I Found Christmas Lights Slithering Up My Street – Ben Farthing

4/5 stars

I swear Ben just gets better and better with each new release! Every time I think he’s hit the threshold of greatness, he busts through and takes me completely by surprise in the best ways.

Throughout ‘Christmas Lights’, I really found a lot of empathy for Douglas. It’s hard losing a family member, but especially hard near a holiday, and Douglas and his parents don’t really cope very well. This book adds that layer of trying to deal with grief and loss on top of being attacked by weirdly mutated Christmas decorations. It’s an interesting balance and makes for a very striking read!

The characters could get really annoying at times, but that tracks since I tend to find most children annoying. Douglas’ fixation on certain things about drove me nuts, but that’s a testament to Ben’s ability to write realistic and dynamic characters. They sucked me into this story, and before I knew it, I was ready to take on twisted Christmas alongside them!

Ben is so talented and creative, and he continues to blow me away with every book of his I read!