Book Review: The Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson

Betty was planning on spending Christmas alone, but then she received two uninvited guests.  One was a dog whom she thought belonged to her backyard neighbor, someone she did not get along with.  The other was her stepgranddaughter running away from home.  She did not want a dog and she did not want her stepgranddaughter to be in the middle of a fight with her mother.   The dog and the granddaughter teach Betty some valuable lessons on judging others before she truly meets them.

I give the story five stars because it was easy to relate to and the characters were very likeable.  Carlson did a great job expressing neighborhood dynamics when a new neighbor moves in.  Neighbors were afraid.  They didn't go out of their way to meet him, but then, neither did he.

The story is set around Christmas, but it's not so much a Christmas story.  It can be read any time of the year.

I read this story for pure pleasure via the Kindle app on my laptop.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.