The Christmas Sweater Glenn Beck; Kevin Balfe; Jason F. Wright

The Christmas Sweater

Author: Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and Jason F. Wright

Publisher: Threshold Editions

Publication Date: 11 November, 2008

ISBN: 9781416594857

Pages: 304

Subjects: Juvenile fiction, Coming of age, General

Available as: Trade Cloth, 978-1-4165-9485-7 Trade Cloth, 978-1-4391-0017-2 E-Book - Epublication content package, 978-1-4391-4947-8

Description:

Based on a deeply personal true story, Glenn Beck’s bittersweet tale of boyhood memories, wrenching life lessons, and the true meaning of the giving season has touched the hearts of readers everywhere.If you could change your life by reversing your biggest regrets, sorrows, and mistakes . . . would you?When Eddie was twelve years old, all he wanted for Christmas was a bike. He knew money had been tight since his father died, but Eddie dreamed that somehow his mother would find a way to afford that dream bike.What he got from her instead was a sweater. “A stupid, handmade, ugly sweater” that young Eddie left in a crumpled ball in the corner of his room.Scarred deeply by the fateful events that transpired that day, Eddie begins a dark and painful journey toward manhood. It will take wrestling with himself, his faith, and his family—and the guidance of a mysterious neighbor named Russell—to help Eddie find his life’s path and finally understand the significance of that simple gift his mother had crafted with love.

PW Publishers Weekly

Review Source: PW Annex Reviews

Review Date: 2008-10-20

In Beck's debut novel, the conservative talk-radio host (An Inconvenient Book) makes a weak attempt at a holiday classic in the vein of It's a Wonderful Life. Despite his single mother's financial hardships, 12-year-old Eddie is certain this Christmas he will receive his much-desired Huffy bike. To his dismay, what he finds under the tree is "a stupid, handmade, ugly sweater" that his mother carefully modeled after those she can't afford at Sears (one of four places she keeps part-time jobs). After he insults her and tosses the sweater, Eddie's mom takes them to his grandparents' farmhouse for the rest of the day. On the drive home, Eddie's exhausted mother falls asleep at the wheel and crashes into TK, dying instantly. Sent to live with his grandparents, an increasingly bitter and angry Eddie lashes out at his accommodating guardians, engages in typical teenage angst and grapples with belief in God in the face of all his woes. For all his focus on traditional family virtues like respect, love and forgiveness, Beck's lightweight parable cruises on predictability, repetition and sentimentality. (Nov.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.