Welcome to Day 9 of #The12Letters, hosted by BooksNest and FictionTea. Today's prompt is stories, so I thought I would share my favourite festive books and films. Christmas is one of my favourite times of year and over the years, I have collected a lot of favourite Christmas stories.
Books
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
I read this last year after seeing emmmabooks rave about it. This is a retelling of the Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (which I'm hoping to read this year). As the title suggests, it focuses on the afterlife of Holly Chase, who in her alive life was horrible and cruel, dying very young. She is then forced to work at Scrooged, a modern day program that recreates the ghosts visit on that years "Scrooge". All of this changes when this years Scrooge is a boy Holly's age and she has a chance to save him. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I picked this up, but ended up really enjoying it. It's a cheesy holiday book and if you're looking for something fun this Christmas, I'd recommend it.
The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale
This is a historical magical realism novel. Set during the Great War (WW1), it focuses on this magical toyshop. It is predominately set at Christmas. It's very difficult to summarise without giving away essential details. The magical qualities of the toyshop and the writing are so beautiful that you'll want to visit. I think I am in need of a reread of this one as I don't think I appreciated it as much as I should the first time around. If historical fiction and magic are things you enjoy, then I'd recommend this one.
This Winter by Alice Oseman
For fans of Alice's Heartstopper series, Alice has released a Christmas novella. It was released digitally in 2015, but is now available in paperback for the first time. It takes place at Charlie and Tori's house on Christmas. We get to see what a Christmas is like with them. It's a cute little novella set in the world we already know and we get to visit our favourite characters. In the newly released paperback version, it has some brand new illustrations from Alice.
Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon by James Lovegrove
Okay, I might be cheating by including this as I haven't finished reading it, but as I'm enjoying it so much, I knew I had to put it on this list. This is a new Sherlock Holmes adventure by James Lovegrove, one of the many authors to write a Sherlock Holmes story. As you guessed it, this one is indeed set at Christmas time. Holmes and Watson are employed by a young woman to investigate some seasonal spooks at her family castle in Yorkshire. I've read about 100 pages of this and can't wait for the next chance I get to jump back into it.
Films
Love, Actually
Yet another Christmas classic that Christmas wouldn't be complete without. I'm sure I don't need to explain what Love, Actually is about. If you are looking for a feel good British Christmas comedy, then look no further. I have lost count of how many times I've watched this film. It has some truly iconic moments in it.
Anna and the Apocalypse
This is quite possibly my favourite Christmas film of all time. Imagine La La Land and Shaun of the Dead had a Christmas baby. It's funny. It's got musical numbers. It's got zombies. It's set at Christmas. What's not to love? I could go on and on about how much I adore this film. If you decide to watch or read one thing from this list, then let it be this one!
Happiest Season
Again, I am cheating as I haven't watched this one yet. This is more a shoutout as this film is a gay Christmas film. Again, what's not to love? From the trailer, it looks funny while tackling a serious issue. It also has an amazing cast, such as Kristin Stewart, Daniel Levy, Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza. I'm planning on watching this very soon and I have a feeling I will love it.
Those are some of my favourite Christmas stories. I hope you find something on here for you!
Carenza :) x
