The Christmas Star (book)
The Christmas Star is a Christian novel written by Donna VanLiere. It was published in 2018.
It is the tenth novel in her Christmas series, all but one of which features the residents of the fictional community of Grandon.[1]
Plot
The book is set in 2011 around the Christmas season.
One year after Lauren Gabriel "accidentally" discovers Grandon (literally, as she witnessed a hit-and-run accident while driving through town after work one evening)[2], her previously unhappy and unfulfilled life has totally changed: she has moved there, works at the same grocery store as Ben (known for his hand-written messages he gives to his customers; she works in the floral department), continues to volunteer at Glory's Place (where she volunteered the prior Christmas season, and where she met most of her now closest friends), and is in a serious relationship with Travis Mabrey (who convinced Lauren not to emotionally shut down and run away from the people of Grandon after a bad incident the year prior, as the children at Glory's Place missed her greatly; he continues to work for the local parks and recreation department and this year he gets to hang a lighted star in the town square's gazebo, the gift of two local residents, a mother and daughter).
After several of the children (including "Maddie") in the Glory's Place after-school program suggest that Travis and Lauren should get married, the following day Travis proposes. The two decide on an outdoor wedding in the gazebo (a place special to them both), which Miriam (who volunteers herself to be the wedding planner) loves, only to be mortified when they decide to hold the wedding on Wednesday, December 21 (an outdoor wedding on what is expected to be a cold day), don't want upscale dresses for the bridesmaids, desire to hold the reception at Glory's Place (so the children can participate) with the reception meal consisting of chicken wings and potato salad and candy for the children (they end up having a cake, which Gloria will purchase as a gift).
Maddie (full name, Madeleine Grace), age 7, has been in foster care since birth, when her parents abandoned her at the hospital (a nurse actually gave Maddie her name). Though eligible for adoption placement, she has been passed over repeatedly, due in part to her having a mild form of cerebral palsy (it only affects her right leg). She loves her foster mother (Linda), who has raised her most of her life, but would really like to have a mom and dad for Christmas. After her "success" with Travis' and Lauren's pending nuptials, she fancies herself as a "matchmaker", and sets her sights on her next match: getting her adult male friend Gabe "Mr. G" Rodriguez (a maintenance man at the elementary school, who was previously married but now divorced due to him being a "bad husband"; he is also Travis' cousin) paired up with her adult female friend Amy Denison (a new volunteer at Glory's Place); the two each separately give Maddie a "three-cord bracelet" that each owns but hasn't worn in years[3].
However, when Maddie finally gets them to meet, she learns that Gabe and Amy are well-acquainted with each other: the two were married for four years before divorcing six years prior. Gabe openly admits he caused the marriage to fail, due in part to his selfishness, anger, alcohol abuse, and failure to put God at the center of their marriage, but thought Amy had subsequently been engaged. In the intervening years, Gabe has returned to faith in God, attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings (and has achieved 5 1/2 years of sobriety) and is two semesters away from a degree in elementary education (previously having no interest in children). The divorce also affected Amy, causing her to reclaim her faith in God; though not interested in reuniting with Gabe, she decides she wants to be a foster parent and is eventually approved[4].
While looking for her wedding dress and for Travis' outfit, Lauren continually runs into a young woman and her mother, who are also looking for a wedding dress but who are unable to afford anything they see. Lauren eventually meets the young woman (Mandy), who says her dad was the one who purchased the star for the gazebo, tragically he died of cancer only eleven days later, not getting to see her get married; his medical bills have left them unable to afford a suitable wedding dress. Lauren decides to give her own dress to Mandy as a gift (in return, Gloria allows Lauren to use the outfit she wore at her wedding to her first husband, who has since passed).
Meanwhile, Gabe and Amy meet again and Amy tells Gabe the truth: she was engaged but called off the wedding because "he wasn't [Gabe]". Seeing the star in the gazebo, they both recognize that Maddie would consider it a sign that they should see if they can reunite. Together they continue to see each other and they also choose Maddie's outfit for the wedding.
The day of Travis' and Lauren's wedding goes off as planned with only one hitch: the heat at Glory's Place goes out, forcing the reception to be moved to Gloria's house (Lauren actually wanted to hold the reception there but was afraid to ask). While moving the wedding gifts to a spare room, Travis whispers something to Gabe; Gabe announces that Travis said he should propose to Amy, which he does (and she accepts). They decide to hold their wedding then and there (with most of the guests present -- Amy's parents are only a short drive away, plenty of food, and -- most importantly -- a minister available to hold the ceremony). Though not having rings to exchange, Maddie comes up with the idea of using her bracelets as a substitute.
But Gabe has one final surprise: he actually does have a ring with him. The ring, though, is not for Amy, it is for Maddie. Originally planning to give it to her as a simple Christmas gift (after Maddie was told by a boy in her class that she was too ugly for anyone to give her a ring), he decides to give her the ring and asks her if he and Amy could become her parents (which she agrees, though she still wants Linda to be in her life as a grandmother figure). (The final scene in the book shows her adoption being finalized.)
Themes
The main theme is that of new beginnings. The story features three specific ones:
- Travis and Lauren beginning life as a married couple.
- Gabe and Amy re-marrying, this time with God as the center of their marriage.
- Maddie being adopted by Gabe and Amy.
References
- ↑ The one exception is The Christmas Journey, which is a re-telling of Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem.
- ↑ Her story is the main plotline of The Christmas Town, the book immediately proceeding this in the series. In Lauren's case, her witnessing the accident required her to return later to identify the offending driver; ultimately she continued to return there to volunteer for an upcoming fundraiser.
- ↑ The bracelet is designed to symbolize the three parties in a successful marriage -- God, the husband, and the wife -- and is taken from Ecclesiastes 4:12 -- "A cord of three strands is not easily broken".
- ↑ The social worker, Patricia Anderson, had her story told in the book The Christmas Hope (though in that book her surname was shown as Addison).