Benjamin Zephaniah

The UK's top Young Adult authors join together in this collection of new stories and poems on the theme of home. Contributors include: Tom Becker, Holly Bourne, Sita Brahmachari, Kevin Brooks, Melvin Burgess, Katy Cannon , Cat Clarke, Juno Dawson, Julie Mayhew, Non Pratt, Marcus Sedgwick, Lisa Williamson and Benjamin Zephaniah. �1 from the sale of every book will be donated to Crisis, the national homelessness charity. To find out more about Crisis, see www.crisis.org.uk

I'll Be Home for Christmas

Denaiir

So not the book I wanted for Christmas...
Those stories are about home, and some of them are beautiful, but so depressing!! I see people in the reviews mention that the collection is heartwarming, but it's definitely not. It's dark sometimes, it's depressing sometimes, and it has very little Christmas spirit. So if you are looking for stories set in winter, perfect. If you are looking for a cosy fluffy read for Christmas, look for something else. 

Home and Away by Benjamin Zephaniah - no rating, I don't like poetry
I didn't even realize it was a poem at first, thought it was a song introducing the first story and skipped it

Ghost of Christmas Past by Non Pratt - 3/5
This one is about a boy who has moved out of his house and is trying to adjust to his new life. He reminded me a lot of my husband so I instantly loved him. It was a sweet story and the girl he meets was cute.

If Only in my Dreams by Marcus Sedgwick - 1/5 
I found this extremely depressing, it made me feel claustrophobic and I have no idea what it is doing in this collection. 

Family You Choose by Cat Clarke - 3/5 stars
An ok tale about a girl spending Christmas at a friend's place and being enchanted at how different people are. I enjoyed the characters but I probably won't remember it in a few months

The Associates by Kevin Brooks - 1/5 stars
Another one that was dull, the characters not interesting, and that I couldn't wait to finish

The Afterschool Club by Holly Bourne - 2/5 stars
Again, what the hell is this story doing in a Christmas book? It's about 2 very different teens who spend time together after school. Very uninteresting, the characters were unlikable too.

Homo for Christmas by Juno Dawson - 4/5 stars
I liked this story because the character really had his own voice and I loved the ending, made me shed a tear or two. It's about a boy who is coming back to his mum's on Christmas break and has to come out, super sweet. 

Amir and George by Sita Brahmachari - 2.5/5 stars
A very good story about being a refugee and trying to make people understand how difficult it is. However, not Christmassy at all, too bad. I loved the main character, Amir, and his story was really sad. Made me want to donate to charity but not really a cosy read. 

The Letter by Tracy Darnton - 1/5 stars
Boring, I had already forgotten about that one and had to start re-reading it. The main character is unlikable again and it is so depressing...

Claws by Tom Becker - 3/5 stars
Meh, it was a good story but again, why put something so depressing in a Christmas-themed book?? It's a horror story about children who figure out that a girl who died a century ago might not be completely gone. They really have to re-brand this book because I would probably have liked that story way more if it wasn't supposed to be A CHRISTMAS BOOK!

Christmas, Take Two by Katy Cannon - 3.5/5 stars
A good story about a girl who has to spend Christmas at her dad's new house with his new family. She feels unwelcome until she realizes that maybe she's the one who chose to stay on the sidelines. It felt way more Christmassy than the other ones. There was a little bit of romance which was cute if not riveting. Not super interesting but sweet. 

When Daddy Comes Home by Melvin Burgess - 1/5 stars
I hated the writing style and it took me forever to understand what was going on, really didn't like that. It's a story about a guy who breaks in into a security office to right a wrong committed by a politician, with SF elements. Again, what the hell is this story doing in this book? 

The Bluebird by Julie Mayhew - 1.5/5 stars
This is a story written like a fairy tale, very flowery style in a kind of magical realism way, but there was no point to the story and I really didn't like either the writing style or the plot (if any). 

Routes and Wings by Lisa Williamson - 5/5 stars
Loved this one about a girl who is in dire need of help but feels quite ahsamed about it and doesn't know who to turn to. It was wintery if not very Christmassy, the character was complex and endearing, the writing style was pleasant and I loved the ending. Perfect finale, I'm glad I didn't give up and finished this book! It made me smile and shed a few tears.

Krystal 

2 star rating for the entire book. 
But a few of the stories in the book I would give a 4 star rating! But other stories I ended skipping as I found them not very interesting.

Kate

3.5* A really great collection of Christmas theme short stories. Some I enjoyed more than others but overall it was a really enjoyable read and one I'm definitely glad I picked up around the holidays! A lot of the stories touched on some hard hitting topics, so it wasn't by any means a 'fluffy' Christmas read but I liked that and thought the diversity surrounding the characters and stories was great! Overall my favourites from this collection were Home and Away by Benjamin Zephaniah, Ghosts of Christmas Past by Non Pratt, Family You Choose by Cat Clarke and Routes and Wings by Lisa Williamson!

5/5* 'Home and Away' by Benjamin Zephaniah ~ I've only just recently started reading poetry but it always amazes me how much can be said, so profoundly and clearly, in so little words. An extremely thought provoking, touching piece of writing. Fantastic.
4/5* 'Ghosts of Christmas Past' by Non Pratt ~ This was adorable. I really loved Non Pratt's writing, it's simple but in a really lovely, comfortable way. A cute, homely story with a lovely message that perfectly fits the theme of this anthology!
2.5/5* 'If Only In My Dreams' by Marcus Sedgwick ~ not the biggest fan of this one, the writing style wasn't really my cup of tea and I found it a bit confusing. It was definitely intriguing though, I would have been interested to have seen where this story was leading to!
4/5* 'Family You Choose' by Cat Clarke ~ this was fantastic, so lovely. I loved the diverse cast of characters and the mishmash Christmas feel to it. I really the sentiment and message and the way it was written, you could 110% picture the setting perfectly. A warm and lovely story! I would love to read more from these characters, I just want to learn all their stories!
2.75/5* 'The Associates' by Kevin Brooks. I'm not quite sure what to make of this, it was sad but somewhat heartwarming in a way? I think it was just a little too short for me to make my mind up on it and for it to make much of an impact. I wish it had just been a few pages longer!
3.75* 'The After School Club' by Holly Bourne. How can something be heartwarming and yet so heartbreaking in such a short amount of words? I'd have loved this to have been a full length novel. It was such an interesting concept and one I instantly found myself engrossed in.
3/5* 'Homo for Christmas' by Juno Dawson ~ That ending was so lovely!!
3.5/5* 'Amir and George' by Sita Brahmachari ~ this was heartbreaking but very relevant to current situations and the news right now.
3/5* 'The Letter' by Tracy Darnton
3.5/5* 'Claws' by Tom Becker ~ ooh, this was so creepy!!
4/5* 'Christmas, Take Two' by Katy Cannon ~ this was so lovely! Heartwarming and adorable! One of my favourites so far!
3.5/5* 'When Daddy Comes Home' by Melvin Burgess ~ this was totally bizarre, kind of dark and twisted but super intriguing. I had no idea where it was going but it definitely kept me reading and interested! A very unique short story from others I've read but nonetheless, a very intriguing one!
4/5* 'The Bluebird' by Julie Mayhew ~ this was so unique and interestingly written, I don't think I've read anything written quite like it!
4.5/5* 'Routes and Wings' by Lisa Williamson ~ this was fantastic, I throughly enjoyed it and the ending was so lovely!!

I'll Be Home for Christmas

Reviews