No Stranger Christmas, a holiday-themed novel by Roger Leslie, is a poignant tale about a young man wishing to do good for his family for Christmas. Author Leslie will take readers back in time to the 1970s to watch the life of young Frankie Lincoln unfold. This story will unfold page by page detailing financial hardship and uncertainty for the Lincoln family. However, it will be much more than that. Young Frankie will find himself discovering the truth about his sexuality as well as exploring his artistry.

No Stranger Christmas sets the stage with an eye-catching cover. The first thing you’ll see is a brightly lit Christmas tree with two primary points of light at the top and center. The Christmas tree is set with a night sky background, with snow-covered trees as well as a beautiful aurora borealis dominating the sky. This cover helps to reinforce that this story is about and around the Christmas season and its impact on this family.

No Stranger Christmas is a YA novel that depicts a specific Christmas in young Frankie Lincoln’s life. Told from the third person perspective, Frankie will reflect on Christmases past and the happier times that he and his family had. The festive times, his interest in presidents past, and the subtle shift in how his family has changed over the years.

Frankie will be shown during the typically transitional and tumultuous era of being a teenager. The 8^th grade tends to be a tenuous time as you are about to embark on high school, where things tend to get really rough. But add in that Frankie is hiding his sexuality (or at least believes he is) and his life takes on a new level of complexity.

As you delve into No Stranger Christmas you’d be hard-pressed to know that Frankie is any different from his two brothers. There are some easily identifiable differences between the boys of course. Gordy, the eldest, is into sports and has no qualms about helping his dad around the house when needed.

Frankie, the middle child, leans more towards reading, and artistry – he dreams of embarking on a career in the movie business and is fascinated with history and the presidents. He craves human touch and contact, but that isn’t something that he gets a lot of from anyone in his family. This struck us as odd, but then again, not everyone is outwardly affectionate. Plus, this story is taking place in the 1970s. Especially then, masculinity was viewed as most important when it came to male children, and were told that emotions were for girls and all that garbage.

Then there was little Mason, the youngest of the family. Mason will be one of the characters utilized to expose what some say behind Frankie’s back. Mason, in his innocence, reveals the thoughts and feelings that Frankie’s older brother, Gordy, has towards him. Initially, you’ll want to be dismissive of it and think “Oh, it’s just “boys being boys.”” But when it persists and Frankie’s father finally has a sit down with him after a rather explosive dinner, it shines a whole new light on it all.

The storyline of No Stranger Christmas follows young Frankie as he struggles with who he is and the struggles his family faces this particular Christmas. He knows that he’s gay, but he thinks that he’s keeping it a secret from those around him. Honestly, for a good portion of the story, one would not immediately come to the inference that Frankie is gay. He doesn’t run around being flamboyant or dress in a way that would immediately identify him as being any different than every other boy his age.

Despite all of this, author Leslie makes it a point of letting readers know that something has clued Frankie’s fellow classmates into how different he really is. Is it his intelligence? Is it that he’s not gung-ho about participating in sports? Is it his lack of interest in girls? The truth is it’s hard to truly pinpoint. Why? Well, none of his classmates ever really spend time with Frankie outside of the classroom. So, the only other answer would be something clued them in over time.

As the story progresses readers will witness that there are problems at home. Not marital issues, but financial issues which could potentially lead to something more. Along the way, seeds are planted that trouble is brewing and it all starts with Frankie discovering a glass bank full of rare coins that his mother has been collecting for years.

No Stranger Christmas takes on a theme of “a series of unfortunate events” as Frankie makes plans with the intent to save his family’s Christmas. While his good intentions seem like a good thing, but it’s not long before the whole situation takes a left and just goes from bad to worse.

Frankie is a simplistic yet complex character. His motives are simple enough, but the complexity comes in various forms. Little by little author Leslie unveils Frankie’s sexual preferences. Whether it’s an interest in a particular book to his admiration of a particular store owner’s physic. It’s revealed a little at a time.

No Stranger Christmas focuses heavily on how Frankie aspires to prove himself to his classmates, and his quest to provide his family with a nice Christmas. There are a lot of risks along the way to this quest. However, this book takes on a theme similar to the familiar black-and-white movie – Miracle on 34^th Street. You can’t help but wonder – how will this family surmount everything that is being thrown at them? Trouble at the dad’s work, mom is struggling, and the family is falling on tough times as money gets tighter and tighter.

It’s interesting how Frankie holds on to his love for his family, despite how some of them treat him. Frankie simply wants his youngest brother, Mason, to have a nice Christmas even if it means that he, Frankie, goes without. But can his conscious withstand the choices that he’s making?

Readers who might be hoping for some true sparks of romance in this novel, unfortunately for them, there is none. There will be a mild tease of Frankie preparing himself to take that first step in that direction, but it’s not something that will play out on the page.

As No Stranger Christmas progresses, author Leslie will use Frankie to provide a very important lesson and revelation. The world can be cruel. But there will be places and people who will accept you and treat you as deserve. However, it won’t be everyone. Some, even those who are like you will lash out at you, simply because they can. The encouraging aspect is that you shouldn’t take it all to heart, those who treat you badly, but find yourself and embrace and accept who you are.

No Stranger Christmas is a holiday-themed novel, but it is still a good novel for those young readers who may find themselves struggling like Frankie. Regardless of the fact that the story doesn’t solely focus on Frankie, his sexuality, and coming to terms with who he is it is an enjoyable story nonetheless.

No Stranger Christmas has a truly beautiful ending that will leave readers with a spark of love and hope in their hearts. It’s like the family in this story faced some of their darkest moments and that just when things looked really bad…things began to turn around. No Stranger Christmas is more than a holiday-themed novel, it’s a story of hope, and finding one’s self.

Pros:

• Engaging storyline
• Realistic characters
• Page-turner
• Well-written
• Good ending

Cons:

• Needed some clarity on how Frankie’s classmates knew his secret

Cover Score: 8.7/10

Overall Book Score: 8.9/10

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Review written by Bunny