Happy Holidays, bookworms! Welcome to my stop on The 12 Days of Holly Chase Blog Tour, hosted by Your Book Travels, for The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand. Today I’m bringing you my book review, a fun and festive Top Ten Tuesday featuring the author’s favorite holiday movies, and an amazing giveaway!
The Afterlife of Holly Chase — a Young Adult retelling of A Christmas Carol, in which the Scrooge is a spoiled California socialite named Holly Chase — recently released in paperback! Here’s what it’s all about:
SYNOPSIS:
On Christmas Eve five years ago, Holly was visited by three ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she’d become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways.
She didn’t.
And then she died.
Now she’s stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge–as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past.
Every year, they save another miserly grouch. Every year, Holly stays frozen at seventeen while her family and friends go on living without her. So far, Holly’s afterlife has been miserable.
But this year, everything is about to change. . . .
REVIEW
The Afterlife of Holly Chase was the perfect book to kick off my holiday reading this year!
Quite frankly, I am not a fan of most classics; I struggle to connect with them. However, I have been known to enjoy a good twist on a classic! And in this case, I absolutely loved it!
The Afterlife of Holly Chase puts a modern, but still magical, spin on A Christmas Carol. There are several cliches in it, but I was living for them by the end. The premise of this book is just so fun! Like the original tale, though, the integrity and good message are ever present, making this, what I’m calling, a fantastic “mirror” book — one that you can look into and see a bit of yourself. I adore books that you can read and relate to.
The entire cast of characters is thoroughly enjoyable! You should have an idea going in what you’re getting in terms of most characters because they parallel those in A Christmas Carol. As for our lead, Holly Chase is terribly unlikable…but that’s the point…she’s a Scrooge! Seeing her growth was one of the things I liked most about this book. I also have a soft spot for Ethan, especially after learning more of his backstory.
My one disappointment had to do with the romance in the end, but that’s because I am a complete romance junkie! It is not enough to keep me from 100% recommending this book, though!
So, overall, The Afterlife of Holly Chase gets two thumbs up from me! YA readers and fans of retellings should love this one!
WHERE TO BUY:
HarperCollins / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Indiebound
I wanted to have a little extra fun with my blog tour stop! Coming your way next is a Top Ten Tuesday: Cynthia Hand’s Favorite Holiday Movies!
TOP TEN TUESDAY FROM CYNTHIA HAND
FAVORITE HOLIDAY MOVIES
1. The Muppet Christmas Carol.
I was actually IN a version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL when I was in high school, which is around the time this movie came out, and I practically have it memorized. It is so funny and fun and still has so much heart and honor for the original story. “Light the lamp, not the rat!”
2. Scrooged.
3. A Charlie Brown Christmas.
4. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, (the old original cartoon).
5. Nightmare Before Christmas.
6. A Christmas Story.
7. Elf.
8. Home Alone.
9. It’s A Wonderful Life.
10. Mickey’s Christmas Carol.
What are YOUR favorite holiday movies? Share with me in the comments!
And rounding out my blog stop is a chance for you to win an awesome holiday prize pack, including a signed copy of the book!
“Holly-day Prize Pack” Giveaway
*U.S. Only*
The winner will receive a signed copy of a Cynthia Hand novel of your choice, a set of red fingerless gloves (knitted by Cynthia), a holiday spice candle, a copy of A Charlie Brown Christmas, two peppermint mocha bath bombs, a peppermint cream and pomegranate raspberry lip balm set, a “make your own ugly sweater kit,” a pair of reindeer glasses, a Christmas mug that reads: “Holi-yays,” Christmas pencils, candy cane Christmas kisses, and a limited edition Holly Chase ornament (signed by Cynthia). Digital download of The Afterlife of Holly Chase: An Alternate Christmas Carol by Lindsey Hunt.
Enter here:
About the Author
Cynthia Hand is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for teens, including the UNEARTHLY trilogy, THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE, MY LADY JANE and MY PLAIN JANE (with fellow authors Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows), THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE, and the upcoming novel THE HOW AND THE WHY (Fall 2019). Before turning to writing for young adults, she studied literary fiction and earned both an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in fiction writing. She currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with a husband who’s addicted to typewriters, two kids, two cats, one crazy dog, and a entourage of imaginary friends. www.cynthiahandbooks.com
Thanks for stopping by The 12 Days of Holly Chase Blog Tour, hosted by Your Book Travels, for The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand. Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour!
- 12/3 Little Book Worm Reviews Aesthetic post
- 12/4 Haunted by Books Review & book playlist
- 12/5 The Ultimate Fangirl Downloadable bookmarks
- 12/6 The YA Book Traveler Top 5 Reasons Why The Afterlife of Holly Chase Needs to be on your December TBR!
- 12/7 Vicky Who Reads 5 Holiday Songs You’ll Think About When Reading The Afterlife of Holly Chase (+Giveaway!)
- 12/8 Novel Knight Holiday Gift Guide for the Book Lover in Your Life
- 12/9 A Court of Crowns and Quills Ghost of Christmas Past/Present/Future
- 12/10 That Artsy Reader Girl Favorite Fictional Scrooges
- 12/11 Wild and Wonderful Reads Top Ten Tuesday + Review
- 12/12 The Clever Reader Dream Cast
- 12/13 BookCrushin Review
- 12/14 Mary Had A Little Book Blog Review + Instagram post
*Thank you to Your Book Travels and the author for providing me with a copy of this book and having me on tour.
My favorite thing about holidays is the good vibe and reunion with the beloved ones! Thanks for the interview and great review =)
That’s my favorite, too! And thank you!!!
Thank you! I love Christmas, and this giveaway is awesome! <3
Thank you for swinging by ?
Hallo, Hallo!
My favourite part of the holiday season this year is being able to take some much needed downtime for myself to simply relax, read and enjoy the hours – the chase up to Christmas this year had a lot of strife attached to it, so for me *pleasure reading* – without worrying about reviewing or deadlines or anything remotely related to book blogging would be most ideal! 🙂
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I personally LOVE finding re-tellings of my favourite stories!! A Christmas Carol happens to be one of the ones I can never tire of reading / seeing in adaptation!! I’ve seen loads over the years during the holiday film marathons on tv; each one is brilliantly bringing the heart of the story back to life but in unique ways. I’ve seen it where they switch genders, switch cultures, even switch between historical / contemporary settings – really its one of those stories that wears well!!
I am thankful to have stumbled across your blog in my WP Reader whilst earmarking this as a #mustread! It doesn’t matter if I’m not the winner – I feel I won just finding a new author & a new novel to seek out!! Thank you for that and you have a lovely blog!
Thank you SO MUCH! And I’m glad to see you’re taking some time for yourself during the holidays! The Afterlife of Holly Chase is definitely a fun retelling & I hope you enjoy it. I appreciate all the kind words!