GENRE: Fantasy
HONORS: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Award Winner
REVIEW: Jakob had just suffered humiliation at the hands of the school bully Rick and his friends Logan, Fleep, and Shig had laughed along with everyone else. Jakob had insisted that Santa was real and everyone laughed. That is when things really start to get weird. The kids find out about the Ten Christmas Rules and Jakob is told his friends need to apologize for their own disbelief and get Rick to believe as well before Christmas or they will never get a present from Santa again. But that is not all. There is a mysterious book, then Rick disappears, and finally the kids learn that S.R, who was giving them direction, is not who he seems. He is in fact the enemy who wants Jakob to catch Santa for him so he can gain back the power he lost hundreds of years ago. As Christmas approaches, Jakob and his friends meet some dwarves, elves, and commandos and plot to trap S.R. Unfortunately, Jakob makes a mistake resulting in a huge battle out of time. During the battle, S.R gets his belt of power back and for awhile it looks like Santa may not recover. The book is obviously the first in a series and ends without a good resolution. Readers will have to wait for the next installment.
OPINION: This book was not what I was expecting. That being said, I think boys especially would like it. The pace is fast and there is a lot of action. The book is also so different from a typical Christmas book that it keeps the reader intrigued. Readers will have to wait for book two and I was unable to find any information about it.
IDEAS: This would be a great book to do as a read-aloud in the month before Christmas. Students could compare it to other alternate versions of Santa and even the movie The Santa Claus. While waiting for a sequel students could try their hands at writing their own.
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