Gideon's Gift
A Novel
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4.7 • 39 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In this powerful holiday story, a man who lost everything has his whole life changed after a little girl’s letter reminds him of the true meaning of Christmas.
Ten years later Big Earl meets Gideon, a seven-year-old leukemia patient who believes with all her heart that "Christmas means never having to ask God how much he loves us." Gideon is determined to reach this lonely and hurting man who hates Christmas -- and he is just as determined to rebuff her. It will take a miracle for Earl to come to understand the true meaning of Christmas. But if he can accept what Gideon wants to give him, he might find that he can return the favor with a precious gift of his own.
In Gideon's Gift, Karen Kingsbury reminds us that Christmas is still a time of miraculous possibilities if only we reach out to those around us.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kingsbury, a beloved novelist in the CBA market, is known for weepy tales replete with hospital bedside scenes, emotional reunions and miracles. This eager if predictable novella will please her established fans, and may win a few new ones as well, provided they are armed with enough Kleenex. In the story, the Scrooge-like Earl Badgett a grumpy and aggressive version of the typical widower of CBA fiction has his Christian faith revived through the efforts of an eight-year-old girl. Pious, mature children who lead adults back to faith were a staple of 19th-century domestic fiction, and remain so in the CBA today; sweet little Gideon Mercer is no exception. And if the novel's emotional quotient weren't high enough, she's even suffering from leukemia. Despite the overwrought stereotypes, Kingsbury writes quite well; her skill with pacing goes a long way toward redeeming this tired and contrived plot.
Customer Reviews
Gideon's Gift - Perfect Timing
I downloaded this book months ago and kept putting off reading it until this past week. I had purchased it because it was one of Karen's books. I had not even read the reviews. I am glad that it was a surprise.
I cannot tell you how appropriate Karen Kingsbury's work has been and how much it has changed my life ... especially this year. My sister, Cindi, lost her battle with skin cancer and is waiting for us in Heaven but her spirit lives on in her children. This book shines in the spirit that my sister had in her last days and I am sure still has in her New Life with Christ looking down on us with love.
Thank you, Karen, for taking the time to write what God has put on your heart. You truly do write life-changing fiction ... I can truly testify to that! You have changed my life continually since I first picked up one of your books at our local library over 10 years ago.
God bless you and Merry Christmas!! Annette