Welcome to the blog tour for Real Santa by William Hazelgrove!
George Kronenfeldt is an unemployed engineer with one shot to keep his daughters belief in Santa intact. When Megan tells him the only way she will believe in Santa is if she can videotape him and then tells her fourth grade class she will prove the existence of Santa Claus by posting her video to YouTube, George realizes he must become the Real Santa. He devises a plan to land nine reindeer on his roof and go down his chimmney, hiring a broken down movie director who eventually has him funding a full scale production that bankrupts him and and threatens his marriage. When George goes to find the Real Santa to help him, the line between what is real and magic is crossed. Real Santa is a funny heartwarming story of parenthood gone wrong and illuminates what lengths parents will go to keep their children happy.
Author William Hazelgrove
William Elliott Hazelgrove is the best-selling author of eight novels, Ripples, Tobacco Sticks, Mica Highways, Rocket Man, The Pitcher, Real Santa and the forthcoming Jackpine and The Pitcher 2. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly,Kirkus and have been selected as Book of the Month Selections, Junior Library Guild Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway's birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today and other publications. He has been the subject of interviews in NPR's All Things Considered along with features in The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Richmond Times Dispatch, USA Today, People, Channel 11, NBC, WBEZ, WGN. His most recent novel, The Pitcher is a Junior Library Guild Selection and was chosen Book of the Year by Books and Authors. net. His next book Jackpine will be out Spring 2014 with Koehler Books. A follow up novel Real Santa will be out fall of 2014. He runs a political cultural blog, The View From Hemingway's Attic.
Review
George is not having the best holiday season. He just got fired, and he found out that his daughter Meagan's teacher has her questioning the reality of Santa Claus. Not wanting Meagan to lose some of the magic that goes along with Santa Claus, George starts cooking up a crazy scheme. No, a really insane scheme. It involved marching 9 reindeer onto his roof, scaling the chimney, and allowing Meagan to capture all this for posterity. Surely no one would ever go through with this, right? George soon discovers that he's willing to do just about anything to keep the magic alive for his daughter. It may just destroy everything else in his life though.
This story went places I was not expecting. George would literally do anything to try and not mess up with his daughter like he had his other children. I found this a very interesting juxtaposition. Was George really going through all this just for him daughter? Or was it because he felt extremely guilty for what he had done to his first two children? George deals with all this and more throughout the story. He inspires some people and annoys a lot more. I was kind of on both sides of that fence really. I admired his tenacity and love for his daughter, but I seriously wondered why he wouldn't just step back and realize what a kooky plan this was.
I really enjoyed the ending. I mean, at first it was like watching a train wreck. I couldn't turn away. Then as things progressed it turned out to be even more interesting then I could have imagined. George had to face up to a lot of different things in the end, but I think it made him a better person for it. And of course a book about Santa Clause couldn't end without a little Christmas magic. I found this book to be both funny and endearing, which can be a fine line to walk. This is definitely a book for adults, but it will make you remember what's important about your holiday. If you want a little humor and a book that's different from your usual sappy holiday fare, check this one out.
Book provided for review.
Blog Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 12/29/14
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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