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Saturday, June 21, 2014

The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson : A Review


BOOK TITLE: The Christmas Wedding

ISBN: 9780316097390
AUTHOR: James Patterson
GENRE: Fiction
NUMBER OF PAGES: 288
FORMAT: Paperback
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: A friend lent me this promising a good read!
SUMMARY:
          The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby's four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married--and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day--she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays. 
          But the wedding isn't Gaby's only surprise--she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their lives forever. With deeply affecting characters and the emotional twists of a James Patterson thriller, The Christmas Wedding is a fresh look at family and the magic of the season.
REVIEW:
          When you are used to reading gory thrillers from an author famous for them, a normal, mellow book comes as a surprise. So it is with mild apprehension that I took up this emotional book by James Patterson famous for his Alex Cross and Women’s Murder Club books. But as is true with any author, only the words and the knack for story telling matter. And of course, James Patterson has the hang of it!
          Gaby, a fifty four year old mother of four, decides to marry again after the death of her husband three years ago. She decides to coincide her wedding with Christmas. Gaby proceeds to send the news to her four children as video logs. These have been written well and are endearing as well as getting on the nerves sometimes. Typical James Patterson protagonist.
          What gets on the readers nerves? The fact that there will be a wedding, but the groom will be revealed at the altar only. There are three suitors, somehow related to/ friendly with Gaby and known to all four of her children. The guessing game continues in line with the lives of all the four children as the narrative switches to give us a glimpse into their lives on the days preceding Christmas and the big wedding.
          A woman dealing with an abusive husband and troubled teenaged kid, a woman helping out a terminally ill husband, a woman who faces life’s difficult career choices and is faced with a dilemma and finally a man who wants to do one thing that makes him happy but is repeatedly rejected for his talents. This is the short synopsis of Gaby’s four children.
          But the story is more about learning to live with the faults and helping each other through. Gaby starts of irritating but blooms out to be a very well liked mother, grandmother and bride. The excitement and suspense is built up till the penultimate chapter, making the reader really cross. At one point of time, I convinced myself that the wedding was a hoax to bring the family together. But *spoiler alert* no, that is not the case. There is more than a wedding underway.
          The plot is… for want of a better word… unique. The characters are well sketched (if you are in any doubt, the author has included a character gist of sorts at the start of the book to keep track of who is who. There aren’t many to confuse, but still). The overall story is well written and coherent. And the book does deliver what it promises. But if you have typecast the author in the Mystery/ Detective genre, prepared to be surprised (like I obviously was… No, honestly, who would have imagined?)
WHAT I LIKED:
          The story and the whole concept of Grandma being video friendly and tech savvy! Gaby did have me in splits sometimes. A typical strong female protagonist. Endearing, irritating, the works!
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
          The suspense is simply too much and not probable at all! But still, I didn’t expect the author to reveal his secrets so soon. After all, he is the master of twists.
VERDICT:
          Noting this day as the “Day I realised James Patterson wrote Romance and Feel Good novels too!”
          How can an element of thriller be induced into a Feel Good book? Read to find out!
RATING: 4/5 (simply because I loved the story. I got what I expected).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
          The subject of a Time magazine feature called, "The Man Who Can't Miss," James Patterson is the bestselling author of the past year, bar none, with more than 16 million books sold in North America alone. In 2007, one of every fifteen hardcover fiction books sold was a Patterson title. In the past three years, James has sold more books than any other author (according to Bookscan), and in total, James's books have sold an estimated 220 million copies worldwide. He is the first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on The New York Times adult and children's lists and is the only author to have five new hardcover novels debut at #1 on the list in one year—a record-breaking feat he's accomplished every year since 2005. To date, James Patterson has had nineteen consecutive #1 New York Timesbestselling novels, and holds the New York Times record for most Hardcover Fiction bestselling titles by a single author (63 total), which is also a Guinness World Record.

          From his James Patterson Pageturner Awards (which rewarded groups and individuals for creative and effective ways to spread the joy of reading) to his website ReadKiddoRead.com (which helps adults find books that kids are sure to love) to his regular donations of thousands of books to troops overseas, Patterson is a lifelong champion of books and reading. His first foray into books for all ages was the critically acclaimed Maximum Ride series, which debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list at #1 and remained there for twelve straight weeks. The series has so far made appearances on The New York Times bestsellers lists ninety-four cumulative times, proving that kids of all ages love page turners. He captured the attention of boy readers with the Daniel X series, and his third series for readers of all ages debuted in December 2009 with Witch & Wizard, which spent five consecutive weeks atop the New York Times bestsellers list.
          Patterson is the creator of the #1 new detective series of the past dozen years, featuring Alex Cross and including the Hollywood-adapted "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls," starring Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman. He is also the creator of the #1 new detective series of the past five years, featuring Lindsay Boxer and the other members of the Women's Murder Club, from which the ABC television drama series was adapted. He has authored books behind six films on the Hollywood fast-track, including the upcoming Maximum Ride movie forthcoming from Avi Arad, the producer of X-Men and Spiderman.
          He is the author of novels—from The Thomas Berryman Number (1976) to Honeymoon (2005)—that have won awards including the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year award, and the Reader's Digest Reader's Choice Award. And, he has won a Children's Choice Book Council's Children's Choice Awards "Author of the Year" award (2010).
          One of Forbes magazine's Celebrity 100, James made a guest appearance on the popular FOX TV show "The Simpsons" in March, 2007.
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle
PRICE: Rs. 656 for paperback
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