However heroic I would like to think myself, I think I’m really much more Lionel than I like to admit.  Lionel has grand ideas, but he is not very good at executing them.  He’s not really very good at anything much, although he does have the advantage of a lucky Three-Toed Pot-Bellied Waupum’s foot.  It tends to makes his wishes come true, but not in the way he either wants or expects.

Lionel ChristmasIn this adventure, Christmas is fast approaching, and Lionel is unlikely to get any present that stands up to that terrible question from the popular people in class “What did you get for Christmas?”  He does realise though, that he would really really like a super-sled (I’m not up with varieties of sled, but it’s a good one).  This of course is beyond his parents’ means.  I’m not sure whether he has a father; his mother seems to be mostly glad when he is out of the house doing something to keep him out of her way.  I wasn’t paying attention and I’m sure it was all clarified in an earlier book.  The thing is, Lionel’s adventures are about Lionel, his best friend, his best friend’s parents, and the girl he hankers after and always fails to impress.

I love the way Paul Hewlett takes us along with Lionel through all his painful and embarrassing misdemeanours.  They are just so true.  Behind that facade we give ourselves, we’ve been there.  And in Lionel’s Christmas Adventure, he discovers the true meaning of Christmas.  And I find myself strangely reconciled to all the commercialism and greed and overeating, because it isn’t about that at all, and that’s what Lionel discovers.  Then he has a happy Christmas.

A lovely read, at about 40 or so pages, for anyone who wants to settle down with an antidote to the schmaltz and enjoy an evening of simple pleasures, and an adventure with a boy whom we once knew very well.  I expect kids love him too!

Lionel’s Christmas Adventure: Lionel Learns the True Meaning Of Christmas by Paul R Hewlett

Lionel ChristmasI bought this ebook, and it’s excellent value for money.  See my interview with the author later this month and enter the 12 Authors of Christmas Giveaway!

Book Review: Lionel’s Christmas Adventure by Paul R Hewlett
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