Review: So, This Is Christmas by Tracy Andreen

When Finley Brown decides to leave her fancy boarding school for Christmas and go to her hometown of Christmas, Oklahoma, she expected everything to be just as she left it. Finley could never have been prepared for what met her — separated parents, her best friend with her ex-boyfriend and worst of all, her classmate Arthur Chakrabarti Watercress and his aunt staying at her grandmother Jo’s inn. To add to the confusion, Finley’s hometown has some expectations to live up to after she embellished their website to win over her snooty classmates. This means that the irritating Arthur and his aunt are expecting a perfect American Christmas! However, through their festive activities and not so festive escapades, Finley discovers Arthur may not be as annoying as she first thought…

Tracy Andreen perfectly appeals to teenagers today with her understanding of the frenemy dynamic. Everyone can relate to the frustration Finley experiences throughout the novel, for example, when she knows someone isn’t telling her everything. I think it helped that Andreen had previously written nine Hallmark movies, as she has written the perfect holiday romance — you might cringe at times but oh-so worth it to watch the characters fall in love. I would recommend So, This Is Christmas to anyone seeking a cosy tale of unexpected affection with exciting plot twists.

Aoibhe Toft, 15