Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
32(32%)
4 stars
28(28%)
3 stars
40(40%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews
April 25,2025
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This was a cute little Christmas themed book. Very much looking forward to watching the movie, and could very distinctively feel Jaimie Lee Curtis losing her s@#t!

I like to read a theme book every festive season, and this filled the spot nicely. Regardless of calling off Christmas or not (which is what this couple decided to do), the Christmas they do do every year is way over the top. I'm quite boring and love a tree, some nice decorations and a few tasteful lights.

No street themed snowmen and keeping up with the Jonses for me, thank you very much!

Light hearted, fun and a little silly - just what you want at Christmas!
April 25,2025
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Lame. Pointless. Pathetic. Unworthy.
Instead of Skipping Christmas, skip this book.

I barely enjoyed the movie and it was way better than the book. I read this ASSuming that the film was based on a funnier, better characterized, more in depth holiday story of a couple attempting and failing to skip Christmas. Wrong. That ASSumption made an ASS out of me and I'm hoping to spare you the same fate.

Every character was as unlikable as the next. The entire presumptuous town basically abused this couple for not conforming to the status quo of commercialized Christmas and then only came to their rescue once they supposedly saw the light. I would definitely choose to be an atheist amongst those people. Blair was an over indulged flighty brat. Vic, a self important blowhard who ran the neighborhood like a Mafia boss. Luther was portrayed as a grinch like character who needed an attitude adjustment. Dude just wanted a freaking vacation with his wife alone after 25 something years of her obsessing over their daughter. What was wrong about that? Nora was the worst however. She basically only cared about appearances with the community and her daughter. The book's ending should have been Luther running off with another woman to the Bahamas.
Lastly, what was with all the racist comments regarding the Peruvian fiancé? How dark was he? Oh, what a relief he's 2 shades lighter than us? Wow, his English is good. He is only smart because he was educated in England. Really!?!

Totally sickening book. Not heart warming in the least. Actually confirmed for me why I hate the spectacle of Christmas. Disgusting people like these have ruined it. Tis the Season.



April 25,2025
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Try to picture not having to prepare for or celebrate Christmas. Not because of any social or religious reasons, but simply to leave the craziness of malls, inflatables on the lawn, and other inane traditions behind. John Grisham—legal thriller expert like no other—envisions just that in this short Christmas piece. It’s a great move away from his tradition stories, which gets to the humorous side of things and makes quite the impact for the reader who is able to put their preconceived notions aside. I needed something to add to my holiday reading list and this one hit the spot.

After Luther and Nora Krank learn that their daughter will be away for Christmas, they ponder leaving it all behind. They plan a trip for just them and dump the money they would have spent into something for just the two of them. When they settle on a cruise, they begin making plans and dodging the outward holiday plans that many have come to expect. There is no need to head to the mall, where money could be spent on tanning and eating much healthier. The Kranks are ready for this, even if others around them refuse to accept their plans or ideas of how to spend the holiday season.

With a great deal of pushback, Luther and Nora begin to see just how much others rely on them to keep the Christmas season going. They refuse to stand down, even as the neighbourhood kids toss threats in their direction. Then, a call comes in on Christmas Eve, one that could put their plans in jeopardy and they must decide how to handle it. It’s sure to be a real challenge, as monumental as the decision Scrooge made all those years ago about the holidays. Grisham does a great job, adding humour and some sentimentality to a Christmas story that checks all the boxes.

While I have long loved the stories that John Grisham has to offer, I was pleasantly surprised to pick this book up after so many years. It’s a great piece that adds some serious aspects of the holiday season with the comical perspective of the craziness that people choose to put themselves in for no apparent reason. Grisham builds up the story while delivering strong characters and a few twists. The panic that ensues is just what’s needed and I could not get enough. With a cinematic rendition also out there, I will have to watch to see how it compares to this short piece that is perfect for the Christmas season.

Kudos, Mr. Grisham, for a great holiday story!

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
April 25,2025
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☃️n  I'm not doing Frostyn☃️

I almost missed out on one of the funniest holiday books! I can't believe I borrowed this last year and returned it after listening to just one chapter. For some strange reason, I just didn't get it then.

As crazy as it may sound, this "dnf" last year is now proudly on my favorite shelf! I laughed so hard that I was in tears. I didn't know John Grisham can be so funny.

This is what the holiday is all about. Love LOVE this book.
April 25,2025
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What a way to end 2009: reading one of the worst books I've read this year, and I've read some real stinkers. Usually I have to at least contemplate giving one or two stars. I didn't even have to think about how many stars this deserves: one. Well, really zero, but that's not an option here.

Where to begin? First, I did not like a single character. The Kranks were aptly named. The father was surly and touchy and seemed annoyed by the entire world. The mother was weak and whiny. And the daughter was selfish and had no sense of reality, even though partly that's because Grisham decided to do absolutely no research into the Peace Corps. I have a friend in the Peace Corps right now and they get two days of vacation per month of work. So, no, little Blair would not be coming home for ten days of Christmas after less than a month of service. Plus, getting engaged and taking the fiance to a foreign country to meet her parents after knowing each other less than four weeks? Really, Grisham, you put so little effort into this book that you can't even be bothered to have a decent plot device to have the Kranks give up their skipped Christmas? Considering the fiance lived in Lima and Blair lived a 3-day bus ride into the mountains from Lima, they probably saw each other about twice between the initial meeting and coming to America engaged. I guess they called each other a lot? Plus, getting last minute plane tickets during the Christmas season? On whose money?

And don't get me started on the neighbors. We are supposed to feel all heart-warmed and mushy that they pulled together to give the Kranks a Christmas in the end. Except they completely harassed them for the previous few weeks. Their behavior was spiteful and rude.

I know this is supposed to be a book about the madness of the holiday season and crass consumerism or something, but, really, there's a line that most people walk between giving into the holiday frenzy and not doing a single Christmas-related thing. The Kranks were so unhappy because they went from one end of the spectrum to the other without attempting any decent moderation.

The best thing about this book--in fact, the ONLY good thing about this book--was that it was short.
April 25,2025
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I hate is town when pep told y what you done and what you dont.I love some time skip some event why not .Once for while or ever.But still i havnt skip any event but still i wish i do. And i love in town when you have proplem all negphour stant with y.
April 25,2025
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Am descoperit un alt Grisham... O carte super amuzantă și numai buna de citit in perioada sărbătorilor. Personajele sunt delicioase si replicile pline de savoare. Recomand .
April 25,2025
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did the grinch write this?

(this book was also racist and fatphobic, on top of being boring and lifeless)
April 25,2025
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Bookopoly 2020 – Friend Pick (Ana)
Ova knjiga mi je bila ugodno iznenađenje. Nisam zapravo znala što očekivati jer već dugo nisam čitala Grishama, a i kad jesam, to su bili njegovi zakonodavni trileri. Ovo je nešto sasvim drugo.
Prvi dojam nije bio baš nešto dobar. Mislila sam si koji luđaci. Ne znaš tko je veći luđak, glavni lik koji odbija sve božićno ili svi njegovi nenormalni susjedi. Međutim, kako je radnja napredovala, sve me je više uvlačila. Zanimalo me što će se dogoditi do kraja. I baš sam se dobro nasmijala, lijepo iznenadila jednim pozitivnim krajem i divnom porukom koju knjiga nosi.
April 25,2025
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A fun story. Predictable and with a good message... friends and neighbors to the rescue. We have thought about skipping Christmas a few times but haven’t had the guts to try it... yet
April 25,2025
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A refreshing,light and breezy read.A couple plans to skip Christmas,save money and go on a cruise.Good fun,and thankfully does not go on for 400 plus pages,like his other books.
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