Sun-Kissed Christmas by Katherine Applegate

There is so much going on in this short 208-page book, but I feel like everything is developed so nicely. One of the concepts in the book is Summer’s friends taking care of a young girl when her mom abandons her at the mall. This seemed a little bit like a retelling of Miracle on 34th Street, which I don’t think I’ve read before. Another plot line in Sun-Kissed Christmas consists of Summer trying to reunite two people who met in the war. Her goal is to recreate their meeting in her backyard. I found this so sweet and really enjoyed reading it.

❀ Beach Setting

I loved the Florida setting in this book so much! I am such a sucker for any book set on a beach, so naturally, I was drawn to this one. Just reading about the tropical climate and the beaches made me feel like I was somewhere warm, not stuck in Canada in the winter. This is the dream winter break location for me, and I was glad to experience it as I was reading.

❀ Enjoyable Main Character

Summer’s character is enjoyable. What I liked about her is her ability to prevent the opinions of others from changing her mind. She is so determined and headstrong. Summer is also selfless and compassionate, which is something I always like to see. If she were a real person, I would definitely want to be her friend.

❀ Short and Complex

Sun-Kissed Christmas by Katherine Applegate is a short yet complex story set in Florida. I enjoyed the main character and her sweet personality. This is such a quick read that will only take a couple of hours, so I would definitely recommend this for someone looking for a short and sweet holiday book.

About Katherine Applegate

Katherine Applegate is the author of The One and Only Ivan, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal. Her novel Crenshaw spent over twenty weeks on the New York Times children's bestseller list, and her first middle-grade stand-alone novel, the award-winning Home of the Brave, continues to be included on state reading lists, summer reading lists, and class reading lists.

Katherine has written three picture books: The Buffalo Storm; The Remarkable True Story of Ivan, the Shopping Mall Gorilla (often used as a companion book to The One and Only Ivanfor younger readers); and Sometimes You Fly (publishing in spring, 2018). For beginning readers, Katherine wrote Roscoe Riley Rules, a seven-book series.

With her husband, Michael Grant, Katherine co-wrote Animorphs, a long-running series that has sold over 35 million books worldwide.

Katherine lives in Marin County, California, with her family and assorted pets.

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