From Goodreads,"When his Labrador retriever survives a bear-mauling on Christmas Eve, Matt is convinced that her recovery is a miracle sent by his mother from heaven."
Goodreads - The Promise
It's time for another Christmas book, and I'm extremely excited about this book. My previous Christmas book review focused on believing and hoping. There was another important element to the book that I decided to ignore and not write about, but magically the same concept was brought up in this book. I suppose that's a sign saying I need to talk about it.
The Promise is a book about a young boy named Matt who lives with his brother Jamie, his Pa, and his dog Sara. His Ma died and it is the first Christmas without her. Matt wants everything to be like when Ma was still alive, and as a family they work together to make it the best they can. On Christmas Eve, Matt goes to hang suet balls on the tree when a bear lumbers down the path. The book comes to a dramatic conclusion as Matt and Sara run from the bear in hopes of surviving.
Apparently I missed some story in my childhood about animals being able to speak on Christmas at midnight. Both On Christmas Eve and The Promise refer to animals having this gift on Christmas. In The Promise Matt didn't believe it was possible, but went along with it because his Ma had said it was possible. Eventually Matt finds out that it is true that animals get this power on Christmas at midnight. It would be so cool to be able to speak to animals. It definitely makes me think of my dog who passed away a year ago. I honestly wish that I had been able to talk to him and he respond. There are so many things that I would have said to him or asked him. I had such a connection with him and honestly feel that he still understood me even though he couldn't talk to me.
This book had a quote that was mentioned a couple times and it really pulled the book together. Ma had always told the family, "Some things you just got to take on faith." This was an important phrase in the book because each of the characters needed the strength from the words. They all needed to just believe. Matt honestly had to "take it on faith" that Sara would be able to talk at midnight and that she would be okay after being attacked by the bear. I think this is an important quote to carry with you through life. Our society questions everything and I feel like we need to trust a little more and take it on faith. There are times when we don't and can't have all the answers, we just have to believe, and that was an important message in this book.
I love Christmas books because they really focus on believing in the magic of Christmas. This is a book that I would absolutely read to my students in my classroom. I think that many of them would connect with the animal aspect and the believing in the magic. I give this 5 stars and recommend it to everyone for a quick read.
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