Book Review: "The Christmas Shoes"

"The Christmas Shoes" by Donna VanLiere
Originally published in 2001
My rating: 4 out of 5

Warning: if you decided to read Donna VanLiere's "The Christmas Shoes," be sure you've got a box of tissues handy. This book is the very definition of a tearjerker. Normally I don't care for novels with super-emotional passages but the sentimentality of the book made it a good Christmas read.

"The Christmas Shoes" features the typical holiday themes of forgiveness, second chances, kindness, hope, love and faith. VanLiere introduces us to two strangers -- a workaholic lawyer whose homelife is falling apart and a young boy whose mother is dying of cancer. A chance meeting at a department store on Christmas Eve causes a life change for both characters.

I came away from this read with a reminder about how fleeting life can be and how important it is not to squander our precious time on earth. Though Christmas has passed, the meaningful messages in "The Christmas Shoes" ring true all year round.

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