Author: Kate Albus
Reviewed by Chloe Fuksa
One of my favorite Christmas books ever isn’t even technically a Christmas book –it’s actually a middle grade World War II story. But you’d certainly be hard-pressed to find a more precious, heart-warming Christmas scene in a book. A Place to Hang the Moon is author Kate Albus’s debut novel from 2021, and it is an utterly magical story with the most charming main characters.
William, Edmund, and Anna are three siblings who have been evacuated out of wartime London and sent to the countryside to stay with a family. William is the more mature sibling, out of necessity, with all the weight on his shoulders, while Edmund is the ornery, funny one, and Anna is the smart, adorable youngest one. They are first housed with the Forresters, but the host family’s conniving twin boys get the three unjustly kicked out. Next is Mrs. Griffith and her children, but it is an even more inhospitable place. As Christmas Eve comes around, William, Edmund, and Anna have no family to call upon and no home to spend the night in. Things are certainly not looking merry and bright – until the local librarian extends to the children more love and compassion than they’ve had in years.
No matter how many times you read A Place to Hang the Moon, it is just as beautiful and perfect every time. You will want to root for the three children from the very first page, and the final few chapters have all of the themes of the Christmas season – love and warmth and kindness.
Visit us in Sunset Plaza or call 580-297-5089 to get your copy of A Place to Hang the Moon today!
