Rating: 
Summary: One of the worst books I've ever read
Review: Grisham should be ashamed of this book, which is complete drivel. I couldn't stand any of the characters, ESPECIALLY the protagonists. Whiny, spoiled housewife and narcissistic, spineless, rude accountant - what's not to like there??? By the middle of the book, I was actually looking forward to their trip being ruined! Completely unbelievable scenarios and dialogue throughout (what planet do these people live on??), capped with an utterly ridiculous ending. (We're supposed to consider Luther a hero because he gave away something that he wasn't going to use anyway?? Um, o.k.) What a waste of time and money - like something from a middle school creative writing class.
Rating: 
Summary: Grisham without Lawyers!
Review: This is not your typical Grisham novel. Sure, the quick pace is there and the incisive insight into the character; but this is a completely different kind of book than he usually writes. It's rare that a book makes me laugh out loud, but this one had me chuckling several times. The premise is simple: Christmas is overblown, so when the middle-aged Luther and Nora Krank are facing their first Christmas without their daughter at home, they decide to skip all of the traditional celebration and spend their money on a cruise. If you liked the movies "A Christmas Story" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", this book should be right up your alley. It's close enough to reality to make me wonder about the holidays next year...hmmm
Rating:
Summary: Even if you love Christmas...
Review: If you're looking for a "regular" John Grisham book here, it's not what you'd expect. But it is still well-crafted as only he can do. It takes a lot to make me laugh and by the middle of the book I was laughing so hard I had to suppress it so as not to wake my husband asleep next to me. I meant to take this with us while we celebrated Christmas and New Year's on the beaches of Mexico (yes, celebrate and vacation at once) and forgot to take it along. I got to it now in March and recommend it to anyone who needs a lift of spirits and/or a little perspective on the mostly chaotic Christmas season. Worth the read!
Rating:
Summary: Surprise! Surprise!
Review: I hesitated for several days before picking up the book, but was hooked from the first page. I loved the main character's gutsy decision to "skip Christmas" this year. The reaction of the neighbors, the whole block, the folks at work and his wife were great fun to read. I enjoyed the book immensely and even felt moisture in my eyes by the last page. And I am one cynical woman! I plan to buy for my sister for her birthday.
Rating:
Summary: Can't imagine?!?
Review: I can't imagine why anyone would find this story worth reading. Throughout the book I continually anticipated something that never came about. By the end of the story I felt let down.
Rating:
Summary: What a hoot! Skipping Christmas beats therapy!
Review: I wanted something "light" to read after plowing through two lengthy non-ficture best sellers. Something to "enjoy" and not have to think of dates and places. My husband thought I had totally lost it when I sat in the recliner, laughing OUT LOUD for goodness sake, over a small book! Not only could I visualize what was happening to this poor family, I hoped desperately that this would become a Christmas classic movie - Luther -poor bumbling Luther! He just wanted a simpler holiday season - and like the rest of us - the harder he tried, the more he was sucked into the whole commercialism of the season. This book truly was the highlight of this holiday season!
Rating:
Summary: Bah-humbug!
Review: This book shows the worst side of people. Even the protagonists were not admirable in any way. A truly boring and odious story. I forced myself to keep reading it because I thought Grisham might have some redeeming message to send to the reader. Alas, it was a terrible read right up to the last page.
Rating:
Summary: This is really a mystery...
Review: John Grisham has finally written an old fashioned mystery, or I should say, a series of mysteries contained in one story:Did he really write this superficial tripe?
Will people (like me) continue to buy anything with his name on it?
Does his publisher have any shame?
How in the world can anyone give this book five stars?
Rating:
Summary: A Krank-y Kristmas Karol
Review: (zero-star review) So Luther and Nora Krank decide to skip Christmas one year. Why not? Their daughter's grown up and far away; why NOT just skip the nuisance and take a cruise? Thus begins Grisham's attempt at a seasonal fable of pseudo-Dickensian proportions... and this is pretty much where it fizzles, too. You see, everything goes wrong for the Kranks (maybe you could have guessed it would from their names!), with the whole thing ending in a debacle I won't reveal in case you do decide to waste your time reading this thing. This annoying little book amounts to little more than a tract for peace, joy and goodwill among men -- as expressed in the only way Grisham apparently sees fit: with a tree and lights and an electric Frostie propped up on your roof. Grisham's smeared-thick moralism might not be out of place in a seasonal sermon, but in a book targeted for popular consumption... well, like every heavy, super-sticky, rich meal I've ever eaten, it just didn't seem to sit right. I could handle A Painted House; honest, I could. I'd love to support Grisham's attempts to burst out of the apparently-oppressive mold his best-selling legal thrillers have imprisoned him in. But I can't vouch for Skipping Christmas for the plain & simple reason that it stinks. Believe it or not, Christmas isn't all about big parties, bright trees, presents and carols. It's not even all about family and love. For Christians, it's about the birth of a messiah who brought God's message of hope to a pagan world. And for us non-Christians...? Well, Christmas is a time when we hope our Christian neighbours will live up to that message and treat us with the kind of tolerance that doesn't attempt to force everybody on the block into some image of cookie-cutter perfection. I consider this book only one step up from hate literature, with non-Christmas people depicted as outcasts and humbugs, if not downright evil for undermining the spirit of the season. There are better, warmer Christmas stories, every one of them more true to the holiday's real message than this icky confection.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Concept but that's about it.
Review: I really liked the concept. Watching them go through everything to "get out of doing" Christmas was great fun. The ending was a real let down.
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