Then Came Christmas [Hardcover]

Randy Lee Eickhoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2004

On Thanksgiving Day, 1953 Samantha "Sam" McCaslin was content with life on her family's ranch in South Dakota. It was her birthday, and her life was just beginning. She had turned twelve and was certain that the year ahead would be special.

But her world soon shatters. Sam stumbles across the body of an Indian friend who was a hired hand helping her father on the ranch. With her mother sick, Sam is determined to bring the magic of Christmas back to the family of her murdered friend. Realizing suddenly that the world outside is not the perfect place that her parents had created on the ranch, Sam makes a harrowing Christmas Eve ride to spread the joy of Christmas, even if there are those out to destroy it.

Anti-Indian racism and the ignorance of the world outside her own front door are brought to full light as Sam finds herself being stalked by her friend's killer. Blending suspense with deep and poignant emotion, a young girl undergoes an epiphany that changes her life forever in a Christmas story that will remain a classic for many seasons to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Popular Western novelist Eickhoff (The Fourth Horseman, etc.) adds an unusually dark twist to the holiday fiction genre in this grim but revelatory tale, which takes place on a ranch in South Dakota in 1954, as a family struggles against the violent aspects of racial hatred. Samantha McCaslin is the prepubescent narrator who finds her family's Christmas preparations overshadowed by confrontations among her father, some local rednecks and her Native American friend, Abel Six Feathers. Samantha comes to Abel's rescue in one of the fights, but the violence escalates when brutish Tubby Watson decides to take a more drastic form of revenge on Abel. Eickhoff effectively explores the family dynamics as Sam and her parents face a moral quandary when the local sheriff is reluctant to pursue Watson because most of the evidence is circumstantial. Some of the holiday material seems a bit jarring and off-kilter in the context of this story line, but Eickhoff displays a fine feel for setting and pace, and Sam is a well-drawn character with plenty of courage. The scenario that compels her to show her courage is different from the more saccharine challenges normally presented in this genre. Eickhoff deserves credit for his decision to go against the holiday grain, and readers looking for something different this Christmas will find this to be a worthy diversion.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Samantha "Sam" McCaslin could not picture a year without Christmas. For Sam, the Holiday season, which begins on her birthday, Thanksgiving, is the best time of the year. With her life just taking off, and a whole new world opening up before her, Sam thinks that this will be the best Christmas yet. But as her world starts to crumble, she swears that she will make sure that there is a Christmas on her farm. Nothing and no one will stop Christmas. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (October 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765301423
• ISBN-13: 978-0765301420
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,381,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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