The Christmas Wedding

Image of The Christmas Wedding
Release Date: 
October 17, 2011
Publisher/Imprint: 
Little, Brown & Company
Pages: 
288
Reviewed by: 

The Christmas Wedding introduces us to Gaby Summerhill, a lifelong resident of Stockbridge Massachusetts. A mother of four, schoolteacher, quasi-farmer, caregiver to the destitute, and widow, Gaby sends an email video to her children announcing her plans to marry on Christmas day, informing them that they are expected to attend.

As Gaby awaits her childrens’ and grandchildrens’ arrival, she and her three male friends and best friend, Stacey Lee, prepare for the nuptials by decorating the barn to look like an enchanted wonderland. Most of the townfolk are invited including the many homeless and indigent that Gaby and Stacey feed breakfast to every morning.

Gaby has not celebrated Christmas with her offspring since her husband—their father—Peter’s death. Gaby hopes that marrying on the holiday will bring the whole family together.

Eldest daughter Claire, married to Hank Donoghue with 14-year-old son, Gus, and eleven-year-old twins, Toby and Gabrielle, reside in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Lizzie, along with husband Mike Rodgers and eight-year-old Tallulah, live not far from Gaby.

Second youngest, Emily, is a high-powered Manhattan lawyer, married to neurologist, Dr. Bart DeFranco, in New York.

Last, her only son, Seth, shares a home in Boston with girlfriend, Andie Collins.

What better time for a family gathering than to celebrate Christmas and Gaby’s marriage?

But who is to be the groom? Will it be Jacob Coleman, a rabbi and dear friend, Tom Hayden, a former pro hockey player and childhood chum, or Marty Summerhill, brother to Gaby’s deceased husband?

Gaby, a woman filled with surprises, does not tell her children who she intends to marry. In fact, she refuses to disclose to the three gentlemen which one of them will be her groom, seeing they all proposed to her.

The house is decorated, gifts are wrapped, and Gaby is beside herself with excitement about her upcoming marriage and visits from the children and grandchildren she loves. Gaby leaves everyone, including the reader, anticipating whom she will take as her husband until the last moment.

The Christmas Wedding
is a fast-paced page-turner, depicting the closeness and love of family that is also an uplifting inspirational read for the holiday season or anytime. Entertaining and exceptionally written.

James Patterson is an inspiration to the writing community with his generosity in using new writers to share credit on many of his books. No matter the genre— murder mystery, contemporary romance, or children’s fiction—Mr. Patterson shows his chops yet again as a multigenre writing success.