Let It Snow

October 15, 2019
A Nantucket shopkeeper falls for one of the island's wealthiest bachelors in this Christmas season feel-good tale. The novel begins as Christina Antonioni prevents a 9-year-old girl from shoplifting stickers from her Nantucket toy shop. Christina strikes a bargain with the sullen girl, who introduces herself as Wink, convincing the child to come back and work in the store for a short period. If Wink returns, Christina will pay her the meager sum required to purchase the stickers. Wink not only returns, but is so disarming that Christina offers her a regular job. It turns out Wink is the granddaughter of Oscar Bittlesman, one of the richest men on Nantucket. When Wink's mother visits the store with her brother, Andy, Christina feels an instant attraction to him. She attempts to talk herself out of the crush, relying on internal dialogue that she refers to throughout the story, somewhat artlessly, as her "Inner Christina." However, Andy takes an interest in her and wears down her defenses. "Her Inner Christina told her she absolutely could not count on this evening amounting to anything at all, but here with him now, so close that they could reach out and touch, all common sense floated away." Then Christina receives a letter from Andy's father stating that he's purchased the buildings on the wharf and will be raising the rent. Christina and the other shopkeepers decide to band together to change Oscar's mind. Only if she successfully challenges Oscar will Christina ever feel secure in a relationship with his son. As usual, Thayer's novel is so full of details about life on Nantucket that the island becomes its own character. Several moments are so sweet they'll make your teeth hurt, but the holiday feasts, caroling, and general Christmas spirit help the novel fall squarely within its genre of satisfying Christmas romances. Told in a plot-focused, accessible prose, the book maintains its lighthearted tone throughout, never delving too deeply into Christina's feelings toward her own family, her friendships with the other shopkeepers, or the classist attitudes of her friends. A wholesome Christmas tale full of adorable characters and unexpected kindnesses.

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October 1, 2019
Christina Antonioni isn't sure how she'll get through her first Christmas after the death of her parents, until a little shoplifter changes her life. Nine-year-old Wink is bored at her grandfather's house on Nantucket. Oscar Bittlesman is rich and grouchy, and owns the property where Christina rents space for her toy store. When she catches Wink trying to steal a sticker book, she agrees to let her help in the store to make up for it. Wink's uncle, Andy Bittlesman, explains that Wink is acting out because of her parents' impending divorce, and soon Christina is showing the two of them the best Christmas spots on the island. But even as Christina and Andy are falling in love, Oscar proves that he is more interested in money than community. Good thing Christina's got a crazy bunch of fellow shopkeepers ready to take on the Grinch. An idyllic winter setting that's snow-covered and festively busy, a few low-drama romantic subplots, and a whole island's worth of ugly Christmas sweaters combine in Thayer's (Surfside Sisters, 2019) latest Nantucket novel, a Hallmark-sweet holiday story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)