A Boy Called Christmas / The Girl Who Saved Christmas

Christmas #1-2

by Matt Haig, Chris Mould (Illustrator)

Genres: Christmas, Fantasy, Childrens, Contemporary

Hardcover

Published November 10, 2016

About the author

Matt Haig is the author of novels such as The Midnight Library, How to Stop Time, The Humans, The Radleys, and the forthcoming The Life Impossible. He has also written books for children, such as A Boy Called Christmas, and the memoir Reasons to Stay Alive.

Reviews

[Lorreine Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book! My first time with this author. husband bought it me for Christmas 2019. I am a total kindle fan and really can’t be bothered reading physical books. but I am determined to get through some of the many books he has bought me in recent years. Anyway, I picked this up yesterday and simple wizzed through it. A lovely story, lots of gentle humour and a great characters - I also loved the illustrations. A great book for readers or all ages.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a great read aloud book to enjoy with a child. Very imaginative! Illustrations are really fun.
☺

[Lynne Vanderveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only read A Boy Called Christmas at this point. I'm not sure why you can't find the individual title on Goodreads, but it doesn't appear to be here. Luckily I have the next book as well. This is a sweet origin story for Father Christmas. It starts with a very, very poor boy named Nickolas who lives with only his father after having seen his mother die after a bear attack. His father goes off with a group of men to find out if elves really exist leaving Nickloas with his horrible aunt. Eventually he has had all he can take of this woman and sets off to find his father. What he finds instead is where the elves live and a whole new life. One reviewer called this book "part Lemony Snicker, part Roald Dahl" and I think that is a perfect description! I really enjoyed reading this children's book and will certainly be passing it along.

[Alice Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this out after loving Matt Haig's adult books and thought it would be a great book to listen to on the run up to Christmas. With audiobooks, I struggle to get invested and into the world of the novel so I always find it hard to review an audiobook.

As a whole I thought this was okay. I loved the magical elements and the cosy christmassy vibe.

I am not sure which aspects were the ones that meant I struggled to attach with the story. It may have been the audiobook format (even though I love Stepben Fry) or the fact it was a children's fiction, which I have struggled with before.

I would definitely buy this book and recommend it to younger readers. However, personally for me it was just okay to read as an adult.

[Heather Baez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to A Boy Called Christmas (not sure why it's not listed individually in goodreads) and really early on, I realized I had watched the Netflix movie based on the book. And ...... I didn't love the story 🙈 It was okay, but made me kind of sad and the payoff, to me, wasn't enough to offset the sadness of 11 year-old Nikolas's treatment by his horrid aunt. It does have a happy ending and some fun parts when Nikolas leaves his home to find his dad has left him with his aunt, in the North Pole. It's not bad by any means, but not a Christmas classic for me. (The book or movie.)

[A_Chirping_Aquarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there is a Christmas book I read and completely enjoyed it’s this one the writing is fantastic , it’s simple , imaginative , hippy , adventurous and just beautiful. It’s hopeful and the illustrations are honestly fantastic . I am in love with Matt Haig’s writing. I am going to read more books from him soon.

[Elsbeth McGaughrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this on Audible, Stephen Fry made me giggle, he really brought it to life - saw an advert for the film, thought I'd listen to the book first. There is also a Scots version, A Laddie Cawed Christmas, which I bought for my mum, fun get you in the mood for Christmas

[Library K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, quick read at Christmas. I thought the second book was even better then the first.

[TAYA MOSHNIKOV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both put me into spirit when I'm upset or bored!

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super darling series to read with the kids at Christmas time! A little dark and magical.

[Echo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too creepy for my taste. I am so glad I didn't read this to my kids they would be having nightmares of people dying, and kids going missing.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both of these books are fun. I saw the movie, "A Boy Called Christmas", and it was good. The books, as always, were better.

[Cazi3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story audio is made even more magical and delightful in the telling from Stephen Fry , such a treat

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, magical stories that filled me with hope and happiness.