A Very Bookish Celebration

by Kate Willis, Sarah Holman, Kelsey Bryant

14 authors, 28 classics-inspired flash fiction for minor holidays.

Join authors Sarah Holman, Heaven Adore, Joshua Hoppman, Angie Thompson, Kelsey Bryant, Abigail Kay Harris, Erika Mathews, Katja H. Labonté, Jesseca Wheaton, Kate Willis, C.R. Kelchner, Storm Shultz, Abigayle Claire, and Raechel Lenore as they bring stories of hope, love, and celebration.

Genres: Short Stories

Unknown Binding

Published March 7, 2024

About the author

Kate (Willis) Hoppman is a follower of Jesus and lover of words. She enjoys quiet afternoons reading or watching movies with her nerdy husband, baking tall cakes, and cuddling her dogs.

Reviews

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I have two flash fictions in this collection, set during Easter and Mother’s Day respectively. My retellings feature two of my favourite classics that have not yet been retold in the Very Bookish series (Wuthering Heights and Jane of Lantern Hill). These stories do not at all influence my rating or review; I am solely reviewing and rating my fellow-writers’ stories.

This collection covers holidays all across the year: New Year’s day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Groundhog Day, Presidents’ Day, Purim, Saint Patrick’s Day, First Day of Spring, Palm Sunday, Passover, Good Friday, Easter, Earth Day, Mother’s Day, Pentecost, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Juneteenth, First Day of Summer, Rosh Hashanah, Labour Day, Garndparents’ Day, First Day of Fall, Feast of the Tabernacles, Reformation Day, Veterans’ Day, Hanukkah, First Day of Winter, and New Year’s Eve. Stories retold consist of The Moonstone; To Kill a mockingbird; Where Love is, There God is Also; Jack & Jill; The Book of Esther (Bible); Kidnapped; Pollyanna; Eight Cousins; Hinds’ Feet on High Places; The Little Prince; Wuthering Heights; The Search for Delicious; Jane of Lantern Hill; Mountain of Spices; Little Women; The Children’s Hour (poem); A Christmas Carol; Great Expectations; Sense & Sensibility; Five Little Peppers; All Things Bright & Beautiful (poem); Peter Pan; Northanger Abbey; Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (poem); The Scarlet Pimpernel; A Dream Within a Dream (poem); The Bluebird (poem); and Pride & Prejudice.

Most of the stories were very well done; there were a few that had me questioning what holiday or classic they were covering, but predominantly they delighted me with the connections and retelling skills! It’s hard to pick favourites, but a few would be: both of Angie Thompson’s stories (she picked some of my favourite classics too, so that’s a bonus!!); Erika Mathews’ two tales, which made me want to read the books she retold; Beware the Wold by Kelsey Bryant; Remembrance by Jesseca Wheaton; and Hope lifts the Bluebird by Storm Shultz. I’d also like to highlight a few stories that really spoke to me: A Quest for Dessert by Joshua Hoppman, and mostly Past, Present, & Future by Sarah Holman. I had some good thinking to do about several holidays and I’d really like to reread the stories on the designated days. Definitely a collection I recommend! My biggest thanks to Kate and Sarah for this opportunity.

[Angie Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun collection of all kinds of different short stories for the minor holidays. Some of the originals I knew, some I didn't, some I couldn't quite make out what the original was. (I didn't discover the table of contents until after I finished reading. :P) Of course there were some I liked better than others, which is completely expected, and can I say from experience--wow, is it hard to fit a holiday, a classic, and a Christian theme into a complete story of 1,000 words or less! I salute every author here for the effort alone! :D

There's no way I can review every single story, so I'll just mention a few of my favorites. Through most of the book, I wasn't sure I'd be able to pick just one that stood out, and then "Pride and Punch" (New Year's Eve, by Abigail Harris) slapped me in the face just as I was about to close the book, and it wins the prize hands down! So hilarious, and so, so recognizable and original at the same time! Others that were in the running before that include "It Starts with Soda Bread" (St. Patrick's Day, by Kelsey Bryant), "The Lowest Place of All" and "Pentecost Present" (Passover and Pentecost, by Erika Mathews), "Ruach Pisgah" (Easter, by Katja Labonte--and let me just say, for such a hard situation based on such a depressing story, the fact that it makes this list is incredible!), "Jenny of Anders' Island" (Mother's Day, by Katja Labonte), "Past, Present, and Future" (Juneteenth, by Sarah Holman), and "Hope Lifts the Bluebird" (Winter Begins, by Storm Shultz). And then of course, there are my own two, but those don't count for this review. ;)

Thanks to all the authors who were part of making this collection happen, and special thanks to Kate for putting it all together!

[Sarah]

I am so, so excited about this collection which is conceived and spearheaded by the amazing Kate Willis. It will be a flash fiction collection that combines holidays and classics. I'm honored to have stories in this collection.
My stories will include ones for:
~ New Years
~ Palm Sunday
~ Juneteenth
~ Rosh Hashana
Don't miss this collection coming soon.

[Kate Willis]

I'm so excited this flash fiction anthology is out! My stories are "The Summer of Pirates", a Peter Pan-inspired story for the first day of fall, and "The Little Castle", inspired by The Children's Hour poem for Father's Day. ;)

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading so many little stories and vignettes about different holidays that don’t normally get written about. Some I liked better than others but that’s to be expected with 28 different stories and many different authors. And while I did enjoy and like almost every single story in this collection, I did find some favorites.

Friends and Founders
A fun story and a good reminder of how even small things can be an encouragement to others.

Eight Siblings
So happy to see these characters again.

The Little Castle
I adored these characters and this little family! Loved the little surprises and the joy the father had in his children.

Renewed
A good reminder that sometimes your gloom and sadness is the result of focusing on the wrong things, and that turning to the Lord in a deliberate way not only changes your perspective, but also your heart.

One September Monday
Delightful little story. I did want to read more about them. Can we have a longer story, please?

I was a bit disappointed in that the title of this collection didn’t seem to match the stories. After having read all the other “Very Bookish” collections, I was expecting to find all sorts of books referenced and woven in to these stories, but that wasn’t the case. While quite a few had this, some stories had just a Bible verse or a poem, and some had nothing. There’s nothing wrong with this, it just wasn’t what I was expecting with the title saying this was a part of the “Very Bookish” collections.

These were all clean and many of them were overtly Christian.

[Abigail Harris]

I'm so excited to say that I have two stories in this collection, one for the first day of Spring and another for New Year's Eve! If you've read my Seize the World stories, you won't want to miss the stories set in the same world.

[Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun collection of short stories! It's neat that many minor holidays get recognition. I enjoyed reading authors' works that I've not read before, as well as the touching lessons and humor throughout.
One way this anthology is different from the "A Very Bookish Collection" series is that not every story is inspired by a known book.
Still this was a pleasure to read! Thank you to every writer who contributed to this beloved series!

[Erika Mathews · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many short fun flash fiction holiday stories in here!

[Joshua]

There's a fun variety of short stories written by Christian authors that cover so many holidays, characters, and time periods that by the end it feels like you've spent a whole year with different strangers who are both familiar and inviting: like spending a holiday with a long lost family member.

The best part of this book is that there's a little bit of something for everyone.

Ps. There's three stories in here that I wrote, so that's cool, I guess. 😉

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection of faith-based flash fiction reads can enjoy all throughout the year.