A Baxter Family Christmas

Kingsbury, author of over fifty novels, including more than twenty about the Baxters, a sprawling family of several generations led by the upstanding Christian patriarch John, delivers another uplifting tale in time for Christmas. For those unfamiliar with the Baxter family, beginning with this book can feel like walking into the large and lively gathering of your new love interest’s family for the first time – bewildering, raucous, but ultimately warm and loving. And that’s pretty close to what happens in the story. Years after the fatal car accident of John’s daughter Eric, an organ transplant recipient who received Erin’s heart joins the Baxters for Christmas with her husband. Kendra and Moe are atheists whom none of the Baxters have met before. So, John’s inviting them to join the family for their special holiday gathering is too much for some individuals to bear. Would it be too much for ten-year-old Amy, whose mother’s heart Kendra has? Rifts are acknowledged, reconciliation sought, and faith tested, all in the context of a vibrant, if traditional, Christianity that will satisfy Kingsbury fans, old and new. (Oct.)