Cynthia Hand’s newest novel is a modern-day retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with a clever, otherworldly twist.
Holly Chase hates Christmas. The last thing the 17-year-old snooty fashion junkie expects is to be visited by three actual ghosts on Christmas Eve. But she refuses to change her horrible ways, making her a failed Scrooge. Then Holly dies, and now she’s a ghost (or more like a quasi-zombie) who works for a secretive New York-based company called Project Scrooge. As their new Ghost of Christmas Past, she hasn’t been fazed by much in her afterlife until she’s assigned to rich teen Ethan Winters, Scrooge number 173. When she starts researching him for the job, she discovers that they have similar backgrounds. But things get out of hand when she decides to meet him in real life.
Hand has produced an unforgettable behind-the-scenes tale with a clever cast of characters pulled from many of Dickens’ works. As with Dickens’ beloved 1843 Christmas novella, The Afterlife of Holly Chase incorporates themes of life, death, self-improvement and, of course, a little bit of romance.
Hilarious yet poignant while supplying a delightful blend of clichéd and unexpected moments, Hand’s latest novel is earmarked to be a new Christmas favorite.
