Rate this book

Christmas Cat, The (2014)

by Melody Carlson(Favorite Author)

3.88 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Revell

review 1: I picked up The Christmas Cat by Melody Carlson because I like to read a couple Christmas novels to put me in the proper spirit. I usually get ones by Anne Perry or Kate Kingsbury. I did get the Anne Perry, but apparently Kate didn't write another one this year. Looking around I saw the gorgeous cat on the dust cover of The Christmas Cat. What better way to select a book? Not only does she write Christmas books (quite a few, I learned) but is an "inspirational" writer. Not my genre, but I actually enjoyed the book. Garrison Brown, who has spent 7 years in Uganda as a missionary, returns home, and before he gets a chance to visit his grandmother who raised him when his parents died in an auto accident, she herself dies. He is called to take over, which means he must... more find homes for her 6 cats. He himself is allergic to cats, but with a mask he sets out to clean out his grandmothers belongings and to find homes for the 6 cats. It is not a simple task. His grandmother has left very specific instructions that he must make certain the new owners are good people by not only checking them out beforehand, but by then checking in on them twice in three months time to see that the cats are well cared for and happy. if so the people get $10,000 but they cannot know this beforehand. Once this task is finished, Garrison gets all the rest of her estate, not much but a house and some money.The first person he contacts is his grandmother's neighbor Ruby, who of course wants a cat. She offers advice, food and someone to talk to. She has a grandson who was on drugs and is now living with her, but she is very worried about him. She is cheered to know that Garrison had dreamed of starting a half-way house for youths who needed an extra boost. He, of course, hires the grandson to help him fix up his grandmother's house for sale. He lives in it while remodeling and finding homes for the cats and finding a job for himself. The first person who wants a cat is a beautiful young woman named Cara, who really liked Harry, the Maine Coon cat, but unfortunately she doesn't fulfill all the requirements grandma put on placing the cats--she hasn't lived there for a year. Garrison really likes Cara, but he realizes one of her neighbors does too, a man with an autistic son. He is able to help the son with a talkative Siamese, but he is really jealous of him. He also finds a lonely older man who needs a companion, and a woman with a punk teenage girl who is delighted to find a real friend in her new cat. Finally 5 cats are taken and all he has left is Harry, the cat he likes best and that Cara wanted. He even discovers that his allergies are not bad with Harry, but he also gets a job offer in Seattle. Just before he would have to leave a nice family wants the cat. His research on them is not as full as it should have been, but they seem very nice and so he puts his house up for sale and gives them the cat and goes off to his new job. He will return Christmas to give them their first visit and he feels so lonely but off he goes. When he returns, he sets up in the house, which has several interested people, but no final offer yet. Then he goes to visit Harry and his new family--only to find Harry has run off. But it is Christmas; this is a Christmas story. He finds Harry and is so thankful; Cara visits him and he realizes she is not interested in her neighbor. He and Cara and Harry settle down, he gives up his job, and plans to try his dream of turning his home into a half-way house for wayward youth. Inspirational, yes. But nicely done. The characters are well-developed, the cats are wonderful, and after all it is a Christmas story!
review 2: The Christmas Cat for Your Christmas Reading ListI recently read The Christmas Cat by Melody Carlson for review. The story is about young Garrison Brown and his unlikely task of finding homes for his grandmother's six cats after she passes away. The will is unconventional and there is strict criteria for each adoptive cat owner. The Christmas CatWhile he is looking for new homes for the cats, Garrison stays at his Gram's home. He is severely allergic to cats and must wear a mask and keep his bedroom barricaded in order to be comfortable. The home has many memories for Garrison since he came to live with his grandmother after his parents died. It was only after Garrison left for college that she got her first cat to fill the void he left in the house.The story is heartwarming as we meet the people who are connected by these cats. From Ruby, the widow next door to the young and pretty Cara each has their own story as they touch Garrison and help him find his true calling.This is a nice story for an afternoon by the fire with a cup of cocoa and a cat at your feet! less

Download links for: Christmas Cat, The

Advertising