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Richard Paul Evans, the author of THE CHRISTMAS BOX and a number of other novels, was inspired to pen another Christmas-themed story, this time in remembrance of his mother who passed away on Valentine's Day 2006. I chose to read this book because I also lost my mom this year, just a month before Evans did, and I wanted to see what he would write in honor of her (his biggest fan).
Mark Smart currently lives in Utah. He's alone in the world, his mother having recently passed away. But because he had no forwarding address when he dropped out of college after losing his scholarship, no one was able to notify him of her death. He found out about her passing when he happened to phone home to check in, and learned that the funeral had been just a few days prior to his call.
Down on his luck, Mark now works as a janitor in a middle school. One cold snowy evening, his car breaks down and he walks through the wind and the cold looking for help. He comes upon a coffeehouse, and a woman named Macy Wood opens the door. Despite the fact that she has never met him before and is trying to close up the shop, she lets him in and allows him to use the phone. Meeting Macy that night changes Mark's life, as Macy comforts him at his lowest point. The two strike up a friendship, and Mark begins to fall in love with her.
Mark learns about Macy's horrible past, a world in which she was unloved, despite the fact that she had been adopted into a home. She's no longer in contact with her adoptive family because of all the awful memories she has of them, having run away when she was only a teenager. She is now in her early twenties and lives with a roommate. She has vague memories of her biological family, except for the last day she had spent with her father, but she does remember her younger sister. Macy would love to have someone to call family, so she asks for Mark's help in locating her long-lost sibling.
Mark has issues with his father and refuses to go home again. Instead, he focuses on his new life in Utah and his growing relationship with Macy. He meets her roommate, who is like a second mother to her, and wants very much to spend the rest of his life with Macy. But Macy has a lot of baggage that prevents her from trusting anyone, including Mark. While at first she welcomes Mark's love and attention, soon she is pushing him away. It doesn't seem that the two of them will have a happily ever after.
Richard Paul Evans writes in a simple prose, but his stories often pack a lot of emotion. FINDING NOEL is the love story of two lost souls who find each other at the right time, though it takes a lot of effort for them to overcome their pasts and truly accept one another. When Mark hits rock bottom, he meets Macy and feels she has saved his life. But in fact Mark saves hers, as he finds out months later after getting to know Macy's roommate and best friend. Tissues will be needed before the story ends, and fans of Evans will want to add this book to their collection.
FINDING NOEL is an uplifting story that fits in perfectly with the spirit of the holidays.
--- Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton (Ratmammy@lofton.org)
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