The Christmas Star

This quick Christmas read by Donna VanLiere will restore your faith in Christmas miracles. Being the 9th book in her 'Christmas Hope' collection, Donna took heartbreak, loneliness and a need for forgiveness and love to new heights. She was able to take three painful pasts, and create a very hopeful future.

A very persistent foster child (Maddie) particularly tugged at my heartstrings. She's a seven-year-old, who just wanted everyone to be loved, and have a family for Christmas. Her relationships with two broken adults with a history, and their love for her forces them to put differences aside. Throughout the story Amy, Maddie, and Mr. G have various ups and downs, which results in creating a Christmas miracle, and a happy ending.

"Thirty-two-year-old Amy Denison volunteers at Glory's Place, an after school program where she meets seven-year-old Maddie, a precocious young girl who has spent her childhood in foster care. Unbeknownst to Amy, Maddie is a mini-matchmaker, with her eye on just the right man for Amy at Grandon Elementary School, where she is a student. Amy is hesitant - she's been hurt before, and isn't sure she's ready to lose her heart again - but an unexpected surprise makes her reconsider her lonely lifestyle."