelia, Jocelyn, Rosalyn, Veronica and the rest of the women of SAHM I Am. An e-mail loop of stay-at-home moms, they've seen each other through months of domestic drama: babies who won't come, bills that won't leave, kids who won't listen and spouses who won't talk. Now, as the yuletide approaches, the SAHMs are on hand once again, bearing gifts of sisterhood, sanity and the real Christmas spirit.

Genres: Christmas, Fiction, Chick Lit, Christian Fiction

394 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 2006

Reviews

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One long email thread

This book is one long email thread and that makes it hard to keep up with who is saying what and also difficult to find a decent stopping point. Near the end the author seemed to realize that she needed to wrap things up so the emails got super long and began to read like a novel with “he said” and “she said” unrealistic narration.

I did like the book though! I liked the diversity of characters and the variety of storylines. Reading the email thread was fun because it reminded me of a FB message group I’m in with friends (ours has a lot less drama though haha).

Overall this is a cute book and if you can read it one sitting, it will probably be that much more enjoyable.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read the prequel SAHM I AM, but this was a continuatin of that book and is done completely in Email format. It was difficult to keep up with the various "senders" so I eventually gave up and just read the emails and soon I began to identify each character with each group.

SAHM I AM is a group of stay at home moms who communicate about their struggles and concerns, venting and seeking advice from each other on topics such as parenting and handling the role of parent, wife, social coordinator, cook.....the list goes on. The group is handled by a rather righteous moderator named Rosalyn and she likes to keep an eye on "appropriate" threads for discussion.

A rebellious group is formed called Green Eggs and Ham. It consists of a group of women who have formed a bond. Some of them actually know each other, some just have formed friendships through the first group of SAHM I AM. They often vent among themselves about Rosalyn and her judgemental comments.

Then there is GWENCH formed by Rosalyn. Godly Women for the Enforcement of National Christian Holidays. She wants all women to come together to force retail owners to stop the "Happy Holidays" saying and go back to the traditional "Merry Christmas". Her plan is to boycott all stores and to stop giving store-bought gifts.

There are a few personal emails as well between individuals that also come into the mix.

It got confusing, I won't deny that, but it did hold my interest once I just started reading and forgot about trying to keep it all straight. It gradually fell into place. Oddly enough, I did begin to pick up on each character's personality and I began to feel as though I knew each woman pretty well. Many books in this format don't give a feeling of character development.

Each of the primary women is struggling in one way or another...an inattentive husband, a struggle to have a baby, a meddling mother-in-law, a husband's loss of employment...and each of the women is there to talk them through their struggles even if they can't be there physically.

The book ended up being about a group of women who can agree to disagree at times but still come together when one of their group is having a hard time and needs a friend to listen. In this case...several friends.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Throughout this book, I realized that the SAHM and the working parent do not understand each other. It caused me to examine my own relationship and see it from my husband's perspective. I read this book first (before the first in the series)and I think that it is actually better than the other. I typically don't read this type of book (it's in the 'faith-based' section, but only one or two characters discuss their faith). It's more of a 'chick-lit' book.

[Dana McReynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Adding books from an old reading journal*

The second in the series, another fantastic book. Love the characters. I'm ordering the third book in the series.

[Kristen Gamble · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. It was alright, no real plot. But I did love the email format and the mom banter. I just became a SAHM so that was relatable. Cute, quick read.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up from the holiday display at my library and it was a fun Christmas read :) At first I was worried it would be too conservative and irritating because the first woman's email had a Proverbs 31 quote in the signature - a passage I only know from this blog: http://stayathomedaughter.com/2012/01... Then I quickly learned that the rest of the women in the email loop also think said first women is too conservative (and judgmental) and the book was jolly fun from then on. There were 8 main characters so even though I found a couple story lines predictable, I enjoyed the rest immensely and actually laughed out loud a few times.

I enjoyed this book probably far more than it merits. Growing up I was always reading books about people one life step ahead of me - middle schoolers while I was in 4th and 5th grade, high schoolers while I was in middle school, college kids and 20 somethings while I was in high school, etc. Thing is, once you're an adult, there's no longer a life step that everyone goes through and, hence, gets its own section in the library. I can't just go to the shelf for "people in the middle of their careers," "people buying houses," or in the case of this book, "people starting families." Anyway, for that reason, I enjoyed this a lot more than someone who doesn't want to have kids would. Those who already have kids would probably find it cliche and cheesy - like I find a fair number of books about high schoolers these days.

O and this was one book where I could actually excuse the couple typos since they gave the emails authenticity ;p

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read about the SAHMs. However, I got really tired of Veronica's Texas "accent" and Rosalyn's being so high and mighty all the time, thinking she's better than everyone else. I'm glad she chilled out a bit toward the end. I'm hoping with the addition of Tom and Flynn as SAHDs to the group, that they will be included in the next book.

I didn't figure out Zelia's game, and it drove me crazy. I got her hints, but don't know all the lyrics and didn't want to look them all up. I'm glad the author wrote in her letter to readers where to get the answer!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good continuation of the series. I like (most of) the characters and their individual stories. I also like the community they have that supports, defends, argues, and befriends people in the same situations.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just was not that crazy about this book...I was looking forward to a Christmas story and this was more about adoption and working parents...Christmas came and went so fast in the book that it didn't provide me with any Christmas spirit. I did like the first book better. just MHO

[Ashlei · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book. It seems like a good concept, the whole book is various emails, but it reads choppy and uneven. There is no depth to the characters. All you see of them is what they type. I got about 100 pages in and decided I can't be bothered to finish this book.

[Becki]

Includes 'Questions for \n\nDefinitely a fluff book. It was a good book for subbing yesterday, though, because the email format gives you a lot of little spots to stop at to redirect the students on their task.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, light, quick Christian chick-lit.

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuation of SAHM I Am. Good, love the e-mail format but not as spiritually moving as the first book.

[Minivanmom2five · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great follow up to the first book.

[Danni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so funny. It is about women who stay in their homes who form a e-mail group. Some of their mishaps are amazing.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked this a bit more than her previous one. Easier to follow all the characters...and a good read as we get closer and closer to Christmas.