The Afterlife of Holly Chase, by Cynthia Hand

       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. . . .

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My Rating: ★★★★★

       This Christmas, I decided to spread my holiday cheer to my current read with The Afterlife of Holly Chase, and I am so glad that I did. It was everything I hoped for and more in a Christmas tale and got me into a festive mood just in time for the holidays. I highly recommend it if you are still looking for a little dose of holiday cheer, or if you want to put it on the list to read next December.
       I think what makes this book so incredible is the characters. Holly has such a unique personality as a narrator—she is an awful human being! Seeing this world through her eyes turns the table a little bit since as readers, we are not rooting for an average hero. As the book goes on, we can see her character grow piece by piece through the fantastic flow of the tale. It isn’t just here, either. The characters she encounters, like Steph and Ethan, are intricate as well. There isn’t a flat character between these covers.
       Another element that hooked me from the beginning was the whole concept for Project Scrooge. The idea that this entire business exists to save one person every year is pretty amazing. It added a hint of a detective/spy element to the story when the employees at the Project have to find the corresponding characters from A Christmas Carol and match them up to their Scrooge’s life. I also liked how the business incorporated science with a hint of magic, which grounded the story in reality just enough. 
       My favorite part of reading this book, though, was the gripping element it possessed. Every time I thought I had the book figured out, a turning point would come out of nowhere and leave me back where I started. This quality is one of my all-time favorite things about good books. If it can keep me on the edge of my seat and turning pages, it’s a winner in my book. (#BookPun)

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       Are you a holiday reader? Let me know what books you recommend for around the holidays in the comments below!

Happy Holidays,
Ashton

Without stories, we’re all just lonely islands.

― Cynthia Hand, The Afterlife of Holly Chase