Christmas Presents and Past

By Janice Kay Johnson

Original

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373654235
• ISBN13: 9780373654239
• Release Date: August 1970
• Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises ULC
• Length: 288 Pages
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 0.0" x 0.0"

Customer Reviews

Tear jerker....

It all started with a Christmas gift.... Will and Dinah have weathered through some tough times together. Who would have thought that their first date and a Christmas present would have set the stage for such a long lasting love? Every year, Will and Dinah give each other a meaningful gift, not necessarily expensive, but one symbolic of the love and faith they have in each other. Years pass and tragedy strikes. Will their love and Christmas presents be enough to mend the wounds? Janice Kay Johnson takes readers through the years as we see the love between Will and Dinah grow and flourish. From their days during the turbulent Vietnam years to the current day, Will and Dinah face adversity only to see their bond emerge stronger than ever each time. I have only read about the Vietnam War in books but Janice Kay Johnson puts a face to the soldiers of that time. CHRISTMAS PRESENTS AND PAST particularly hits home now with the current political climate as Janice Kay Johnson paints a vivid picture of the effects of war on relationships. Janice Kay Johnson doesn't shy away from addressing sensitive topics. Her focus on war and its effects isn't a political one by any means. Rather, she points the reader in the direction of the human side of war, both those who are fighting and those left behind. CHRISTMAS PRESENTS AND PAST offers some tear jerker moments, as Janice Kay Johnson sets the stage for one of the most poignant endings ever. COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

interesting relationship drama

In 1968, teens Will and Dinah went out on a date in which he brought her a Christmas present that showed he believed she could make it as a chef; something her family felt was foolish. Whether he was serving in Viet Nam or she spending a summer in Paris, they exchanged holiday presents. Even when they temporarily broke up they exchanged gifts. Will the builder and Dinah the chef married and raised three children while each year they continued their custom of exchanging presents that symbolized their everlasting love for one another. That is until a tragic car accident ends their relationship and threatens their loving ritual or does it? This is an interesting relationship drama that when Janice Kay Johnson covers the past feels nostalgic but lacks ardor; when the story line turns to the present following the tragedy, the emotions explode. Once the switch occurs, the plot becomes powerfully angst-laden filled with passion, much of which is negative. Readers will appreciate the gift giving tradition and the deep feelings between the loving couple once Christmas present occurs as this may be the year that the couple fails to exchange gifts as they have done for almost four decades. Harriet Klausner