From Catholic Teen Books
eISBN B0CPH79J5B
ASIN B09MBGFJPM
This book is a little different. Like the earlier volume, The Christmas Lights, it was a story written in parts, serially. It is a very fun and and a deeply moving story. It was sort of an experiment. We are informed that:
“A Fowl Christmas" is a collective short story written sequentially in individual pieces by seven Catholic Teen Books authors and originally presented aloud on Reading with Your Kids Podcast.”
And the description of the story is:
“Mom's stranded out of town, Dad injured his leg, and Derrick's family Christmas feast is in jeopardy. With the help of his brother, Blake; his friend, Grace; and a bargain involving some chickens and the old ladies down the street, maybe Derrick can still pull off this holiday meal. Or maybe it'll all go up in smoke!”
We are further informed in the introduction that:
“Catholic Teen Books is a collaborative website of authors who all write faith-based fiction for middle school and high school teens. In December of 2020, many of the Catholic Teen Books authors wrote a collaborative story, “The Christmas Lights,” for Christmas that was read on Jedlie’s Reading with Your Kids Podcast, on Christmas Eve.
In 2021, Catholic Teen Books authors collaborated on what became “A Fowl Christmas.” Jed again gave us a prompt, and one by one each of us wrote a section as the story was passed from author to author. Only the final author knew the entire story until we read it for the podcast.
We enjoyed these projects and wanted to share these fun, short stories with others. Proceeds from this e-book will be donated to Cross Catholic Outreach.”
The contributors are:
Carolyn Astfalk
A.J. Cattapan
Antony Barone Kolenc
Stephanie Engelman
Leslea Wahl
Marie C. Keiser
Andrea Jo Rodgers
Corinna Turner
This is a great short story it is very moving. It is a story about family, friendship, community, serving, and just maybe a Christmas miracle. Derrick along with his brother Blake and his best friend Grace are trying to save the family’s turn to host Christmas Dinner. Their mother is away and delayed getting back, their dad is laid up with a leg out of commission. Their dad also needs a new gig as he had to close his restaurant. Grace has some shocking news as well. They are blackmailed into trading their dad’s prize chicken’s. An evening at a soup kitchen a lot of misadventures including saving chickens from a burning barn. The story is at times laugh out loud funny, and at times nearly brought me to tears. And Turner’s reference to T-Rex brings to mind her amazing unSPARKed series.
Help might come from the most surprising of places. And maybe a miracle; as some unsavoury characters have vanished in the wind. But to find out the details you will need to read this excellent short story. I can easily recommend this book and the previous volume, in the same style, The Christmas Lights.
Please note: This is a collective short story written sequentially in individual pieces by seven Catholic Teen Books authors and originally presented aloud on Reading with Your Kids Podcast. Proceeds from this e-book will be donated to Cross Catholic Outreach.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2023 Catholic Reading Plan!
Links to other reviews of books by the contributors:
Anthologies from the Catholic Teen Books Authors:
Other books from Catholic Teen Books:
