Jingle Boy [Library Binding]

Kieran Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2005

Sixteen-year-old Paul Nicholas is a self-confessed Christmas fanatic. That’s why he’s so smitten with Sarah—a girl who smells like peppermint and thinks picking out presents to the strains of “Winter Wonderland” is the ultimate afternoon activity. But when he catches Sarah making out with Santa Claus at the Paramus Park mall, his dad’s over-the-top lights catch the Nicholas house on fire, and his mom gets fired from Fortunoff’s because of something he did for Christmas for Sarah, Paul gets caught in a downward spiral of holiday gloom. This year, the spirit of Scrooge has settled in—and it’s not going to be pretty. Or will the spirit of the holiday prevail?

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-Paul has always adored Christmas-that is, until a mall Santa steals his girlfriend, his father is nearly electrocuted by a Christmas light display that burns down much of their house, and his mother loses her job. Attributing all this tragedy to the loss of his lucky Santa hat, the embittered teen sets out to get his revenge on the mall Santa, and on Christmas in general. Paul is an appealing character whose holiday season goes from bad to worse, culminating in a night in jail. There is an appropriate moral at the end and even a visit from St. Nick himself, but luckily the tone is peppy rather than cloying. If you have an urgent need for Christmas fiction aimed at young teens, this is the book.-E. M.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. Paul Nicholas and his family have the most lit-up house in Paramus, New Jersey, every Christmas, and they are devoted to the whole season--carols, presents, carrots for the reindeer. This year, Paul is even going to be Santa at the mall. But all at once, his new blonde girlfriend dumps him for another Santa, his dad nearly electrocutes himself putting the lights up, and his mom gets fired. Paul joins Holly, his best friend, and a handful of others in an anti-Christmas campaign, which leads to some very questionable activities. A predictable plot and a touch of unnecessary fantasy don't quite sink this first-person confection. What saves it are the mall-rat locale, quirky premise, and the satisfying best-friend-to-girlfriend metamorphosis. It is also noteworthy in its treatment of Christmas as an entirely secular holiday. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Tandem Library (October 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417712813
• ISBN-13: 978-1417712816
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Holiday Fiction for Teens, December 30, 2003

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jingle Boy (Hardcover)

Paul Nicholas is sure that this Christmas will be the absolute best. For once he has a great girlfriend, Sarah, who just happens to love Christmas as much as he does, or at least the present part; he's got the job of being the mall Santa Claus, and he's getting the absolute perfect present this year, a jeep. Everything is just fine, beyond fine, until Paul loses his lucky Santa hat, and everything goes wrong. First he finds his girlfriend making out with the mall Santa Claus, who just happens to be the same one who'll be training him for his job next week, his father electrocutes himself while putting up Christmas lights, and almost burns down the house at the same time, and his mother loses her job. Now, the kid who has always been the biggest nut over Christmas, has decided to get even with the holiday, and everything associated with it.

As someone who absolutely LOVES reading books about the Christmas season, I was ecstatic to find JINGLE BOY. Not only is it one of the only teen fiction Christmas books on the market, but it is also one of the funniest I've ever read. Reminiscent of John Grisham's SKIPPING CHRISTMAS, JINGLE BOY is a must for all who love (or hate) the holiday season. It will keep you laughing out loud throughout the entire holiday season. Possibly longer. Don't miss it.

Erika Sorocco

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny Christmas story for tweens and teens, January 2, 2011

By 

Ann Winthrop (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jingle Boy (Hardcover)

My son (age 11) and I both enjoyed this book. He had trouble putting it down after he started reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars Jingle Perfect!, December 19, 2010

By 

Rossana Snee "Book-a-holic" (Lakewood, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jingle Boy (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the story of Paul Nicholas, a teenager who loves all things Christmas. Until, that is, he loses his hat, to which he attributes all his good Christmas fortune. From that moment on everything goes wrong, very wrong. Event after bad event make him lose his Christmas spirit, and the fun loving, Jingle Boy, turns into a vengeful, anti-Christmas hooligan. This book was well-written, funny, romantic, and had great lessons, to boot. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to laugh, cry and enjoy a wonderful read! Kudos to Kieran Scott.