Rating: 
Summary: a nice seasonal choice
Review: For anyone who has ever thought about giving up all the "nonsense" that makes up the Christmas experience, this is a must read. Although it is a bit exaggerated and the family is wealthier than most readers, the book captures the "If it can go wrong, it will" reality in many of our lives. Readers may recognize one of their own family members or a neighbor in one of the characters, making this a fun read. With just a few hours of time, the reader can imagine, just once, what could be, and then be glad for what is. Read this book during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday period and be ready to smile.
Rating: 
Summary: Should have been a magazine short story
Review: If your looking for a typical Grisham novel, think twice before buying this one. The story is very dull, not much depth. The story would have been cute as a 5 page short story in a magazine. I read it, hoping it would get better but it remained dull and boring.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful, first time reader of Grisham
Review: I never read a John Grisham book before until my friend gave me this to read last week. I got it done in one night and enjoyed it. I felt like I knew the characters and how they reacted to certain incidents very well. I would read it again around Christmas time next year.
Rating: 
Summary: The joys of being "stalked" by your neighbors
Review: This book by John Grisham was described to my wife and myself by her stepmother as "uproarious" and impossible to put down. After Christmas, armed with a gift card to Barnes and Noble, I noticed the book in the store, and, reminded of our conversation, decided "Why not?" and purchased it. My wife and I decided that, since it was a fairly short read, we would read a few chapters to each other before bedtime, looking forward to the fun promised. I have to say I was disillusioned by the time I got to the middle of the book, and the "No man is poor who has friends" ending, which began with "It's a Wonderful Life" and is perpetuated by people searching for the true meaning of Christmas without having to find something original did nothing to save the book. The protagonists are Luther and Nora Krank, whose daughter, Blair, has just left for Peru and the Peace Corps after Thanksgiving. Luther is an accountant, and after totalling up the prior years' expenses on useless cards, presents and party expenses, decides that he is tired of blowing a good chunk of his salary every year for nothing. Since Blair's gone, he figures there is little reason to stick around, and he talks his perpetually naggy wife Nora into agreeing to take a cruise to the Caribbean over Christmas with him and to "skip Christmas" this year. Luther's neighbors are a self-important lot, concerned more with appearances than with the actual meaning of Christmas, and, once word gets out that there will be no annual Krank Christmas party, and that they will not be putting up their Frosty the Snowman statue on their roof, thus screwing their neighborhood out of winning the neighborhood Christmas decoration competition, things rapidly go downhill. Without trying to give too much of the plot away, let me just say that Nora, who agrees to the cruise in the first place, is a "fly in the ointment" throughout; a constant worrier who is, like the neighbors, more concerned with looking good, as far as her Christmas participation is concerned, than with being sensible. Lest this review be considered "sexist": if Luther had been portrayed in the same fashion he would have annoyed me equally. The neighbors activate a networked campaign to alternately stalk and harass the Kranks for their non-participation in their street's Christmas activities. This did not make me smile but, rather, made me think that if this sort of behavior occurred in the real world rather than in a book, most of the offending neighbors would find themselves in court defending themselves. I didn't find ONE character in the book, from the Kranks, to their neighbors, to their daughter, to the police(who should have been ending the neighbors' harassment but instead aided and abetted it)that was likable or memorable. Sometimes books written by a well-known author are taken as masterpieces simply on the strength of the author's name. This book was simply unfunny, and while I can take a joke as well as the next guy, I spent the WHOLE book looking for at least ONE "uproarious" section. I failed in my search. From my perspective, you would do yourself well to avoid the herd mentality, save yourself a few bucks, and SKIP "Skipping Christmas".
Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: I wasn't sure how I'd react to a non-lawyer, non-thriller book by John Grisham. After all, I like the lawyers. I like the thrills. But, I received this book as a Christmas present, and I thought it looked interesting. Turns out, I like accountants too. This book is hilarious, bringing out a wickedly funny side of Grisham we only saw hints of in previous books. I actually laughed out loud, and more than once. This book will be a new Christmas classic. And I'll never look at a plastic snowman the same way.
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Story
Review: This is a well written story that basically makes fun of American Christmas traditions in a subtle way. It doesn't directly make fun of them but makes you think about them and ask yourself if they are really all that important. In the end though, the ultimate Christmas lesson is learned. It is entertaining and a nice break from Grisham's usual story lines. It is also easy to read, taking no time at all. It is enjoyable the whole way through. I didn't find myself at any time struggling to get through a "boring" part to get on with the plot. It doesn't have to be Christmas time either to get the feel of what is going on. I didn't give it 5 stars because it was just "entertaining", not enthralling.
Rating:
Summary: A New Christmas Carol
Review: This is a Christmas story in the same vein as Dickens' Christmas Carol; in fact, the comparisons are quite striking. We have a Scrooge/Krank who decides that there is little value to the traditional Christmas celebration replete with extra expense and frivolous celebration. We have Marley's ghost/the daughter who "visits" the main character and reminds him of the reason for the season. We have a rallying of good will from friends, neighbors, and strangers that brings the novel to its happy conclusion that sometimes the best holidays are ones that herald the unexpected and still retain familiar elements. I liked the book. It is leisure reading, but so was Dickens.
Rating:
Summary: Attorneys do have a sense of humor!
Review: Join Luther and Nora on their hysterical journey as they decide to give up the commercial trappings of Christmas, save their money, and go for a Carribean cruise. I laughed, I sympathized, I grew angry, I was sad, and finally - I cried tears of joy for the Kranks and their neighbors. This is a wonderful departure from the usual courtroom drama for John Grisham. I hope he'll write more books like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Fun and enjoyable read
Review: I read this book in about two hours and laughed at loud several times throughout the book. The only problem I had with the book was how the neighbors treated them which I feel was a bit outrageous; however, the ending of the book makes the rest of the story digestible.
Rating: 
Summary: A high quality short story, not a good novel
Review: You should read Skipping Christmas, it is a good book.
You should not buy Skipping Christmas, it is not a good novel. After hitting a cold spell with the Street Lawyer and the Testament, Grisham proved again that he is an excellent writer with The Painted House. This short little novel is also well written, humourous and entertaining. Every neighborhood has a family who decorates their house for Christmas in every way possible. They put up lights and statues and snowmen and everything else. In Skipping Christmas, those people all move into one neighborhood. This book is a satire. Each family in the neighborhood represents a slightly different trait in looking at Christmas. Luther and Nora Krank represent the desire to not have to participate in all of the meaningless nonsense of parties and cards and decorating. The novel concludes with a tidy little episode that doesn't quite warm the heart, but does bring a smile to the face. ...It is only 177 pages (small pages) and can easily be read in afternoon... ...this could have gone directly to movie form, which is obviously what it is geared to. As mentioned earlier, there are no real characters in the story. Every single person is a stereotype, from the cops collecting for charity to the office Christmas parties to the boy scouts selling Christmas trees. Visually, this would make a great movie because there are many comedic moments, but for a novel it is too lightweight. Also, the ending isn't original. It reminds me of the movie Funny Farm. While a lot of ideas are borrowed or shared, the ending also is very predictable. There was really no other way out of the jam Luther and Nora got themselves in. I'm glad I read Skipping Christmas. It entertained me for a few hours. I'm also glad I checked it out from the Library instead of buying it. If I'm going to buy a novel, I want it to last awhile.
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