Customer Reviews

A Return to Christmas

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A Return to Christmas By Chris Heimerdinger

Can you imagine living without the spirit of Christmas? Well, that's just how the Holiday Family lived for eight years, isolated from Christmas until one winter season a miracle happened! When the twin brothers Andrew and Artemous Holiday turned three on Christmas day their lives were forever changed. They both received a toy, a simple airplane toy. When Andrew tried to fly his off a snow bank in near the river he slipped and fell in. The police found his jacket and his mittens lying on the snow. He died on his third birthday and on Christmas day. Every year on December 25th the Holiday Family puts white gardenias on his grave, because he loved them so much. For eight years the Holiday family never celebrated Christmas again, all because one tragedy that happened on that day. Chess Folsom and his Uncle Boone are scam artists and have a police record. They'll lie, steal, cheat and do whatever it takes to get their way. One day Chess went into a Nordstrom Rack expecting to steal something but instead he got a lot more than he bargained for.

(8 years later) The Holiday Family decided to take Artemous shopping for his birthday they took him into a store he'd never been into before, Nordstrom Rack, he immediately found some pants he liked so he went into a dressing room to try them on. He slipped of his jeans, and put a pair of khakis on. He left the stall to show his mom the khakis. He saw a boy on the other side of the room who looked similar to him but he ignored it.

Chess looked around for something to steal and he say a boy across the store who looked like him he decided to check it out. He found something to steal, a pair of pants! He saw Artemous step out of the stall. He stepped in and put on the new jeans. Just as he put them on Artemous spotted him!

The chase was on! Artemous ran as fast as he could, trying to catch the boy that stole his pants. They ran out of the store into the parking lot, Artemous was wearing the khakis that still had the tags attached. He had almost caught him. Just a little bit further, he sped up. A blinding light caught their eyes. A truck came cruising toward them. Then WHAMMN! The truck hit both of them. Artemous rolled down a hill and landed in a bush. Chess didn't move at all, he just lay there unconscious.

Chess woke up. He heard a siren, he knew he was in an ambulance, but with who? Then he heard a woman say "hello Artie" and a man say, "how ya' doin' champ" he knew they weren't talking to him. Or were they? So he went back to sleep.

Artemous woke up he was in a truck. A truck? His family owned a van. A strange man was driving. He smiled and said, "Chess is that you" Chess? His name was Artemous Holiday. He saw the nearest sign it said Las Vegas 3 miles

You'll have to read the rest of the book to see what happens to chess and artemous!

This season something extraordinary is about to reveal itself. A Return to Christmas is an impenetrably, exciting book by Chris Heimerdinger. When you start reading this book you will not be able to stop. Will the Holiday's rediscover something they been without for eight years? We follow the lives of two boys named Chess and Artemus whose paths cross in unusual and unexpected ways. Is it possible that Chess could be Artie's brother? I assure you that this book will leave you at the edge of your seat. We loved it! It was the best book that we have ever read!

We saw this book at a bookstore and picked it up since we had really loved his other books. We started reading it at Christmas time and read a chapter a night. Shortly after we got it we found out that Chris Heimerdinger was coming to do a book signing at our local bookstore. We took all of our books by him that we had and had them signed. THen we bought a dozen or so more ARTC and had them signed to our friends. This year we sent them out for Christmas. Everybody raved about it. When Chris signed ours he said there was no way we could wait till Christmas to finish it. We told him we were going to wait. But it turned out we couldn't!! This book is a great, can't-put-it-down, type of book. You'll love it.

Chris Heimerdinger is one of the best writers in weaving a tales so real you can taste. Not only are his stories highly entertaining, they have good messages to send us. In A Return to Christmas, Chris writes a compelling tale of a modern day prince and pauper. It tells of the struggles of one family, having lost their love of Christmas and thrown into a pit of grief they cannot climb out of, until a light of hope shines. This book has value on all levels. To those who have not read this, get it now and read it. You'll be glad you did.

My wife recommended me this book. I read the german translation in one day. It's a short but also a great story. I think the most important thing I must say about it: I felt happy when I finished. If you have a sense of family, buy this book. You won't regret!!

I got this book for Christmas from my parents. On a car ride home from my grandparents, I picked it up. From the very beginning, the first sentence, I was rivited. I only put it down to take my coat off. It was finished in two hours! I think it was way to short, but would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

this book is great i have been listening to this book sense i was 8yrs old. I've got the book on tape and every year as a tradition, I listen to it why i do christmas shopping, or wrapping presents, or on my way to my familys cabin. Read it and you will be hooked.

This book is so awsome. It is about a family who cannot celebrate christmas becayse of the loss of their 3 year old son Andrew. YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!

I love this book! Reading it at Christmas time has become a tradition in our home. I am a teacher and have also read it to my students in the past. This book contains the spirit of family and Christmas. The story illustrates the life of a child who has the opportunity to be raised in a loving home as well as the life of another child who is raised by dysfunction and abuse. It's a beautiful story of how the two worlds of these children collide. Read it. You won't be sorry you did. I wish this story was a holiday movie or stage play.

Okay, so it's little more than a modern-day twist on "The Prince and the Pauper", but it's still a cute little story about family and the wonders of Christmas. Maybe a little on the hokey side, but hey, it's a holiday book and the story is told just as cutely as possible.