This isn't just a sweet Christmas story, no it is so much more. I love that Nichols decided to have a deaf and disabled character. She did such a wonderful job in showing how we can communicate with others in so many different ways. This is truly an inspiring story that can be read any time of year!

I received a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Phyllis Clark Nichols book Silent Days, Holy Night has you hooked from the very beginning! You will be captivated with 10 year old Julia and how her adventurous and inquisitive spirit leads to more than she imagined. She develops a friendship with Henry, a crippled, deaf gentleman. The story then leads you back to 16 years later and how this friendship changed her life. Honestly this book is one that can be read amongst the family. It's a perfect read to get you in the Christmas spirit. It delivers Christian values without being overdone. A beautiful story of kindness, friendship, family and respect for all ages!

A great Christmas book that I couldn't put down. Silent Days Holy Night has a great plot and characters that are likeable.

This is a sweet adorable Christmas story! I loved the premise and the characters, especially H. The story simply made my heart smile. A story that shows what is most important at Christmas. I would love to see another story featuring these characters. A pretty perfect Christmas read, and a gorgeous cover!

I received this book from NetGalley and was not required to post a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

I fell in love with Julia! She is a precocious 11-year-old girl, but she also has a heart of gold. This book will renew your faith in humanity ... though you'll stumble a little bit along the way. You will want to read to the very end, especially the epilogue.

I could envision this delightful story as a movie. The author captures your attention from page 1, making you care about every character. You will be cheering, crying, chuckling, and cringing. I dare the reader to close the book and walk away unchanged or unchallenged. How will you respond to the book as you reflect on the love, tenderness, graciousness, gifts, disabilities, inquisitiveness, companionship, and silence that flows through the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. While the first book I've read by Phyllis Clark Nichols, it will definitely not be my last. I am now a huge fan!

Each year around this time I choose several Christmas books to read, and I was most pleased with this choice. A quick, sweet, heartfelt story filled with kindness, love for family and a very outgoing pleasant 10-year-old girl. The story is told by Julia and she certainly has a way of speaking her mind. Such a joy to get to know her.
The storytelling brings back memories of long-ago Christmas’s with my Grandma, Grandpa and family, baking cookies and going up to have sleep overs once a week. This isn’t a deep thinking book but it was a pleasure to read and certainly puts you in the Christmas spirit. I highly recommend.
I was given the opportunity to receive this book from Gilead Publishing through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This one gets high 5*****’s.

This book was just not for me. I am a lover of Christmas and all the joy that it brings. The book had a very nice message in the end, to accept everyone, but for me it just took too long and too slow to get there. Julia was an adorable character that you could stand behind and wish everyone had her enthusiasm. Not my favorite book, but will not deter me from reading another book by the author.

Synopsis:
Julia is an enthusiastic 11 year old who tags along with her dad to visit one of his clients, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Lafferty lives in the large emerald house along town who no one seems to bother with. He is deaf and uses a wheelchair and unfortunately is alone in his house besides the occasional employees. Julia becomes captivated by him and wants to learn sign language. She begins to visit the house more often and in exchange for sign language lessons, she has to play his favorite songs on the grand piano. Some kids at school start playing pranks at the house and Julia schemes up a plan to help Mr. Lafferty feel welcome around the holiday season.

Thanks to #netgalley for the advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this novel which I read at home during Christmas time. At the beginning, I thought that the child-version or the main character was kind of boring and irritating, but the author proved I was wrong. She’s actually adorable, with her love for coffee and science and, most of all, her loyalty toward her family and her values. It was a really heartwarming read, perfect for Christmas time.

A sweet holiday story that is great for reading aloud with the family or silently to yourself in front of the Christmas tree. It is heartwarming, touching and a great example of the season. I love that the main character (Julia) is a child that certainly knows more than most eleven-year-olds do, her charming phrases and personality make her an instant hit with readers. Through this travel back through memories, Julia shows readers that there is more to the holiday season than meets the eye and that even those that have been fictionalized deserve a chance at having friends and a holiday.
This reminded me of Cindy Loo Who from The Grinch (Jim Carey version) where Cindy is seeking the meaning behind Christmas and bringing the community together with the Grinch. I love that this story is marketable to all ages and to families to read together. It is refreshing to have a holiday story done in the manner that Phyllis Clark Nichols used and the talented character that makes readers see a different light in the season.

Silent Days, Holy Night is a sweet Christmas story regarding faith in humanity. Well written and great characters. I enjoyed this book.

A little Christmas story with big heart, Silent Days, Holy Nights by Phyllis Clark Nichols is not a book to skip this season. Curiosity and friendship and kindness permeate the story, alongside the spirit of the holiday (and delicious-sounding recipes!), and I couldn’t help falling in love with young Julia Russell and her new friend, Henry Lafferty. Easily one of my favorite Christmas reads this year, I highly recommend it.

Heartwarming and sentimental, this story will become a fast favorite during the holidays. It’s such a short read that you could likely finish it before lunch on a snowy day. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and the story is very dialogue-heavy. Still, it’s charming and perfect for the holiday season. Cardinals have always been my favorite birds, and I loved seeing them take such a special place in Silent Days, Holy Night. The cover is so pretty, and I loved learning the back story behind the Christmas celebration.

Be sure to have a snack nearby when you read this! All kinds of yummy delights are mentioned, including brownies, pound-cake cookies, and delectable corn bread.

I really liked this book. It is charming and warm and everything I want in a Christmas story. It felt like watching an old movie that is just as good the first time as the 20th time.

I was expecting this novel to be a romance, for some reason. I kept waiting for "the one" to show up, but fortunately no such thing happened. It almost felt like a middle grade novel. I enjoyed it very much.

It gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings a Christmas novel should, but at the same time it had the serious aspect present. I loved the family and I wished I could visit with them. As for the little girl, I see how she could be obnoxious and too much a miss know-it-all compared to her teenage brother who seemed to have got the dumber genes in the family. However, the girl is endearing. All in all, it was a lovely Christmas read.

Silent Days, Holy Night is a good and heartwarming read. I give it four and a half stars and recommend it.

Silent Days, Holy Nights reads like a Hallmark movie. It's a touching story between the young and the old. It's a story of important values and an all around lovely read. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

For some reason I had difficulty getting into this story – possibly because it is harder to refer back when reading an e-book – but once it got going it was an enjoyable read. (The Prologue made much more sense on re-reading it, after I had finished the rest of the book.) Serendipity or Divine Providence? Either way, it was a fortuitous meeting between a gifted young girl & an older, disabled man which totally changed the rest of their lives. False rumours are easy to spread, & very difficult to put a stop to – unless you happen to know a most determined child, who delights in turning ‘can’t’s into ‘can’s... One is never too young to make a difference, & each of us has a responsibility to look outside the cocoon of our own life in order to help someone else. One small act of kindness can have ripples which last years into the future, in ways which could never have been foreseen.

Julia is a precocious ten year old whose father is an attorney for the town's recluse. The recluse lives in a mansion on the edge of town and has been the object of the town's gossip for years.

One time, Julia has to accompany her father to a business meeting with the recluse, Henry Lafferty the Second. There is one thing about Mr Lafferty that Julia finds out the first time that Mr Lafferty is deaf. Julia also finds a piano with true ivory keys and that is one thing she just cannot resist. When she starts playing, Mr Lafferty wheels himself to the piano to feel the vibrations Julia is producing. This is where Julia's and Mr Lafferty's friendship begins.

Julia is a hungry learner, she goes home immediately to learn sign language so that the next time she goes to see Mr Lafferty, she can communicate with him. From there, she begins to plan a Christmas show for Mr Lafferty with her choir at church. In fact, she writes the play the children mime for Mr Lafferty.

Phyllis Clark Nichols has written a beautiful story of cross-generational friendship that transcends time and circumstance. She has built into Julia a compassion rarely seen in today's society. When Mr Lafferty gives Julia a name sign, it is truly one of the most exquisite moments in the book.

This is a five-star book, two thumbs up, and a name sign given to you by someone special.

My thanks to Gilead Publishing for providing the galley I read through NetGalley.com. This review is my opinion alone.

I was so excited to read another book in The Everstone Chronicles by Dawn Crandall. This is book five in the series. The entire storyline follows a group of men and women who meet in one way or another, and each unique story fits together so beautifully. You can read each book alone, but I highly recommend reading them in order, because they connect so well. This particular story picks up from the last book, and explains the tragic events occurring in the life of Nicholette Everstone.

Nicholette is a widow, and she continually imagines what her future might look like. Will she ever find love again? Could her heart even consider it? So much has happened since the death of her husband, and she wonders at the possibility of regarding someone else in the same manner as her William. Those around Nicholette try to comfort her, but not much can be said regarding the most difficult day of her life.

There is so much to be said about these books, because this series contains so many wonderful stories and characters. Each individual holds so much and gives so much to the context of each scene—conflict is everywhere, because love and jealousy abound with each turn of the page. It is so interesting to see how the lives of these characters meld together to create such incredible plots. I recommend checking out this series—perhaps it can be you New Year’s set of books to read! Happy reading!

I love the friendship between the younger girl and the older man. I found it relatable. Also, generosity is a great theme for a Christmas story. I did get a little bored halfway through and take a break to read something else, but when I came back to it, it got more exciting. I would really enjoy watching a movie version of this!