Michelle Sutton’s review of @ Home for the Holidays by Meredith Efken

From the Publisher:

Sitting by the fireside, humming carols and knitting mittens…not! For these stay-at-home moms, the weeks before Christmas are anything but mellow. How can you balance housework, home crises and the husband without losing your mind? Plug in your laptop! Meet Dulcie, Zelia, Jocelyn, Rosalyn, Veronica and the rest of the women of SAHM I Am. An e-mail loop of stay-at-home moms, they’ve seen each other through months of domestic drama: babies who won’t come, bills that won’t leave, kids who won’t listen and spouses who won’t talk. Now, as the yuletide approaches, the SAHMs are on hand once again, bearing gifts of sisterhood, sanity and the real Christmas spirit.

My review:

This is my all-time favorite Christmas novel EVER. I usually think holiday stories are sappy and never watch them on television, let alone read them. I’m not sure why. I used to like The Grinch That Stole Christmas. Hmmm… Anyway, I’m thoroughly impressed with how Meredith has taken an e-mail loop and made the characters so vivid and real that I want to join the loop myself. Though the story ends with Christmas, it covers over half the year so you can read it at any time and still enjoy it. Honestly!

I SO love the classic Christian snobbery exhibited by Rosalyn, the loop moderator and topic of the week coordinator. We all know someone like Ros, don’t we? And the struggles with parenting and job-related issues were so realistic and well-portrayed that I was sucked right in. I’ve had many infertile friends and the pain is so real. These gals on the SAHM I Am loop are the real deal. Even their e-mail names made me snicker. That Veronica, she just tells it like it is. Sometimes we need that. And her metaphor about the cake…I almost wet my pants over that one. You have to read it to know what I mean!

I just can’t say enough about how hilarious, yet deeply spiritual this book was. Some of the scenes with the kiddos just made me want to cackle like a nut case. And how many of us take on so many projects and causes that we neglect our first love? Enough said. I think even my son would love this story. The lessons within its pages shoot straight to the heart. Fabulous book. Now go out and get one before they are all gone!

@ Home for the Holidays was published by Steeple Hill and released on November 1, 2006