Rating: 
Summary: A Good Lighthearted Read
Review: For anyone wanting a quick, fun book with few plot twists, this book is for you. The idea of a middle aged couple completely ignoring all aspects of Christmas and how their friends and neighbors view their unusual plans is quite amusing. Details of how the decision to "skip" Christmas affects the couple's daily lives are vivid, to the point that the average reader can relate to the sometimes overwhelming pressures of the holiday season that are described. However, if you are a diehard Grisham fan, you may be surprised to find absolutely nothing in this book about lawyers, judges, investigators, embezzlement, or legal drama. While that in no way takes away from the entertainment of this book, be aware that it is written in a very different style than what Grisham is famous for. There aren't many plot twists or mysteries involved here, just the simple tale of one family's attempts to change their usual holiday habits. Overall, "Skipping Christmas" was a quick, fun read which would make a nice gift.
Rating: 
Summary: A Nice Change
Review: As an avid Grisham reader, I was skeptical about this book at first. However, I found it a quick, light read and thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace. It was quite on the mark and puts Christmas in the right place - the heart, not the mall. Nice little book - even if in the summer.
Rating: 
Summary: Could Happen
Review: Grisham is out of his element, however, he did a supurb job. This was a funny and entertaining book. It was predictible and often like real life. I enjoyed it because it was so typical of everyday life in the US. Thanks for the good read.
Rating:
Summary: An Odd Summer Read!
Review: I skipped reading this last Christmas and happened upon it in an old stack in the basement. Took it to the pool along with Shade of the Maple by Kirk Martin (truly extraordinary!) and enjoyed a light read. Somewhat comical at times, but not very engaging. I'd say skip it if you haven't already read this and stick with new authors like Martin and Jeffrey Lent.
Rating:
Summary: One can't plan for Christmas too soon
Review: In SKIPPING CHRISTMAS, author John Grisham abandons his usual storyline about lawyers in distress in favor of a short, comic, yuletide fable concerning social mores and pressures, and the hazards inherent to ignoring them. Now that their daughter has flown the coop for Peru on a Peace Corps mission, Luther and Nora Krank are left to contemplate the imminent Christmas holidays on their own. A Scrooge in the making for some time, Luther finally snaps after calculating that the last Yule Season cost him a whopping sixty-one hundred dollars. With Nora's reluctant agreement, he decides that this year there'll be no tree, cards, gifts, party, charitable giving, or lawn displays. Only a cruise to the Caribbean. Bah humbug! The going gets tough and the tough get going as the Kranks turn away the Boy Scouts selling Christmas trees, the police taking donations for a toys-for-deprived-tots campaign, and the firemen and medics selling fruitcakes to fund another of the same. Most antisocial of all is their decision not to mount an illuminated Frosty figure on the roof, something that all other residents along Hemlock Street do in the hope winning the local award for best street decoration. Talk about peer pressure! Despite much skeptical and disapproving shaking of heads by neighbors and co-workers, the Kranks actually appear to be on the brink of pulling it off, including losing weight and acquiring a tanning salon bronze in preparation for the lazy days aboard ship. Then comes the disastrous phone call on Christmas Eve morning. Luther is a 54-year old apprentice curmudgeon. At 53, I can relate to the man's disenchantment with the Holiday Season, and would myself drop out of the festive occasion if my Better Half would let me get away with it. (Ha, fat chance!) In any case, I was cheering Luther on every step of his perilous way. Having betrayed my bias in the matter, the book's ending still satisfactorily illustrates the value of the support network presumably found in some long-established urban neighborhoods. SKIPPING CHRISTMAS would, I think, make a terrific movie, perhaps starring Michael Keaton and Frances McDormand. My chief objection to the book is the big hardback price for a very small volume, which can be read in a couple of hours even by the most lethargic of readers. A better value would be to buy it used.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing Like His Others
Review: A classic Grisham. One of his best. No lawyers, but a great, fast read. Nothing happens the way it's supposed to. X-Mas will just never be the same. The plot is absolutely plausible, unfortunately our situation keeps going from bad to worse. As soon as you think it can't get any worse for our hero, it does. I laughed out loud and shook my head in disbelief. I EVEN liked the ending to this one - something I rarely do from a Grisham book!
Rating:
Summary: A nice light read
Review: Sometimes I laughed, sometimes I agreed with the narrator, other times, I was bored by some of the predictability. Not too bad, but not Grisham's best effort.
Rating:
Summary: A Summer Read
Review: Forget trying to analyze this novel-- enjoy it. This book is entertaining and takes just a short time to read. My stomach hurt because I was laughing so hard. Perhaps this book created so much enjoyment for me because my husband is an accountant. That, or I was ready for a light book that would make me laugh. Regardless, avoid analyzing the materialistic/traditionalistic/religous messages that could be discerned from this book, and just read it!
Rating:
Summary: Fun Yet A Bit Ridiculous
Review: Its nice that John Grisham takes a lighter tone for Skipping Christmas. No lawyers are involved in this tale. However, there are some interesting accounts on how some people indulge in the holidays. Its funny that when Luther and Nora don't decorate their home for Christmas, the first thing a neighbor questions, "Are They Jewish?" This makes me wonder, How well would a Jew or even a non-Christian fit in on the Hemlock block? It's pretty comical how Luther side-steps all the neighbors, police officers, co-workers, charity causes regarding Christmas since Blair, his daughter, is supposedly out of the country for a year. However, when Blair suprisingly makes her return with a newly found fiancee, all of a sudden Luther and Nora revive their holiday cheer. This part of the story is pretty annoying and unlikely though not impossible. Maybe Skipping Christmas is a bit silly in spots. However, Grisham gives a fine account on how the holiday maddness is a bit exaggerated. I could definitely see a made for Television movie for this farce-like novel.
Rating:
Summary: Skipping Christmas is okay
Review: I'm not an avid John Grisham reader, because his books usually partain to law and such, which is not of interest to me, but as an off-twist he spun a good one. The book contains some good points about how materialistic our society has become especially around the Christmas season, however we partake in the madness every Christmas season any way. This book was reviewed by many others as very humerous, and in comparison to some of John Grisham's other books it would pass as such I suppose, but I did not get many laughs out of it, certainly not as many as I was led on to receive. Overall I would give it a 4, because it was an interesting and fast read that did manage to entertain me for most of the duration of the read.
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