Carol Ann is helping to raise money for charity at Christmas time, but worries that thieves will steal the charity money. They bake Christmas cookies, visit Santa's village, follow clues to the alleged thieves, and plan a Christmas pageant.

I enjoyed the wholesome 1950s setting, but the writing is not very good. The writing "tells" instead of "showing", and the characters use the dialogue to narrate what they are doing or feeling, instead of it being shown in what they do and how they react.

The plot is good with some Christmas fun, but there is too much description and detail included about every thing in every scene. The story is too long and includes too much of the same material over and over.
If the writing were more polished and edited to be shorter, this story would flow much better.

The main character, Carol Ann, is constantly saying "Yikes" or thinking "Yikes" on nearly every page, and that got annoying very quickly. Every time the slightest thing happens in the plot, the character's first reaction is always to say or think the word "Yikes".

I loved the photographs of the real Carol Ann and her family that are included at the back of the book, along with a couple of maps showing scenes in the story, a glossary of 1950s slang, and a recipe for Christmas cookies.

I think I could have really enjoyed this Christmas story if the writing were a little better.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.