2024 Christmas in July

I don't hate this because it's woke. (I hate the term woke, and I am very much so.) I hate it because it's boring. I should've known Eoin wasn't for me after Highfire, but I like to give authors second chances. He won't be getting a third.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Young Listeners

I was unfamiliar with Eoin Colfer's writing prior to Junipers Christmas but I was so delighted to be initiated. Junipers Christmas is a delightfully playful middle grade fantasy story set around the holidays. Featuring a fun cast of characters and a missing Santa, this is sure to be a touching installation in any library and a fun read for many Christmases to come.

This book is the IDEAL Christmas novel for middle grade - it has everything in it that I love and I can't wait to share it with my children next year during the holidays since i missed out on that opportunity this year. Lots of background about Santa, a sweet and persnickety child, and an adventure with reindeer and finding someone and all in all - no complaints at all. Definitely recommend.

This was an interesting middle grade Christmas story about a young girl who is trying to find her missing mom and when she finds out that there is a guy who can help her she goes in search for him. Not really knowing that he is Santa Claus in hiding as he doesn't want to do the job anymore. Adventure happens and I thought it was okay.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook…this Christmas/Santa story was full of many different aspects that made a pretty good book…there was adventure, drama, life changing events that caused a things to change for both good and bad… Junipers Christmas was a bit confusing at some points but that could of been just me getting distracted by other things going on around me while listening. It was a beautifully written book if it makes me laugh, cry, and even dislike characters the writer has to be doing something right. Again thank you

5 out of Stars

Such a cute and sweet Christmas story about Juniper Lane, who on a Christmas adventure to find her mother with the help of the mysterious woodman that she believes is Santa Claus.

Mr. Colfer is a favorite in our house, but sadly this book was not. I felt the topic had already been sufficiently explored and lost interest.

This was a fun family read. It got the holiday season off to a great start. My kids are already asking if we can read it again next year. Great addition to our collection.

What an absolute delight!! This is one of the most delightful Christmas stories I've read in awhile! Colfer took the Santa story turned it on its head and gave us a wonderful new Santa story! You will fall in love with Juniper and Nico and enjoy all the many characters along the way!

I just can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this book, it's just a delight!

Narration by Olivia Forrest was excellent, every accent and character voce was perfect!

If you need a holiday road trip book look no further than Juniper!

if you can't tell I highly recommend this one for your holiday reading!

4 1/2 stars

I received this audiobook from the publisher Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners and NetGalley for a fair and honest review

I’m not sure that Mrs Claus dying and Santa being too depressed about it to deliver presents is a great way to kick off a children’s book.

And indeed, the tone of the entire book is a real miss for a Christmas novel for children. Theres some decent adventure and some attempts at humor, but it lacks the magic needed for a kids holiday novel. Or any holiday novel, for that matter.

But the bigger problem is that the book just doesn’t feel very Christmasy. It’s missing the magic, the sparkle, and the atmosphere, and tries to substitute for that with a wonky, tech-heavy magical system that feels contrived and goofy. I got a lot of secondhand embarrassment from the more try-hard elements of it, and found the rest to be unengaging at best.

My kids thought the book was boring, and while I thought the more action-driven sections were more fun than they did, I have to agree that none of us were impressed by this. Add in the fact that the ending is a pretty close copy of Elf and…well…there are a lot of kids Christmas books out there. Pick a different one.

My family loves the Artemis Fowl series, so I was quick to jump on the ARC audiobook offer for Eoin Colfer’s JUNIPER’S CHRISTMAS.

This was a heartwarming and magical story, and I loved every second of it. Olivia Forrest’s narration was perfectly whimsical.

With the audio, we missed out on the illustrations, but we have the print copy requested at the library to enjoy the experience all over again.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this audiobook.

Juniper’s Christmas
Eoin Colfer
When I first chose this book, I expected a short Christmas tale that would warm the heart. What I got was definitely a heart warmer and so much more. This is a beautifully written tale filled with the magic of Santa Claus. The gist of this tale is restoring the belief in Christmas.
This is the tale of an eleven-year-old girl that saved Christmas. Before passing away Juniper Lane’s father held the Santa Vigil each year. People came dressed in costumes and donated supplies for the homeless people. For nine years the Santa Vigil was held but Santa didn’t come, the people were losing their Christmas Spirit.
Juniper is frightened and desperate to find her mother; she turns to her friend the Duchess who tells her about a special person that might be able to help…if he’s willing. Niko is a secretive woodsman that lives in the park and does nice things for some of the people that live there but he’s really a grumpy person. Juniper suspects he is Santa. She finds him and one of his reindeer. Niko has lost the Christmas Spirit. Too many children have become selfish, so Santa has quit. It has been almost 10 years since he jumped in his sleigh to deliver toys to the children of the world.
With the help of a young reindeer, Skara, Juniper discovers the magic within her and together they battle a greedy and selfish woman that wants to steal Christmas. Trude Madden is the head of a group of criminals; they were hired by Mr. Carnegie to drive the homeless people out of the park and to destroy all the things collected for the Santa Vigil. When they realize Juniper has magic, they come after her.
This is a delightful tale. It is a fast-paced fantasy. The characters are well fleshed out and most are very likable, of course no one likes Trude. In this tale we see a whole other side to Santa. The plot is unique and well written. Author Eoin Colfer uses this tale as a platform to plead the case for the homeless. This would be a great book for a teacher to read to his/her students or for parents to read to their children.

Juniper's Christmas is a fantasy story about the real Santa, the time he quit giving presents to all the boys and girls in the world and a young girl, who found him and brought Santa back to everyone. When Niko's wife dies, he hangs up his Santa suit and moves into a park to take care of the homeless people living there. When Juniper's mom disappears, she goes looking for her and finds Niko and a few others who she wants to help her find her mom, but also take care of her. Juniper and her mother, Jennifer always gave to others, so when she refuses to believe that her mother is gone, she stumbles upon Niko's secret. Not only does she want to find her mother, but also bring back kindness and Christmas magic to the world. With the help of a flying reindeer, she gives it her all.

This was a fun story about finding Christmas magic, restoring it to the world, and a retelling of the Christmas Santa story. Of course there are some villains who try to stop Juniper from getting anyone to believe her, and they are actually rather comical. With a Santa that is disillusioned with Christmas, greed and selfishness, this was a different take on a story that I have not seen before. The story is narrated by several characters, and because I listened to this one, it was difficult to follow at first, but once I got into the rhythm of the story, I was fine. This is a fun story written by the author of the Artemis Fowl series, so I was not surprised. The narrator, Olivia Forrest, did a great job with the story and voices, but I think I would recommend doing a read/listen or straight listen for those who do not normally listen to audiobooks due to the number of narrators in the story.

This is unlike any Christmas story I have ever read. At first I didn't think it was very good but as it went I really enjoyed the book. It does take that little bit to get into, but once you are invested, you won't be sorry. I loved the characters and the plot. Finding out who Duchess is was great. Then, all the turmoil that everyone goes through keeps your attention till the very end. It is a cute Christmas story.

I listened to the audio book version of this book and quite enjoyed the narrator and the whole presentation. The story is quite heavy for a kid's book, more than I would have expected at least for the target age and with the whole Christmas theme. It has strong themes of grief with both Nico (or Santa Claus) and Juniper both dealing with the loss of a loved one. It also talks quite frankly about unhoused people and the way others sometimes treat them and the system which is not always helpful.

While it was a bit dark for my own personal taste, I did really enjoy the writing and the characters that Eoin Colfer created for this story. Juniper is a strong and adventurous young girl who has already been through a lot in her 11 years. Just when things feel like they are turning a corner, it seems everything goes wrong and her mother goes missing. In her quest to find her mother, she finds much more and becomes quite magical herself along the way. I very much loved Duchess who is there to help Juniper during this time. She has quite a story as well that is slowly revealed throughout that I quite enjoyed. I also got quite a kick out of Dafydd, especially after his change of heart and switching to Team Santa Claus.

Nico was such a different interpretation of Santa Claus from any other I have read. He was so broken and at times, quite harsh and rude towards Juniper. It took a bit for me to get comfortable with this interpretation of Santa but as he opens up and softens a bit it got easier.

In the end, with some unique magic and use of Spangles, all is right again as one would hope with a Christmas tale. It does seem a little open ended in one prologue with Trude seemingly going into hiding but promising to come back and get what she's after. I am curious what will come next if there is in fact a sequel.

While I think this may be too much for some sensitive readers with it's heavy topics and some mild violence towards Juniper and animals, I do think it is a beautifully written book that many will enjoy.

I received an advanced copy of the audio book of this novel through Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Eoin Colfer fans will be delighted by ‘Juniper’s Christmas,’ a holiday tale with Artemis Fowl magic and a social justice bent.

Premise - eleven-year-old Juniper’s mother, her last remaining parent, disappears one day. With the help of members of her local park’s homeless population, referred to as “people sleeping rough,” Juniper sets out to find her mom and save Christmas all at once.

The book is beautifully written and sends a clear prosocial message about the importance of charity, giving, and caring for everyone indiscriminately. It paints a rosier than usual picture of people living on the fringes of society, which is great for destigmatizing homelessness.

That said, I was a little iffy about having Santa Claus, Nico, be a large, scary-looking, tattooed, grumpy homeless man who watched Juniper sleep and then she immediately ran to for assistance… then again, Santa has always been a creeper, hasn’t it?

Thanks, NetGalley and Roaring Book Press, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.