Customer Reviews

Over the Holidays: A Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First, what I liked...Patience, the perfectionist, has the ability to pull off holiday gatherings with style and grace, making it look easy when, of course, it really isn't (even though she is the only one who really cares about it for the sake of tradition). Her sister-in-law, Vanessa, quite the opposite, finds herself having to pull the perfect Christmas out of her, um, attic (more for the sake of competition) when she is faced with the impending arrival of relatives. Even if neither of these women is "you", you probably know someone who is.
What I didn't like...Vanessa trying the guilt trip thing on her mother and unattached, childless, and free-spirited sister, Thea, by expecting them to be more engaged with Vanessa's twin boys whenever she's in need of a babysitter. (Can you spell s-h-a-l-l-o-w?) Then, though Vanessa seemingly has the 98%-of-the-time perfect marriage with an adoring husband & father, enter Neil-the-playwrite who makes her question it all after he gives her (and her kids) some attention.
What I REALLY didn't like...The "F" word is a powerful noun, verb or adjective when it makes sense, like driving home someone's anger or the occasional comic relief. But come on ! The book is littered with that same word so often, not to mention unnecessarily, that it makes me want to send the author a Bad Word Thesaurus, since the one under "F" is obviously the only one she can think of.

Over the Holidays is a lot like a holiday movie in book form. As a matter of fact I can imagine someone like Sarah Jessica Parker starring in the movie version of this book. It is a perfectly told, perfectly paced tale of holiday/family angst that is somewhat predictable, often very amusing, and overall a very entertaining and light read. The various scenes are well brought to life from the classic New England winter scene to the party in the Hollywood hills -- the reader can picture it all. The characters are a little one-dimensional, but still endearing and worth caring about. I really enjoyed it cover to cover and will certainly seek out more books by Sandra Harper.

This was my first book by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. It was funny and the characters kept me laughing. I read it just as the the holidays were winding down and could relate to all of the turmoil we experience trying to create the perfect Christmas. Doesn't everyone have family members like these???

Sandra Harper's "Over the Holidays" succeeds not just as a family comedy with the minor holiday disasters and angst that everyone regardless of background can laugh and cringe along with, it is also an accurate depiction of the lives of people in Hollywood who are neither rich nor famous. Vanessa's husband JT works as a gaffer and is frustrated by a career that is subject to the whims of the economy and the few people who he gets his jobs through. Vanessa cobbles together a career in theater with a little of this and that. Despite their artsy careers, they have all the problems of couples with kids. At work and at their kid's school they rub up against the other Hollywood, the ones who have time and money at the same time. Harper's perspective on her characters isn't bitter or condescending. Even Patience, Vanessa's Martha Stewart perfect sister in law, has humanity and is shown in a sympathetic light. "Over the Holidays" is intentionally light, the froth on an eggnog latte, but there is something more substantial underneath.

When I started this book, I was looking forward to it but unfortunately I was disappointed. I didn't connect with any of the characters. I thought everyone was way too dramatic and too concerned with themselves. The only characters I enjoyed was JT. He seemed like a real, sweet guy.

And I thought there was too much going on with everyone and that the individual plots were too rushed. The feelings between Vanessa and Neil, the playwright, seemed to come out of nowhere. And there were other side stories and flashbacks to the past that just didn't fit. I think that if the story had been one main idea, it would have worked better.

The pressure from my extended family to provide the "perfect" gift and host the "perfect" celebration has me exhausted already - and it's only the beginning of December. This book made me laugh - and cry - because I know people just like these characters. I'm related to them! Fun read. Keep up the good work, Ms. Harper.

Three women, three different ideas for the perfect Christmas... and, of course, nothing going as planned. I thought each character - Vanessa, Patience, Thea - were well fleshed out and, although flawed, were fun to read about.

Patience had that Martha Stewart appeal to me. She wanted the perfect Christmas - I sympathized with her the most, because I myself get all stressed and worried about making everything absolutely perfect for the holidays (sans the snow since we're in South Florida). Vanessa was the most relateable though. She was the one dealing with her kids, job, stressing over money, impressing her sister-in-law and her family; all while trying to make their Christmas traditions as perfect as possible with everything that could go wrong, going wrong. Thea was just a free spirit with no cares - you just had to love her.

This was a fun, fluffy read. All sorts of holiday hoopla ensues. It had plenty of laugh out loud moments. Ms. Harper's writing was fun, young and hip. I will forewarn there was some cussing, but nothing that can't be overlooked. I really enjoyed this and though t it was the perfect read for this time of year. I guarantee there is at least one moment in this book that you can relate to. If you are a fan of chick lit with a fun holiday twist or just in the mood for a light, entertaining read, you won't want to miss out on this one.

My initial reaction to this book is that it's unfortunately. . .boring. I hate saying it, but it's just a fact that it left me bored more often than not.
My second reaction was: did this book have a point? It seemed to be just lots and lots of complaining about the holidays. The tag line for the book is "the best holiday traditions are meant to be broken." Before reading the book, I didn't get it. I mean, I know I don't want to break my best holiday traditions. They're the best, and I love them, so why break them?
Then, reading the book, I thought maybe the author was trying to say that, often times, people feel stuck and claustrophobic by tradition (although I don't know that the traditions causing this reaction would be the "best" traditions) - and that it's okay to change them and replace them with better ones.
So I kept waiting and waiting for these better traditions to come along. Or at least for something to happen. Other than the main characters being annoying. Nothing ever did happen. At least not that I noticed. The characters never changed, new traditions were never found, nothing ever happened that needed to be resolved and thus nothing was ever resolved.
I was thinking about giving this book 3 stars, mostly because it was an easy read, and how suppose I could see how it might be pleasant for someone (someone not me). But since starting this review, I realize just how much I really didn't like it. Christmas is supposed to be a time about love and forgiving and happiness, and this book is the opposite of all of those things. I love Christmas. This book does not.
And did I mention that it goes nowhere?
The one good thing I have to say about it is that it wasn't a bad reading experience. I read it in two days, and, despite it being boring, it was an incredibly easy read. The flow of the story was very nice.

I am a Christmas fanatic and the thought of merging chick lit with a Christmas setting was an appealing one. I found Over the Holidays to be a fun read, as light and fluffy as cotton candy with a peppermint twist. I could relate to the main character, Vanessa, insofar as her desire to give her family a traditional, old-fashioned Christmas but running into the reality of job stress, energetic children, a husband unable to help and the very best of intentions going awry.

If you read author Sandra Harper's guest post last week, you will recognize that all three holiday archetypes Ms. Harper discussed are present in Over the Holidays - - the Norman Rockwell-esque traditionalist and perfectionist Patience, the Hannah of Good Intentions Vanessa and the Rebel Without a Claus Thea. Patience cannot imagine a Christmas without cold temperatures, snow, a beautifully decorated house that would make Martha Stewart weep and homemade cooking from scratch. Vanessa wishes she could be like Patience, while at the same time resenting Patience's perfection at all things domestic. Thea believes Christmas has turned into more of a showcase of greed and time of depression than a true celebration and wishes to set an example. Add in Vanessa's husband JT, who gets an out of town job during the holidays, Patience's husband Richard, who doesn't want to rock the boat but finds playing golf in January appealing, Vanessa and JT's twin 9 year old sons who have more energy than they know what to do with, Patience and Richard's seventeen year old daughter, Libby, who is desperate to escape from the confines of their Wenham, Massachusetts home and Neil, a moody playwright who resents Vanessa's help with his play but comes to need her.

As much as I could generally relate to Vanessa, I also had some issues with her. At times, she was downright abrasive and rude to Patience. While I could understand the frustration of having a "perfect" sister-in-law, I began to sympathize with Patience and get irritated with Vanessa. There was also a time or two during the story that I wished Vanessa wouldn't give in to her children as much and be a little more of a disciplinarian.

I also had to remind myself during the book that Thea was her older sister and not younger sister because I continued feeling that Thea was represented more as a younger sister.

However, these are relatively minor gripes when taking the book as a whole. I felt drawn into the story from the first page and the characters were well fleshed out. Whatever your thoughts on the holiday season - - love it, dread it, tolerate it or are indifferent to it - - you can find something to relate to here. Not each individual storyline resolved itself as I thought it might, which left me guessing to a degree and provided me with a pleasant surprise instead of a shrug and sigh.

If you enjoy chick lit, if you have strong feelings about the holidays or just want some light, entertaining reading, you simply can't go wrong with Over the Holidays.

Vanessa Clayton and her husband, JT are struggling a little this holiday season. So they have decided to not travel to his sister's place for Christmas but instead stay home and celebrate with their twin boys.

Every year Patrice holds an open house and decks out everything for the holidays. She goes a little over board. This year her family stands up and says...enough. Since no one is coming for the holidays, Patrice and her family decide to go to them. They pack up and head to California for Christmas. Though there won't be any white Christmases this year.

To be honest, I didn't really care for this book. I didn't find any common ground with which I could relate to the characters. This in turn caused me to lose interest quickly. Besides, the fact that I found most of the characters to be really whiny and self absorbed in their own problems. Vanessa had this attitude against her sister-in-law. I mean I could see why but I felt like it was Christmas and everyone should try to put their differences aside for one time and enjoy each other's company. For fans of chick-lit you might like this book. Sadly to say that Over the Holidays did not win me over.