Make sure you have a box of tissues handy!
Lynn Brandt decided it was time to leave her husband. The bruises on her face gave the reason. She took fifteen year old Thomas and younger Sara to a new town and a new life. But life was hard and the work she found was not enough to provide more than the essentials. Thomas was having a hard time fitting in at the new school. The bullying and making fun of his well worn clothes really hurt. When it gets close to Christmas, Lynn decides to work through her embarrassment and sign the kids up for Angel Tree presents.
Kevin's wife talks him into taking a paper angel off the tree at the mall. It is hard for him to even think of giving to someone else as his world is falling apart. The design company he started just a few years ago may be coming to an end as his major contract was not renewed. His wife is pregnant with twins and Baby B is not growing like he should. Kevin grudgingly takes the angel. It has the name Thomas on it.
While Thomas and Kevin never meet, their lives are forever changed by the paper angel on the tree. Both struggle to trust God in the midst of changes in their lives. Both come to the realization that giving is by far a greater joy than receiving.
You'll need those tissues at the end of the book when the hope for new life becomes evident. No, there are no great miracles. There is just taking each day as it comes and trusting God for the future.
I think this book could have been a great Christmas novella. It bogs down a bit here and there and could have had a number of pages trimmed. Nonetheless, keep reading. The realistic, yet inspiring ending, is worth it.
Jimmy Wayne is an American country music singer and songwriter. He survived a turbulent, abusive childhood being shuttled through a series of foster homes. He was himself a recipient of The Salvation Army Angel Tree program. 
Travis Thrasher is the author of more than a dozen works including love stories, suspense, drama, and supernatural thrillers.
For more information about The Salvation Army Angel Tree program, visit: www.salvationarmyusa.org.
Howard Books (a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.). 291 pages.
I received a copy of this book from Howard Books for the purpose of this review.
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