Reviewed by Alexander
TITLE: The Christmas Throwaway
AUTHOR: RJ Scott
PUBLISHER: Love Lane Books
LENGTH: 3 hours, 2 minutes
NARRATOR: Sean Crisden
BLURB:
Christmas is a time for giving – what do you do when no one gives a damn? For Zachary Weston Christmas means sleeping on a churchyard bench in the freezing snow with nothing better in his future. Thrown out of his home for being gay, he is left without money or, it seems, anywhere to go. Until a stranger shows him that some people do give a lot more than a damn. Ben Hamilton is a rookie cop in his small home town. He finds a young throwaway, fresh from the city, sleeping on a bench in the churchyard on a snowy Christmas Eve. Can he be the one to give Zachary his own Christmas miracle?
REVIEW:
I must be honest, The Christmas Throwaway is one of my “go-to” books when I am unsure what I want to read next, or when I just don’t feel like tackling something new. This is another one of those “I have no idea how many times I have read it” situations, and I don’t expect that to change. I will also admit that I have never found the relationship building portion to be all that satisfying, and I have always felt that the gaps in time could have been filled in a bit to address that concern. I have also found the writing style to be less polished than Scott’s later works, but my love of the story and characters has always allowed me to overcome that opinion.
Even though there was only six years between them, Ben acted much older, which was logical, since he had been “man of the house” after his father’s passing, and still maintained a very close relationship with his mom and sister, Ellie. Zach’s behavior was a little more juvenile than his age, 17 through 19 in the course of the book, but I felt it was appropriate. Considering his family history, being homeschooled, getting kicked out, and his constant need to prove that he was a man and could take care of himself, his insecurity manifested as false bravado, that everyone could see right through.
A solid performance by Crisden who is known for his quality narration. Both Zach and Ben had reasonably consistent character voices, Ben more so than Zach, and Crisden also addressed the female voices reasonably well. I did like the sound of Zach’s voice, it suited his age, emotional state and circumstances quite well. And speaking of emotion, Crisden did not fail in this respect. Whenever the delivery required it, it was there, and not over the top, either, which really enhanced the story compared to reading the print version, definitely an aspect that I appreciate.
There is not much else to say, a favorite story enhanced by a solid narrator, equals a win in my book.
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