“This time with Callie hasn’t been wasted. My life is changed from knowing her. It’s changed from knowing Sydney. It’s changed from brushing against Jesus, who orchestrated a do-over for me.”

– Finn Parish, Catching Christmas

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Book Review

The joy, excitement, and good cheer of Christmastime appear to be contagious, yet for seemingly immune Cab driver Finn, it’s his least favourite time of the year and brings out his cynical, sarcastic, and pessimistic nature. Theoretically, Finn has a vision of himself just getting through the season alone, with enough money to make ends meet and pay his rent. But we all know life has a way of interrupting our best-laid plans. The contagious Christmas spirit does not bypass Finn as he had hoped but unexpectedly collides with him in the form of Miss Callie; a firecracker of a woman, in disguise as a sweet and vulnerable elderly lady. Sure, Miss Callie needs all the help she can get while being transported to her medical appointments, and in Finn’s opinion, the exasperating errands, and he wonders why, why! whhhhyyyyyyyy! Can’t he just be left alone to wallow? Miss Callie, who is surely well over 100 years old, should be properly cared for by her family! Who indeed leaves an old lady in the care of a seemingly uncaring cab driver?

Every story has two perspectives, and for Sydney, Miss Callie’s abrupt need for extensive care has come at a terrible time. Sydney is overrun at work as she desperately seeks to win an unwinnable and unethical court case. If she does not win, she can say goodbye to her job as a rookie lawyer – something she’s worked her whole life to achieve. Being Miss Callie’s only granddaughter and relative, Sydney struggles to keep all the balls in the air, which she is juggling.

So, what does it look like when paths cross for a cantankerous cab driver, a frolicsome elderly lady, and an ambitious lawyer? Can the contagious spirit of Christmas truly bring them together? Catch a glimpse of how the real meaning of Christmas can impact a life! This book will make you laugh out loud and cry too loud. You’ll feel a deep love for the characters developing as every page turn’s – even those who seem unlovable, to begin with – and you will be glad that you took the time to read it.