The Christmas Joy Ride

The Christmas Joy Ride by Melody Carlson Miranda did not put adventure on her Christmas list, but thanks to her eighty-five-year-old neighbor Joy, that's exactly what she's getting this year. When Joy tells Miranda that she plans to drive an old RV decked out in Christmas decorations from their Chicago neighborhood to her new retirement digs in Phoenix--in the dead of winter, no less--the much younger Miranda insists that Joy cannot make such a trip by herself. Unemployed and facing foreclosure, Miranda feels she has nothing to lose by packing a bag and heading off with Joy toward Route 66. But Joy has a hidden agenda for their Christmas joyride--one that could derail the whole venture. No one captures the heartwarming fun of the Christmas season quite like Melody Carlson. Fasten your seat belt, because it's going to be an exciting ride! My thoughts:  THE CHRISTMAS JOY RIDE is a fun lighthearted story about an elderly widow and her younger, soon-to-be homeless neighbor embarking on a trip across the historic Route 66. Joy had planned to do this with her husband, but this bucket list died with George. Now, she's being forced into assisted living in a strange state, near her sons who both left Chicago for Phoenix. Miranda is iffy about this crazy trip Joy has planned, but it seems to beat sitting around waiting for the end at home, so Miranda packs a bag and goes along for the ride. And the joy that Joy wants to spread. I loved the way Joy spread joy to the winners on  her blog, and I also loved that it ended on such a happy note. I smiled with the ending. Awesome job, Ms. Carlson. I'll be looking forward for your Christmas book next year!  Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of more than two hundred books with combined sales of more than six million. She is the author of the bestselling The Christmas Bus, The Christmas Dog, Christmas at Harrington's, and The Christmas Cat. She received aRomantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her many books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series and Finding Alice. She and her husband live in central Oregon. Learn more at www.melodycarlson.com.