The Christmas clock : a novel

Format:

Book

Title:

The Christmas clock : a novel

Author:

Martin, Kat author

ISBN:

9781593155476

Publication:

New York : Vanguard Press, [2009]

Physical Description:

145 pages ; 20 cm

Number in series:

Summary:

"Teddy Williams was eight years old that Christmas, too young to understand all the undercurrents swirling around him in the tiny Michigan town of Dreyerville. He wasn't able to value that Christmas for the miracle it truly was. Teddy only knew he wanted to buy the beautiful Victorian clock in the window of Tremont's Antiques as a gift for his grandmother, Lottie Sparks, a woman desperate to find him a home before her rapidly progressing Alzheimer's left him an orphan. Teddy didn't know that in trying to buy the clock he would meet Sylvia Winters and Joe Dixon, a couple, once in love, desperate to overcome the past. He didn't know he would form a friendship with his neighbors, Floyd and Doris Culver, two people struggling to revive their long-dead marriage. He didn't know that these people would fill his Christmas with magic and hope; that the love of his friends would change his world, and that he would forever change theirs."--Dust cover flap.

Subject(s):

Grandmothers -- Fiction.

Alzheimer's disease -- Fiction.

Families -- Fiction.

Interpersonal relations -- Fiction.

Christmas stories.

Christmas -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Genre:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... McMinnville Public Library	Martin, K.	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Jefferson Public Library	MARTIN, K.	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Newberg Public Library	FICTION MARTIN	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Sheridan Public Library	Martin Dreyerville Michigan v.1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Sylvia Winters just found a job and an apartment in her hometown of Dreyerville, Michigan, but she is hesitant to return. Eight years ago, she jilted her fiancé, Joe Dixon, telling him that she was moving to Chicago because small-town living was not for her. But she was lying. Syl was headed to Chicago to be treated for cervical cancer. Sadly, Joe never knew the real reason she left him. Confused and distraught, he turned to drinking to heal the pain, until he accidentally killed a man andserved years in jail. Now Syl and Joe are both back in town, but it will take a miracle to bring them back into each other¿s arms.

Also in town is Lottie Sparks and her grandson, Teddy. Ever since Lottie¿s daughter was killed in a drunk-driving accident, Lottie¿s been in charge of Teddy. He appreciates her love more than she knows, so much so that the industrious eight-year-old hits up Joe¿s auto body shop, so he can save enough money by Christmas to buy his grandmother a Victorian clock she adores¿one that vividly reminds her of her childhood, even as the rest of her memories are slipping away with the onset of advanced Alzheimer¿s.

As spring turns to summer and summer to fall, matters in the Sparks¿ household take a turn for the worse. And with winter approaching, will a little hope and a big dose of Christmas magic be enough to make everything all right again?

Author Notes

Kathleen Kelly Martin was born July 14, 1947 in the Central Valley of California. She obtained a degree in Anthropology and History from the University of California in Santa Barbara.She is an American writer of romance novels under the pen names of Kat Martin, Kathy Lawrence and Kasey Marx. Martin is a member of the Romance Writers of America. To date, she has been published in England, Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Bulgaria, Russia, South Africa, China, and Korea. She has written several series which include Southern Series, Garrick Family Series, Kingsland Series and Litchfield Series. Her novel titles include Magnificent Passage, The Secret, and Secret Ways. She made The New York Times Best Seller List with her title Into the Firestorm.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this yuletide yawner, young Teddy Winters is being raised by his grandmother, Lottie, who is stricken with Alzheimer's. While she seeks a guardian for her grandson, two Dreyerville couples overcome their own obstacles: the Culvers have been married for decades, but they have let a distance grow between them. Meanwhile, Joe Dixon and Sylvia Winters were young lovers, but they let secrets tear them apart. With Christmas just around the corner, these six people's lives intersect as they struggle for second chances at marriage, love and family. It's standard-issue sentimental holiday fare, peopled with wholesome and one-dimensional caricatures, though, notably, there's no late-book miracle. It has plenty of competition with other seasonal titles, and there's little to distinguish this from the others. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Library Journal Review

In small-town Michigan, a cast of sweet characters share in a Christmas miracle. Sylvia left town on the eve of her wedding to deal with a major health crisis, alone. She's now back to set things right with her former fiance, Joe, who had a rough time of it when she left. Meanwhile, Lottie is coming to terms with her advancing Alzheimer's and needs to find a suitable family to take in her grandson. Could Sylvia and Joe be the right couple? This charming and romantic fable marks romance author Martin's (Heart of Honor, The Bride's Necklace) hardcover debut. A must read for romance readers. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.