From Goodreads,
Every Christmas in the small town of Pine River, a tree appears in the town square--the Angel Tree. Some people tie wishes to the tree, while others make those wishes come true. Nobody's ever known where the tree comes from, but the mystery has always been part of the tradition's charm.
This year, however, four kids who have been helped--Lucy, Joe, Max, and Cami--are determined to solve the mystery and find out the true identity of the town's guardian angel, so that Pine River can finally thank the person who brought the Angel Tree to their town.
This is a heartwarming Christmas mystery, full of friendship, discovery, and loads of holiday cheer!"
Christmas is my favorite time of year. I love putting up my Christmas trees (Yes, I have more than one.) and decorating them. I love listening to Christmas music while making and baking sweets. I love the cheesy Christmas movies along with all of the classics. Christmas has always been a very happy time in my family. As I got older I of course changed my Christmas wishlist from toys to electronics and then from electronics to necessities such as socks or having step rails put on my truck. While in college I decided to give back. I selected an angel off of the local angel tree and purchased clothes, shoes, a winter jacket, and toys for a child I didn't even know. The happiness I felt that Christmas cannot be matched. This book is the same concept, just tweaked a little bit for the small town of Pine River.
In the town of Pine River, a tree always appears in the middle of the town at Christmas time. People in the town write their wishes on a slip of paper and tie them on a branch. The idea is that if you can help out you take the slip of paper and fulfill it for that person. This is the Angel Tree. But after 25 years of tradition, four kids who each have their own wish, decide that it is time to officially thank the person behind the Angel Tree.
I absolutely love the concept of angel trees. That people will put what they need on the tree and it gets filled. Most of the time you see these in local grocery stores and they are to help families with children who can't give them a proper Christmas. But I love the idea of having a tree that ANYONE can put their wish on it and those who can help out, do. Obviously, in today's greedy world I can foresee this being a problem. People would be asking for cars when they didn't even need one. They would want huge flat-screen TVs when it isn't a necessity. There wasn't a single wish that was presented in this book that was being greedy or luxurious. Max's family had suffered a house fire just weeks prior and he asked for a house. The town handymen and the secret person behind the angel tree stepped in to give this family something that they honestly and truly needed. Lucy's guide dog was diagnosed with cancer, but her family was unable to pay to have the cancer removed and treated. Lucy wished for her dog to be better and someone paid for the surgery and the cost of the medicine. Joe is a newcomer to the town and just learned about the angel tree. He decides to put his wish to have his mom home for Christmas since she is a marine. Just a few days later Joe received a call that his mom would be home on leave for Christmas because someone had paid for her flight. All of these seem to be large wishes (especially the house), but all were feasible. I love that the entire town rallies around those who need help and help out in any way that they can. I also love that the secret person behind it all makes sure that all the wishes are filled by Christmas. The entire thing is just a feel-good story. And it honestly led me to ask myself what I would put on an angel tree if such a thing existed.
While I loved the entire story of the angel tree, I absolutely despised the ending of this book. As the book came to a close we find out who was behind it and that they are getting older and the bank account is dwindling which is making it harder and harder to fulfill all of the wishes. I so badly wanted to know what happened the next year. I want to know if they were able to continue the Angel Tree or if it all fell apart because there wasn't a large bank account to fill the wishes. I felt like there were all of these loose ends that were never fully tied up properly. I want to know if Lucy's dog made a full recovery and beat cancer. I want to know if Joe was able to get into a better home than the one that he lived in. I also want to know if Joe's mom made it home safely. I want to know if Max and his family were able to move into their new home and how they furnished it since they lost everything in the fire. Cami didn't have a big piece in the plot except for wanting to find out who was behind everything, so I'm not too upset over not hearing what happened after the fact with her. I need answers and frankly would love to see a second book.
This was a wonderfully cute story and I think it would be a wonderful story to read to my fifth graders around Christmas. If we weren't already in the middle of a book I would definitely jump in with this one. I give this 4 stars. I love the idea of the angel tree, but I had some questions by the time it was all over. This is a wonderful read that people of all ages will enjoy!
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