"The Christmas Orphans Club" by Becca Freeman

"The Christmas Orphans Club" by Becca Freeman was irresistible reading over the Christmas holidays, for several reasons. First, it was a Christmas read at Christmastime, which is always fun. :)  Second, it was recommended by the wonderful Nora McInerny of "Terrible, Thanks for Asking," whose chose it for her "Terrible Reading Club" podcast/Substack in December (haven't listened in yet).  Third, while I'm not a Christmas "orphan" -- at least, not yet! -- I am very aware that many people feel that way at this time of year, for many different reasons. And fourth, I'm always on the lookout for suitable books for the Childless Collective Nomo Book Club (where I'm one of the hosts), and this seemed like it might fit the bill. And, for the most part, I think it does. :)   

"Christmas Orphans" is a lighthearted rom-com with some serious underlying themes/messages/life lessons. If you liked "Friends" and their "Friendsgiving" episodes, you will probably like this book. 

The book is narrated in turn by best friends Hannah, whose parents both died when she was a teenager, and Finn, whose family cut him off he came out to them as gay. They've spent every Christmas together since they met in college. Now living and working in New York City, they've been joined for subsequent Christmases by Hannah's one-time roommate Priya, and the rich and handsome Theo (son of a Richard Branson-like British airline billionaire). 

But now Finn is moving across the country to start a new job in L.A. -- and Hannah's boyfriend David is pressuring her for a commitment she's not sure she's ready to give him. Hannah is determined to spend one more last, special Christmas with her friends before Finn leaves. David will understand... won't he? 

While it's possible some of the main characters -- generally all around the age of 30 -- may go on to become parents someday -- and David's annoying uber-mom sister pops up as a peripheral character -- pregnancy & parenthood are not major themes here.  It's about "chosen family" and the importance it assumes in our lives when our traditional family structures are lacking and holidays make us feel like we're on the outside looking in. And what happens when situations change and our friends start going places where we can't follow. In that way, it's very relevant to those of us without children. 

The ending is the stuff of Hallmark movies (I was casting in my mind as I read, lol).  

3.5 stars on StoryGraph. I debated whether that should be rounded up or down on Goodreads. I settled on 4 stars there.  Hannah can be somewhat clueless/annoying at times, and hey, not all of us have mega-rich friends like Theo who can produce a limo on Christmas Day when every car in the city is booked, or buy up every room at a boutique hotel in Mexico, or save your fledgling podcast by handing over the hottest Taylor Swift-style pop star in the world as your initial guest. 

But it was a fun read overall, I appreciated the Christmas orphans theme -- and hey!  It's (still!) Christmastime!  :)  

This was Book #1 read to date in 2024 (and Book #1 finished in January), bringing me to 2% (!) of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 1 book ahead of schedule. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."