Christmas on Mill Street: A Novel

by Joseph Walker

It's 1962, and young Sam Andrews just moved to Utah from Arizona. A tall, overweight, semi-clumsy outsider, he's still trying to fit in with the neighborhood boys. When discussion about sledding down the infamous Mill Street begins, Sam pipes in and says he'll do it. The problem is, Sam has only seen snow in pictures and has never actually ridden a sled. And to top it all off, Mill Street is practically a vertical drop with two deadly curves. A rider going too fast would shoot right off Mill Street and into the Kimballs' thorn-filled pyracantha bushes. But there's no turning back now. Christmas on Mill Street is a delightful and inspirational family gift for the holiday season.

Genres: Christmas, Fiction, Holiday, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Humor, Lds

1 pages, Audio CD

First published October 10, 2008

Reviews

[Adam Ricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. Will reread this at Christmastime in the future. Definitely will be one that I come back to again. Will be a fun one to read with my kids as well. I loved this even more because I know exactly where this elementary school is and the streets around it. What a fun Christmas story. Loved the writing style as well. Just delightful.

Update - I liked it enough that we just reread it again with the whole family. What a great story. The kids loved it.

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely heartwarming, sweet Christmas tale. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, tis the season, and it has been a few years. It was time to revisit this fun holiday story.

Second review: I couldn't help myself. I had to read this fun Christmas story again this year. My opinion hasn't changed from last year--this is still an enjoyable way to spend an hour or so, and if you want to laugh, you won't be disappointed.

Original review: This short, funny Christmas story was delightful to read. I loved recognizing places in Bountiful where the story is set, and the different references to the 60's when it takes place were great. Big thumbs up for this one.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to read this one about every Christmas if I can, mainly because it is a cute story set in my hometown. It brings back some fun childhood memories

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

In reality, this is a 2.5 rating. I enjoyed it but not quite enough to say I really liked it. It felt too contrived and there were passages where it felt as though they had been taken straight from Jean Shepherd's Christmas Story, which rubbed me wrong. It was fun to read about a place and time that is familiar.

[Sandym24 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute novella that takes you back in time to the childlike wonder of the season. Many laugh out loud moments. Enjoyed this very much.

[Trinna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story. Basically a retelling of the movie “A Christmas Story”. But I did enjoy it.

[Lauren]

Loved it! Classic nostalgic vibes, funny, sweet. Very reminiscent of A Christmas Story. Definitely would recommend as a fun December read (and fairly quick too).

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little Christmas kid's story

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It's definitely one to read every year during the holiday season! It would make a fun movie, too.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable holiday book- my children and I all enjoyed it. Discussion of whether or not Santa Claus is real with room for opinions on both sides (won’t ruin it for your kids if they still believe). Very like Sandlot and A Christmas Story. We laughed out loud several times.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute holiday story perfect for Christmas. It reminded me a lot of the narration of the movie A Christmas Story- same feel but this book is lighter, happier. They both have the nostalgia of a boyhood Christmas- a boy on the brink of disbelief but still hoping for the present of his dreams. Would be a great read/listen with kids.

[The Scrivener's Quill · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot great points to this book. It is a fun holiday read, yes like Ralphie from Christmas Story. I'd also recommend The Great Brain and A Year Down Yonder as similar reads.

My only critique is that the absence of Mormons in Utah is pretty obvious and doesn't make sense for a book about people living in Utah.

The reality is that it appears the author is Mormon by a few allusions to cultural norms that are washed over to look protestant. If the book, however, was written by a protestant, the Mormons would have been mentioned as cultural fixtures.

I wonder why the author didn't feel comfortable adding his Mormonism into the story?

In The Great Brain it wasn't a problem to be Catholic in Utah. Mormons should be able to write their stories as well without feeling it lessens the quality of the story or might harm the overall appeal or is some kind of cultural taboo that shouldn't be mentioned.

If this book was set in Indiana or the midwest with Ralphie, sure, the Mormons don't need to appear, but it's Bountiful, Utah. It would be like Lancaster, PA, without Amish people. You have to mention them or it wouldn't make sense.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Utah Christmas tale of the early 60's, it ought to bring back lots of great memories. Instead, it mostly irritates, as it tries to create the “Christmas Story” atmosphere, and flunks. I tried to imagine Ralphie narrating it, but the sentences were way too unnatural and contrived. At least it’s not as bad as those “Christmas Box-Jars-Sweater” books, since there’s no poor suffering “family-widow-orphan” that desperately needs help, and would have a miserable Christmas without the “money-box-sweater” that kind people supply. And there’s a plot that’s pretty satisfying when it finally gets going. It’s maybe worth reading once.

[Kathleen Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book. Maybe I liked it so much because the setting was about the time of when I was growing up, so I recognized lots of things it talked about. The story is right up there with "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". I'll probably read it every Christmas, and would love to read it to my grandkids. It's a quick read too. I probably read it in two nights.

[Ann Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hopefully the author will forgive me but I could not help but read this in the voice of Jean Shepherd...I enjoyed it...a quick read...my one issue was the focus on the mothers cooking...seemed to repeat himself and it annoyed me but perhaps that stems from my own personal issues (which I know nothing about)...would recommend for all.

[Kurt Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great short story! We learn about this boy's adventures in overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles and prejudices both. Highly recommended.

[Jessica Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book! Definitely reminds me of A Christmas Story, or The Sandlot. It's a fun trip inside the head of an 8-year-old boy.

It actually got me thinking about how sometimes we view God's judgment like a "naughty and nice list." Once we mess up a few times, we think there's no going back and we'll never be good enough. Santa in this story "forgives" Sam, who is overjoyed that his dumb mistakes won't disqualify him from getting his sled for Christmas. We all make dumb mistakes, but God is more than willing to forgive if we'll just come to Him for help. Our past mistakes don't need to define us.

Anyway, it's a very cute story with a good message and some funny inner dialogue. It's one you could read to the family for Christmas. I listened to it as an audiobook, and I think it flows best when read out loud. :)

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this little book. It's about young Sam Andrews whose family has recently moved to Utah from Arizona. He's trying hard to fit in at school, where the other boys are all talking about sledding down the hill to beat all hills.....Mill Street. It's a sharp drop with two very tricky turns, and before Sam really knows what he's doing, he hears himself agreeing to try it, though he has never been on a sled or even seen snow.

Sam has one hope that keeps him believing he can do it - the hope of getting a shiny new "Flexible Flyer" sled for Christmas. With a sled like that he knows he can do it. And besides, he has a secret weapon in Clara Morgan, a woman who gives the kids shivers, but who knows the secret of mastering Mill Street hill.

If you get a chance to read this, do. It delivers everything that great cover promises.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What it's about - 1960's - A young boy and his family move to Utah (from Arizona) where he gets to experience snow for the very first time and is challenged to sled quite a big scary hill (Mill Street), having never even sled before. He wants Santa to bring him a new fancy sled for Christmas but is dared by his sister to only tell Santa in a letter about his wish. If Santa is real, he'll get the sled.

What happens - Very reminiscent of that movie A Christmas Story except this kid is Mormon and wants a sled instead of whatever kind of gun that was. This story gets a little smarmy and annoying at times. The kid gets in big trouble a few times but then really pulls out all the stops to prove he deserves to be on the "Nice" list instead of "Naughty". Spoiler....He gets the sled of his dreams in the end on Christmas morning, and with a quick physics lesson from the town's requisite scary old lady, he attempts and succeeds to make it all the way down Mill Street - and then immediately gets in trouble. *eyeroll* I have no frame of reference being a child of the 80's and 90's, but his family seems more "helicopter-y" (for lack of a better word) than I assumed would have been likely in the 60's.

Rating - 3 stars. Really dragged at the beginning and very end, but became entertaining in the middle, a nice sweet story for Christmas time. I liked that the main character referred to his future self in this town, giving little anecdotes of other adventures later on in his life.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for a book to listen to with my mom on a road trip. This one was on Deseret Book Plus. To be completely honest, the synopsis didn't sound all that great to me, but it was about the right length, so I downloaded it, along with several others. The one thing that made me hope for the best was the part about laughing out loud. We ended up listening to this one, and both of us loved it. We did laugh out loud -- many times.

Growing up in Bountiful, Utah, was a plus, because I could picture some of the places mentioned in the book. (And I'm definitely going to be taking a drive up Mill Street, soon.) However, it isn't necessary to know Bountiful to enjoy it.

It was a light, sweet, feel-good Christmas story. Perfect for what I've needed lately.

[Lisa Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Calvin Tucker is new to Salt Lake City, Utah - and to snow and cold weather. It's Christmas 1962, and the baby of a large family, he is trying to find a place for himself amongst his new friends and his new life. He may just accept the challenge of conquering Mill Street (a steep and winding city street) on a sled, when he has never actually been sledding before in his life. He doesn't even own a sled. But maybe, just maybe, he can get Santa to bring him a fancy Flexible Flyer sled for Christmas, so that he can fulfill the challenge and win the respect of his peers - or die in the process ;).

Such a fun story, and I really enjoyed it. It really did read like a memoir too. I think it would be a great Christmas read-a-loud to my son.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up because I'm WAY behind in my reading goal and I wanted a quick read. (Not the best reasons to grab a book, but there it is.)

This was so cute!

100% has The Christmas Story vibe: 9-year-old boy in the 1960s who's moved to a new state and doesn't know what to believe about Santa Claus.

I can't recommend the audio version enough--it was SO entertaining! The book itself is funny, but the narrator brought so much life and humor to his performance. It was a worthy investment of my time and attention.

I don't know much about Joseph Walker, but I'll definitely look up more of his works after reading this book.

Rated G.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful story deserves to be a family Christmas classic. It's interesting to read the reviews. People either love it or hate it. It does have the flavor of other Christmas narratives set in childhood in a simpler time. The story is a bit incredible. But that said, it was really fun to read. A 9 year old tries to fit in to the Utah 60's small town he has just moved to. The plot includes adventure, as well as authentic kid's concerns, as the boy tries to make his way through the pitfalls of being "new kid" who isn't skillful and good looking.

[Dell Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a delightful Christmas book! My daughters and I read this for our December read when we just wanted something Christmas -y and lighthearted. And, this filled the bill. A heartwarming story about a boy who just wants to fit in with the kids at his new school. When he boasts that he can sled down the treacherous hill on Mill Street, he has no idea what he is in for. After all, he has just moved to Utah from Arizona and has never seen snow much less ridden a sled down a daunting hill. Events unfold in the most hilarious and touching way ... a surefire hit for the holiday season.

[Verona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I haven't read anything by this author, but I loved his sense of humor, and his bringing in all the culture of the time period of this book. It was so enjoyable to have the fourth grade boy tell his own story. The ending was perfect! The friendship between the boy and older neighbor was natural and priceless, and she created the happy ending. I'd like to read more of Joseph Walker's books.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Garrison Keillor and imagined him putting a story together that was a third The Sandlot, a third Lake Wobegon and a third A Christmas Story then you've got this book.

It was funny and charming, well written and a nice way to spend a couple hours.

Is it a five star book - no, not really. But my enjoyment of it was a five star experience so that's why it has five stars because, well, it's my review/rating.

Highly recommended.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun story about growing up, and trying to fit in, and hoping for a great Christmas present. It was a little like A Christmas Story (sorry, I'm sure authors hate comparisons to stories with similar themes). It takes place in the 1960's so the historical and cultural references were fun, too. Nice story to read while relaxing during the holidays.

I read some of this book and listened to the audio book sometimes, too. The audio book narrator does a great little kid voice.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a charming and sweet novella (very short!) about a boy, a hill, and a sled. It is reminiscent of A Christmas Story and Ron Carlson's story "The H Street Sledding Record."
The cultural references in this story were sometimes a stretch for me, so I'm sure those younger than me would not understand most of them.
The story takes place in Bountiful which explains its popularity here in Utah.
Read for our "Christmas read" with my family bookclub.

[Susan Forsgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are living in Bountiful or have ever lived there you NEED to read this book, because that is the setting for this book.
Although it could happen in any small town.
It had me reliving some of my own children's adventures. I laughed out loud and could see many of the things described happening to those around me.