Robin Raven

Have yourself a caring little Christmas / Let your heart be full.

(Full disclosure: The author sent me a free e-book in exchange for an honest review.)

Okay, I won't even try to play. This book legit made me cry.

Dana is spirited little reindeer calf, living free in the Arctic tundra. It's the night before Christmas, and she and her friends are racing and dancing and frolicking in the snow and ice, having a grand old time. Their celebrations are oh-so-rudely interrupted by the thundering of show more sleigh bells. It's Santa, and he's come to recruit a new reindeer for the team. He sets his sights on sprightly Dana, and no wonder: she's positively bursting with joy and energy.

But dear old Santa is about to get schooled. Dana balks at the harness Santa tries to throw on her, instead giving him a lesson in kindness, compassion, and respect for all beings.

Santa, look. I know you meant no harm.
You're just going along with the cultural norm.
But horses pulling carriages, reindeers pulling sleighs?
It's all got to end. And I mean starting today!

Worry not, young ones! Christmas isn't doomed, but transformed. Dana agrees to help Santa, but as an equal. They deliver toys to all the world's boys and girls, but during their annual merry-making spree, Santa and Dana also free captive fishes, birds, and horses; deliver farmed cows, pigs, and chickens to sanctuaries; and break the chains that doom countless backyard dogs to isolated and lonely existences. In a lovely show of solidarity, Santa and Dana also help those humans in need, delivering food to the hungry and cash monies to the impoverished. (It's a temporary fix, sure, but maybe save Murray Bookchin and The Shock Doctrine for the high school years?)

Santa's First Vegan Christmas is a must-read holiday story for vegans of all ages. I'm 38 and childfree and, like I said, I was positively bawling by story's end. Parents are sure to love its message of equality, not to mention the fresh rhymes and consistent ethics. It's hard to know what to expect of vegan-friendly books - after all, there are as many reasons to go vegan as there are vegans! - but Santa's First Vegan Christmas checks all the right boxes. Farmed animals, working animals, companion animals, human animals - the inherent worth of all creatures is celebrated. Robin Raven even drops the s-word (as in sentience, silly!).

Robin Raven's lovely and uplifting story is complemented wonderfully by Kara Maria Schunk's illustrations. The colors aren't limited to the traditional holiday palette of green, white, and red, but rather feature a shock of bright oranges, deep purples, and sky blues. The bold mix brings to mind the various images of the Aurora Borealis I've marveled at over the years. (And no wonder, given the setting.)

As for format, I received an ebook, which isn't really legible on a Kindle (not to mention, the black and white severely detracts from the charm!) but looks fine on my PC and iPad. Definitely read it on a full-color device, or try to spring for a print copy if possible.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2016/11/28/santas-first-vegan-christmas-by-robin-raven... show less

This review originally appeared on my blog at www.gimmethatbook.com.

Many thanks to the author for providing me with this review copy!

NEXT STOP: NINA is a book that will touch your emotions and send you into high and low places. I cringed when I read about Nina’s childhood and how innocent she was, always trying to forgive her abusive father. She feels she is never good enough, pretty enough, or strong enough to continue living, and considers suicide.

As she prepares to leave this world show more forever, something happens, and she finds herself back at home, talking to her beloved brother. Nina’s mental age and her physical age and appearance are very different. Has she gone back in time? Is this a hallucination or a dream?

The story continues with Nina trying to change the events of her past (and more depressing details about her life are revealed). She realizes that some events are always meant to be, and while this is heart wrenching to her, she understands she can grow and become a better person. She turns to philanthropic gestures, trying to help others by volunteering her time and seeing the light within herself grow.

Her first sense of true happiness occurs when she befriends a girl in school that no one ever talked to, in her “past life”. They become best friends and share many years together, bringing Nina more happiness and confidence.

One of Nina’s lifelong dreams was to meet an artist whose painting made an impact on her during her darkest times. To her endless surprise, once she finally does meet him at an event, they hit it off and eventually fall in love. She self-sabotages the relationship and they break up. At this point I became frustrated with Nina, because her lack of confidence and poor communication was really the issue.

All of a sudden, we find Nina as a young girl again, realizing she has to live her life over yet again, experiencing all the tragedy and loss. Her interactions with others are different and things don’t go as they did during her first reincarnation. As she repeats things she develops a kind of Groundhog Day attitude towards herself, learning to accept things, and learning to change for the better.

Her interaction with Leonard (the artist) develops again in a slightly different way; and we can see the shift in each of the characters as more layers are added to the story. This is the main takeaway of NEXT STOP: NINA — growth and acceptance. Nina still shows lack of communication skills at times, which I suppose was integral in showing just how deeply depressed her character was; but the scenes where all was good between Nina and Leonard were tender and sweet.

As I mulled over the story I wondered if the “back in time” was really just a hallucination or something more sci-fi. There is a sort of explanation towards the 75% mark, but it is vague and unsatisfying, coming from a mostly undeveloped character that seems to be out of place. I wasn’t sure what to do with that part of the story, and eventually I shrugged and kept on reading to see how the latest incarnation of Nina and Len would turn out.

It is easy for the reader to feel the heartbreak of Nina’s world; as author Robin Raven illustrates that beautifully. Reading about the tragedy in her life the first time was awful, and reading about it again, even though you knew how it would turn out, was no less horrifying the second or third time.

This was a book with an unusual premise and a positive message. Read it for yourself to discover if love truly saves the day for Nina. show less

Nina has had a difficult life. She faced abuse as a child and again as an adult. She feels worthless and hates herself. In her late thirties she can't take any more and decides to end her life. When she sees a painting she loved from childhood, it makes her put off killing herself. She awakens the next day to find herself in past as a ten year old again. Armed with knowledge of what will happen, Nina tries to change her life.
This was a great read. It was easy to get into and you can show more sympathise with Nina. There are plenty of things we would all like to change about our past but you do wonder if it would change who we are or whether we were supposed to go through things in order to grow. I would definitely recommend this book. show less