A Gift of Angels: Sequel to the Angel Doll, a Christmas Story

by Jerry Bledsoe

Fifty years have passed since ten-year-old Whitey Black spent his savings on an angel doll for his dying little sister and now the narrator, in possession of the doll, seeks to find his long-lost friend and return the doll to its rightful place

Genres: Holiday, Fiction

149 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

Jerry Bledsoe is the author of "The New York Times "#1 bestseller "Bitter Blood, "and others. He has written for "Esquire, The New York Times, "and many other publications. He lives in North Carolina and Virginia.

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another recommendation from a good friend and the sequel to The Angel Doll A Christmas Story. As The Angel Doll was heartwarming - this one is uplifting as the author tries to find his childhood friend from the first story and finds more than he bargained for. Thanks for the recommendations my friend.

[Angie Fehl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jerry Bledsoe originally published The Angel Doll in 1996. Shortly after its release, Bledsoe was inundated with questions from readers as to what happened with Jimmy (aka "Whitey") at the end. Feeling the need to provide answers, Bledsoe rolled out a sequel in 1999, focusing on Jimmy's story.

So once again, the story here is narrated by Whitey's friend from all those years ago. I can't recall if the narrator is given a name specifically, but he's basically the alter ego of author Jerry Bledsoe, as indicated by one of the book's illustrations of our narrator, clearly taking inspiration from the author's bio blurb photo. Our narrator, a now well-established journalist, has recently lost his best friend and mentor, William "Mutt" Burton. Mutt is described as a talented writer and actor who never lost his sense of childlike wonder over things like fireworks, the circus, mail order catalogs, and of course, the Christmas season.

The loss of Mutt gets our narrator thinking about how precious good friendship is, and how sad it is when some fall to the wayside over the years. His thinking takes him to the idea of trying to track down Whitey and seeing what he's up to. After an exhaustive amount of inquires, his efforts don't turn up the results he expected or hoped for, but he does get the chance to meet Whitey's grown daughter, Sandy (yes, named for the sister who passed in The Angel Doll). Sandy shares a moving story of her father's bravery in the Vietnam War.

It's a quick read, and not quite the sequel I was hoping for... missing a little oomph for me... but I did quite like the portion with Whitey's war letters to his wife. The few illustrations, done by Tim Rickard, were a nice enhancement, and the story does close on a nice scene. Good, easy, heartwarming stuff for a quiet holiday morning.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sequel to The Angel Doll. Not as good as the original story, but I liked the closure with knowing what happened to the characters. Good, short read.

[Chelsea Wiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast Read! Another sweet book!

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming, delightful.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

makes you want to believe in miracles.

Suggests that kind acts have a ripple effect

another Christmas reread.

[☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎]

A beautiful story.