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Next Christmas in Girouette

Gelesen von Michael Welch

(4,615 Sterne; 13 Bewertungen)

Next Christmas in Girouette is a full-length novel for people of all ages—nine to ninety-nine—who want to share a heart-warming literary adventure at Christmastime.

Set on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Montana, this is the story of a brother and sister—Autry and Oxana Quinn—who find themselves stranded in a Girouette, a virtual ghost town, from Thanksgiving through Christmas when their father is taken ill. Their grandfather, a Marine Captain long retired, plus an eccentric old café owner, a Blackfeet Indian horse trader who was once the town’s mayor, a couple who published the local newspaper and an ancient deaf-mute trapper are the only remaining inhabitants of Girouette. These self-styled “diehards” all seem to have one thing in common. Thanks to a mysterious event 60 years earlier, they still believe in Santa Claus.

Next Christmas in Girouette features something for everyone: carefree cowboys who race their horses over snow-covered country roads, a team of wolves trained by a mountain man to pull a sleigh, a stroll that nearly turns tragic on a treacherous buffalo jump, a serialized newspaper story titled “The Adventures of Rocky Mountain Santa,” a desperate attempt to escape from an abandoned copper mine, a night-time journey through the mountains on a frozen river and finally the miracle that delivers wayfaring strangers to Girouette during a white-out on Christmas Eve.

The book revels in the solitary beauty of winter in Big Sky Country, the enduring wisdom of the elderly citizens of Girouette, the excitement of frontier history coming to life, the inspiration of a family healing itself and the magic of an old-fashioned western Christmas. Read Next Christmas in Girouette with your family this year, and you’ll want to revisit it for years and years to come at holiday time.


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Chapters

Girouette 01: Autry, the Old Man and the Wolves

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 02: Oxana and the Unfinished Puzzle

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 03: Looking Back Through the Pages of Time

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 04: Further Tales of Rocky Mountain Santa

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 05: A Skull On Top of the Washboard

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 06: Two More Tom Fool Adventures

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 07: Lewis and Clark Winter in the Rockies

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 08: The Unsolved Mystery of Christmas, 1940

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 09: Why the Captain Never Believed in Santa

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 10: Autry Relives the Mystery in a Dream

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 11: Oxana Uncovers a Deep Family Secret

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 12: Field and Fountain, Moor and Mountain

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 13: One Last Christmas Miracle

Read by Michael Welch

Girouette 14: Epilogue-From the Cupola

Read by Michael Welch

Bewertungen

(4 Sterne)

This is a modern heartfelt Christmas story stressing the value of kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, hard work, friendship, family, and community. While there are some sad and poignant moments, there are no episodes of mean-spiritedness to mar this charming tale. The characters are well delineated, and thoroughly likable. The cast includes children, the elderly, minorities, and the disabled. Each and every person has, at bottom, a good heart, which makes this a very hopeful and uplifting story. Additionally, this book is beautifully read by the author himself. I would highly recommend this book to everyone from 9 to 90.

Sweet young-adult story, with some adventure and a little schmaltz

(3,5 Sterne)

Entertaining, with high points and low ones. The writer does a good job of reading his own work, though with a few stumbles. The Rocky Mountain Santa stories are a high point. The teenagers aren't really fleshed out as characters, and they're a bit perfect for my tastes. Although they look forward to Christmas without friends, parents, or presents (without even Internet) in an all-but-ghost town, they never feel boredom, annoyance, disappointment or the slightest sign of selfishness. Who are these perfect kids?

Full of Christmas Joy 🎄

(5 Sterne)

I enjoyed listening to the story during the day while I put up all of my Christmas decor. It was lovely!

(5 Sterne)

I found this Christmas Eve 2020. This exciting story has been the catalyst that put me into the Christmas spirit.