Rating: 
Summary: hmm..not so much...
Review: thought it would be a great novel, since grisham is amazing, but wound up falling asleep w/in the first 20 pgs. woke up, gave it a second chance, thinking it would be a cute little book, but just got irritated the more i read. sorry. i love john grisham, but this is one i wouldn't recommend, esp. if you've read his other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Christmas fun
Review: Skipping Christmas is great and an enjoyable read. I like the way Grisham deals with Christmas from various points of view. His portrayal Luther and Nora Krank is XLNT. I saw a lot of my thoughts and feelings in them. To go into detail may take away from such a good story, so I won't. Pick the book up and read it. It is good for some laughs as well as a multi-faceted view of Christmas.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip "Skipping Christmas"
Review: John Grisham is not what you would call a great prose stylist, and his canon is not what you'd call brain food. Character development isn't a particular strong suit either. (Can you even name any of his characters more than a couple of days after putting down one of his books?) But when he's at his best the man does spin a good yarn. Unfortunately he is far from his best in SKIPPING CHRISTMAS. The premise is fine. Luther and Nora Krank, facing their first Christmas without their daughter, Blair, who has joined the Peace Corp, decide to forego all the trappings just this one year and take off on a Caribbean cruise. Who hasn't dreamed at one point or another of avoiding the commercial morass that Christmas has become? I'm single with no children, and I spent close to $4000 meeting my Christmas "obligations" last year. I like Christmas, but I can relate to the Kranks. There's a wealth of comic material to be mined here, but Grisham's plot is a contrived mess, his characters (caricatures) a faceless mob, his ending an unabashed rip-off of "It's a Wonderful Life." It is unlikely that the fascistic, shallow, vindictive, downright nasty families of Hemlock Street could have anything to teach the Kranks or anyone else about the meaning of Christmas. The book, short as it is, needs editing: too many of the descriptions are repetitive. There are too many unresolved plot points: just who is Marty Whathisname, the mystery guest? Worst of all, and I don't remember this from any of the other Grisham novels I have read, he's offensive. The Kranks' concern over the skin color of their daughter's South American fiance is resolved thus: "He wasn't dark at all! At least two shades lighter than Luther himself! They hugged and squeezed their daughter as if she'd been gone for years, then, with great relief, met their future son-in-law." End of subject. When I was in med school I was part of the transcription service. I'd end each of my transcribed lectures with a couple of relevant quotes. I'd like to do the same here: "A classic tale for modern times"--from the dust jacket, SKIPPING CHRISTMAS.
"Bah, humbug."--from a true classic tale.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable Story
Review: I do not believe this will be a Christmas classic. In fact I do not consider it a John Grisham classic. Nevertheless it is light reading and enjoyable. The author spins an interesting tale of a couple who had reached the point of not wishing to participate in Christmas activities, at least for this particular Christmas. Perhaps most of us at one time or another were not enthusiastic for Christmas decorating, Christmas shopping or Christmas parties. This particular couple dicided to do something about it. As a result we are privy to the obstacles they faced laced with a fair amount of humor. Some Christmas spirit did find its way into the story.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing and not at all funny.
Review: I agree with all the other one or two star reviews of this "Holiday" story. Mr. Grisham should donate his profits (including my few dollars) to the Salvation Army. Many things were irritating about this book. One of the things that stood out to me was the fact that main characters were running to a tanning booth before their cruise - but on the other hand the father was afraid that his daughter's Peruvian boyfriend was dark skinned. It was OK that he was a doctor! What garbage! Don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham's Skipping Christmas
Review: Just a short note. If you have read Grisham's novels and have been hooked by the story lines but distracted by the virulently racist characters you'll appreciate this warning.
Don't get cozy with the Kranks.
The reader is informed, halfway through the book, that the Kranks don't want their daughter to marry a man with dark skin. Its impossible to care about what happens to these two from then on.
Skip Skipping Christmas. Or stop reading at page 112 and dream up your own ending. Its a fun book up to chapter 13.
Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming!
Review: I enjoyed this book from cover to cover! Just when I thought the spirit of Christmas was lost on these people, the theme of the story turned around, and a wonderful change took place in all of the characters. Thanks again, John Grisham!
Rating:
Summary: A tired grandmother
Review: Mr. Grisham, who is a native of Starkville, Mississippi,(home of Miss. State U.)has made many Mission trips to various parts of Brazil and nearby countries. He lived for some years in an area easily accessable to the to D.C. area. I believe he knows very well the prejudices of so many of our(USA) people, from Christmas house-top decorations to skin color. I laughed through four or five readings of his portrait of our love of ostentatious display, of how we ostracize one in our midst who is "different", and of how most of us are basically kind people.
I have given copies to friends both young and old. Now I am the one who thought the entire family was to be gone until after Christmas. A telephone call has given me two days to get ready for the first arrivals. I fear dried flowers and orange and yellow mums won't do.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Buy This Book
Review: That this book has been hyped to the top of the best seller lists is further depressing evidence of the decline of western civilization.
Rating:
Summary: HoHum
Review: This was an "okay" book. A quick read, very predictable, very contrived for the holiday season. I would skip it.
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