In the tradition of Rules, The Benefits of Being an Octopus and Fish In A Tree, Sam's Christmas is an inspiring and heartwarming middle grade novel about finding your voice, growing in inner strength and discovering the true meaning of family.
The whole world, it seems, is getting into the Christmas spirit.
Stores play Christmas music. Neighbours hang up lights and gather in the town square for the lighting of the giant Christmas tree. Or they go door-to-door, singing carols. At school, kids talk about what gifts they hope to get.
Sam, who loves music, plays carols at Youth Orchestra concerts and at her school concert hears Christmas carols everywhere. She plays Christmas carols at Youth Orchestra concerts and at her school concert. She hears about presents under the tree and turkey with stuffing and Christmas with all the trimmings.
But as Sam's Korean mother points out, they don't "do" Christmas. Or Hanukah. Or Easter. Or Eid. Or any of the other happy holidays that might be celebrated by other people. Their family avoids Christmas, no matter how much Sam wishes this wasn't so.
And then something magical happens, making Sam's Christmas wish come true. And bringing a special gift, a way to proclaim who she is and what she is meant to be and to do, in a way that no one, especially Sam, could ever have anticipated.
But this gift also comes with risks and dangers. It could have the power to change everything in Sam's life or she could lose everything she knows and loves.
Sam's Christmas is a story about finding your own unique voice and gift and the courage to use them, second in the Morley Stories series of novels for YA readers age 11 to 13.
