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For sixth-grader Pam, the holiday season is full of so many events that there's hardly time to catch her breath. The school Christmas play, her older brother and cousin coming to visit, the town's winter carnival complete with an ice-dancing competition, and plenty of playing outside with her best friend, Mary, her younger brother Craig, and her husky dog, Princess, all vie for her energy and attention. Complicating matters this year is an anonymous note from an older boy letting her know that he's her secret admirer, despite her not being ready for a boyfriend. The festive yet packed schedule also comes with miscommunications, hurt feelings, and social challenges for the kind Pam who earnestly wants to do her best for the people around her, especially during the season of gifts and love.
Set in the middle of the 1960s, this story of community and family values is sure to invoke a nostalgia for those days, whether firsthand or experienced vicariously through the characters. Meticulous details about world events and pop culture build a vivid picture in the reader's mind of the winter wonderland that Pam and her friends are making the most of. Pam's kind-hearted, considerate nature makes her an immediately endearing lead, one that readers can trust and root for. Even when she makes a mistake or a misstep, her intentions are always good and her desire for reconciliation immediate. The character's spirit matches the holiday setting perfectly, creating a heartwarming, delightful ride that promises to warm the hearts of its audience and bring a little Christmas spirit in any part of the world, any time of year.