AnnAlysis: The Christmas Sweater
December 7th, 2009 | 
Author: 
I got The Christmas Sweater last year for Christmas, but of course, the season was done by then, so I had to wait until this holiday season to start! Also, this is part of my Christmas Reading Challenge.
The Christmas Sweatertakes us to Eddie’s Christmas when he was 12. All he wanted was a red Huffy with a black banana seat. But, that’s not quite what he got. Instead, he was given a hand-knitted sweater from his mom. Although she spent many hours putting it together, he hated it. And he hated her for it. That evening, he is still mad and when his mom wants to stay at his grandparents house, he decides they should leave. What he doesn’t realize is this will be his last trip with his mother. After this trip, his life completely changes. He moves in with his grandparents, meets a new best friend who is uber rich and also meets Russell, the man who Eddie keeps bumping into at his neighbor’s house. Through Eddie’s bad attitude and lack of faith, he eventually learns what is really important in life.
This book is loosely based on Glenn Beck’s childhood. I always have a hard time with these books that are somewhat based on fact. Throughout the entire book, I am very curious which parts are real and which parts are made up. At the end of the book, Beck explains the real parts and how the other parts came along, but I hate waiting that long 
I enjoyed this book. It’s the second one I’ve read lately that deals with a child searching for faith. I have always been religious, but have expressed it in different ways throughout my life. I haven’t always gone to church and my faith has fluctuated, but now I am attending a local church with my mom, mother-in-law and husband and am very happy with it. The more I attend church, the more these books appeal to me.
I think the thing I liked most about this book was the ending. It was definitely not what I expected, it exceeded everything I believed it would be.
Other than the fact/fiction part of this book, I have a hard time reading books about boys. LOL I know that may sound crazy, but it’s just really hard for me to relate to the life of a 12-year-old boy. I went through the 12-year-old phase with my brother and he’s been cranky since then, but when I was 15, I didn’t really care about his attitude, I had older boys to worry about. Yes, a girl could have gone through this, but I think it would be different. And I got a little angry at Eddie because I just wanted him to give in. It would have shortened the book and made it drastically different, but I wanted to smack him silly!
All-in-all, this book was just ok for me. I enjoyed the writing and the end of the story. I give it 3 bookmarks.
Posted in Book Review, Books, Reading Challenges | 
Tags: Book Review, Books, christmas reading challenge, glenn beck, reading, the christmas sweater
I’ve seen this one cropping up here and there lately, just in time for the season, but had no clue what it was about! I can certainly relate to having a hard time reading books about boys… I just don’t relate to them, obviously, and reading novels from the perspective of teen guys is a little strange.
Not sure if this would be a book for me, but glad you enjoyed it — for the most part!
Glen Beck has less than a junior high school grasp of history and world affairs, a complete lack of honesty and integrity, and a total disregard for the intelligence of his audience. His presentation is full of unfounded conspiracy theories and when he is caught in a lie, which he often is, he just switches from being a “reporter” or “political commentator” to being an “entertainer.”