Hello December! Matt Haig's A Boy Called Christmas is my first Christmassy read of this holiday season. This is a heartwarming backstory of Father Christmas. In some ways Haig crafted a relatable and likeable main character who's to become the most well known figure of Christmastime, and I think that's a pretty big thing to pull off well!

I think a heartwarming story is heartwarming not because it only has lighthearted chapters, but because it gives readers hope and something to feel grateful for. Matt Haig avoided the usual traps of lighthearted reads here by exploring the human emotions and the notion of kindness through Nikolas' point of view. This book also has a healthy dose of adventures that keeps more plot focused readers engaged. But what I'm most surprised about is the way Haig crafted a broad range of personalities through his characters: from Nikolas' relatives, the reindeer, to the elves.

While this is overall quite an enjoyable Christmas read to indulge amid a hectic month, I wasn't entirely sold into the pacing of the book. I thought the beginning was a bit sluggish and then all the things happening were jammed in the final 1/3 of the book, so it's hard to gauge the character arcs of the secondary characters.

Aside from the pacing issue, I nevertheless found A Boy Called Christmas a cute and uplifting read for the Christmas season - that it reminds me to treat others with kindness, spread positivity, and be grateful of what I already have.

N.B. This book contains following triggering content: vomiting, abandonment, cannibalism, and physical violence

(3.5 stars out of 5)