Category: Christmas Publisher: Books To Go Now
Type: Fiction
Pages: 119
Copyright: Dec 8, 20115/ Nov 24, 2020
ISBN-13: B08NYR7B2N
Price: $5.95 (eBook)
The cousins, plus one, are taken on a Christmas Eve adventure that leaves them in peril before finding the magic of Christmas hidden within Jacobs’ message.
The Town Around The Christmas Tree: Jacob’s Message is book five of the Twisted Family Holidays Collection and book two of the Christmas Town series. Hailey Jade and her older cousin, Isaiah, are entangled in a new, supernatural, Christmas adventure.
Prior to their escapade, while they wait to replicate the town beneath the Christmas tree, they encounter an unnatural phenomenon that neither can explain. Hailey and Isaiah then witness young Harper having a grown-up conversation, but no one else is present. They get spooked and think they’re in for a Christmas nightmare. Enter Jacob who is the son of their grandfather’s girlfriend, and Hailey’s new BFF. Jacob arrives for the Christmas celebration, but without his mother, which seems weird, but they carry on about their day while they wait for her to arrive.
After the town is put together exactly the way the six cousins remember from the previous year, Jacob invites Hailey to go for a walk. So the older kids—Hailey, Isaiah, Bubba, and Jacob, go on an adventurous-walk. While on their venturous walk, they find mayhem that needs to be addressed before they can enjoy their Christmas Eve celebration. One that, again, reminds them of the magic and meaning of Christmas.
Whether it is experienced alone—or following the Town Beneath The Christmas Tree—The Town Around the Christmas Tree: Jacob’s Message is a great read for children and adults alike; and it’s destined to be a new classic Christmas tale.
Excerpt
“Whoa, did you feel that?” Isaiah asked. He quickly looked up from his cell phone and his body wiggled—like when you get an unexpected chill. The look of shock and fear on his face was one I had seen before. It was the same look as last year, when we first landed in the foreign-snow near the town beneath Grandpa’s Christmas tree. It’s a look you never forget. For those of you who don’t know, Isaiah is my fifteen-year-old cousin and the accidental leader of last year’s Christmas brigade—the one who helped us find our way through the landscape. Although not the one who brought us home.
“That was really freaky,” I replied, eyes open wide, shaken by the experience and Isaiah’s response. “It was like an earthquake, except the house didn’t move.” I grabbed my chest, trying to figure out how only our bodies shook; and how the air could ripple, like in movies when there’s some sort of time warp.
“Here we go, again, Hailey,” Isaiah continued. “I bet this is how last year’s Christmas nightmare started; we just didn’t know it at the time. We’re a year older now. We should know better.”
“You’re just being paranoid,” I said. Even though I thought Isaiah might be right, I didn’t let on. Perhaps this was how last year’s Christmas escapade got started. After all, we were in this room when it all began. But it was decided that last year happened when all of us cousins were arguing about the presents under the tree, and then accidently hit our heads together—at the same time no less. “On second thought,” I whispered, having a new revelation, while blankly staring at the carpet. “Being a cute, almost grown-up, fifth-grader is much better than being a lowly fourth-grader. So maybe we should know better?”
Professional Reviews
Perfect Gift for Christmas
Reviewed By Shrabastee Chakraborty for Readers’ Favorite -- 5-Stars
A year after their adventure in the town beneath the magical Christmas tree, Christmas Eve once again finds Hailey and her family gathered in her grandpa’s house. After decorating the tree, Jacob, Hailey’s best friend, takes the older cousins for a short walk. Arriving at an empty church, they save the pastor’s life by scaring away a violent, gun-toting thug. Afterward, they help a disgruntled kid reconcile with his mother. However, none of these adventures can compare to the shocking truth that lies in store for them. How could Jacob predict future events or deflect the thug's direct shots? What secrets did he hide from Hailey? To know, you have to read The Town Around the Christmas Tree: Jacob’s Message by J.R. Wirth.
This fifth installment of the Twisted Family Holidays Collection is, in essence, a short story centered around Christmas. Yet, there are potent messages hidden behind the festivities, the playful banter among family members, and the memorable escapades. Throughout the book, Wirth reminds us of the actual significance of Christmas. We realize that it is the time to unite with the family and to rekindle love and bonding. But most of all, it is the time to express gratitude to the Lord for what we have in life. This book has so much educational value packed inside a sweet and adventurous tale that I would proclaim this as a perfect gift for Christmas. Although geared mainly to tweens, The Town Around the Christmas Tree: Jacob’s Message is a heart-warming read for adults as well.
Time-travel for Christmas
By Romance reader on December 13, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition
Last Christmas, when ten-year-old Hailey, her fifteen-year-old cousin Isaiah, and their siblings were arguing about the presents under their grandpa's tree, they were transported through time, space, and dimension, to a Christmas town. So when she sees that same shocked and fearful look on Isaiah's face at Grandpa's house again on Christmas Eve, Hailey has to wonder if they will go through the same time warp nightmare this Christmas.
Young readers will enjoy this fun Christmas story with a surprise ending.
A must read
Verified Purchase
“The Town Around the Christmas Tree” is the perfect follow up to last year’s “The Town Beneath the Christmas Tree.” Though the entire family doesn’t go on this adventure, the older cousins do. They are joined by a new character, Jacob, who is Hailey’s best friend and the son of her grandfather’s new romantic interest. There are many twists and turns, just like the last, and it keeps the feeling of a Dicken’s Christmas tale, alive again, but with an ending that will leave you saying, really? (or tearing). Either alone, or following the original, it is a must read.
