The Christmas Joy Ride

SO many feels for this book! I requested this book thinking that it would be a wonderful 'chick-lit' book for me to read during the holiday season, and it was. It was absolutely everything I wanted it to be and more. The story is beautifully written following an 85 year old woman named Joy and her neighbor, Miranda, a much younger woman who has fallen on some rough times.

Over the course of a week they drive down Route 66 to award Christmas Prizes to various people along the way. Joy wants a Christmas hurrah before moving to assisted living and Miranda isn't sure what she is after but goes along anyway.

The tales of the people that win these prizes are sad yet the book makes the experience heartwarming and Joy is an adorable character - show more very grandma but VERY spunky. Miranda is down but as the holiday can do, she begins to come around.

This book made me laugh, it made me freak out, it made me cry - everything a good Woman's fiction book should and I loved every second of it deeply. show less

I am a big fan of Melody Carlson, especially her Christmas novellas. Each successive one that I read is my new favorite, and that proved true with with The Christmas Joy Ride. Combining a fun duo spreading Christmas cheer with a trip down the famous Route 66, this book will kickstart your holiday spirit.

Joy Jorgensen is the 85 year old dynamo behind the Christmas with Joy blog. Facing a new chapter in her life and a cross-country move to be close to her sons, Joy enlists next-door neighbor Miranda to assist her in bringing a special Christmas blessing to 6 contest winners. Miranda is facing her own closing chapter as well. Divorced, unemployed, and soon to be homeless, Miranda is short on the holiday spirit, but agrees to accompany Joy show more on an RV adventure mostly to ensure Joy’s safety. Road blocks and bad weather, obstacles and unforeseen events beset the women as they bring blessings to those who have little cheer in their lives.

I loved the premise of this book — bringing unique and personalized Christmas celebrations to those whose hope is fading. Joy chose a nursing home, a rehab center, a struggling diner owner, a foster family, a salon owner battling cancer and a motherless girl whose father has quit celebrating Christmas. With each stop, people are blessed with her generosity and determination to make everything perfect just for them. The Christmas Joy Ride made me rethink the acts of kindness and charity that I routinely do. Should we act routinely or with fresh enthusiasm and personalized action? Joy’s character is inspired, but it is Miranda who grows in her attitude towards life. There is a bit of romance in the book that I thought was perfect as well. This book may be short in pages — 168 — but big in impact. I loved it and highly recommend it!

Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Revel for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less

...the spirit of Santa is real. It’s the spirit of love and giving, and I like to think that it’s symbolic of God’s love and generosity. Sort of like a metaphor for children."

Joy Jorgenson is an 85-year-old widow and is moving from Chicago to Phoenix to be closer to her grown sons and their families. But her sons don’t know she’s doing it her way. Joy’s not flying to Phoenix but will drive the old RV she and her husband George enjoyed for their travel adventures. Miranda, Joy’s neighbor, has agreed to travel with Joy, hoping to ensure Joy’s safe arrival in Phoenix. Joy is almost bursting to tell Miranda that there will be more than just rest stops along their way. Traveling on Route 66 will be a Christmas Joy Ride, a show more unique adventure, bringing joy to specially chosen winners of a contest that Joy was able to keep a secret from Miranda.

I loved this magical Christmas story. Joy has the spirit of Christmas in her heart every day, and Christmas has always been her favorite time of year. She understands that sometimes individuals need a little help reclaiming the joy of Christmas in their lives for various reasons. This trip gives Joy an exceptional opportunity to bring cheer, shower friendship, and renew their belief in the blessings of hope and love.

The author’s holiday books celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. May we all be inspired by Joy’s Christmas joyful spirit and share it generously throughout each day of the year. show less

I truly enjoyed reading The Christmas Joy Ride! I fell in love with Christmas Joy and Miranda as they rode across Route 66 granting holiday wishes. This story is funny, heart warming and so worth reading. It will definitely get you in the holiday spirit!

Thanks to Revell and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful story! Melody Carlson once again brings us a delightful Christmas story filled with real-life characters with real-life problems who manage to work their way into your heart in just a few short chapters. This is the story of 86 year-old Joy Jorgensen who decides to take a much different trip to her retirement home across the United States than anyone could have planned .... well, anyone other than Joy! She calls the trip her Christmas Joy Ride and she talks her young neighbor, Miranda, into accompanying her and helping her on her mission to spread joy along Route 66. The two have quite an adventure, spread Christmas cheer, and touch lives forever ... including their own lives. This is the kind of book you never want to show more end because you love the characters and the story so much. show less

I love Melody Carlson’s books! She captures the Christmas spirit in people’s lives in so many different ways. Every book for hers I keep and add to my library. They have the rare quality of being able to be read over and over again, and enjoyed the same each time.
I flew through this book and was disappointed when it ended! Joy is an elderly widow in her eighties. She is at the point in her life that she must leave her family home of many years to move near her sons into an assisted living facility all the way across the country. They have purchased her plane ticket for her to arrive before Christmas.
Joy has other ideas. Although she must sort through a lifetime of possessions and leave behind most of them, her attitude is anything show more but sad. She decides to drive her and her late husband’s huge RV the 2000 miles to her new home without telling her sons. Her plan is to go alone but at the last minute persuades her 37 year old neighbor, Miranda, to come. Miranda has nothing to lose. Her husband left her, she is losing her home, and she lost her job.
Joy’s trip is so much more than just one last free for all. Her focus in on bringing Christmas hope and cheer to 6 special people who have won a contest on her blog. With Ms. Carlson’s wonderful writing, I felt as if I was riding right along in the RV. I enjoyed all the plans Joy had made, from her Christmas baking, packing decorations, and even outfitting the RV in lights! The book was so uplifting!
Joy reminded me of my almost 90 year old mother-in-law; lots of spunk, and plans, without self-pity or despair about aging. I hope I will be like Joy as I age. Not focusing on what is in the past or I can no longer do, but continuing to live life to the fullest and accepting the changes that come. An amazing book, you do want to read!!!
I received a copy of this book free from Revell Publications. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own show less

The Christmas Joy Ride by Melody Carlson is her latest Christmas story. Ms. Carlson comes out with a new Christmas story every year and I look forward to reading them. Joy Jorgenson is eighty-five years old and is moving out of her home. She is relocating to Phoenix, Arizona to an assisted living facility to be near her sons. However, she has plans for one last adventure. Joy has a blog called Christmas Joy. Her neighbor and friend, Miranda Fortner helped her set it up. Joy ran a contest on her blog to find people that needed Christmas cheer this year! Joy has picked six winners. She has everything planned out, but she just needs to convince Miranda to come along. Miranda is resistant at first, but she cannot let her friend go from show more Chicago to Arizona in a RV by herself during winter. Miranda feels she might as well go. She does not have a job (having lost it six months earlier), her husband left for another woman, and her home is about to be foreclosed upon. Joy and Miranda decorate the RV for Christmas and set out on their adventure. Joy wanted to travel Route 66 (which is called different names now) and Miranda handles the navigation thanks to Miss Morris (their GPS).

Their first stop is a nursing home that is in desperate need of Christmas cheer. They also stop at a diner, a hair salon, a family with six children, and a rehab facility. Joy gets more tired as they progress on their journey. Joy may not be able to finish the journey and make it to the last stop. The last stop on their journey will be in Flagstaff, Arizona. A little girl named Emily wrote in with the help of a neighbor. Ever since her mother died when she was three, Emily’s father, Marcus has not celebrated Christmas. Emily wants a real Christmas and Joy is going to make sure she gets it. I am sure that Joy will find a way to make sure Miranda finishes the last project.

I found The Christmas Joy Ride to be just delightful. What a wonderful book. It is well written, with lively characters, and a lot of Christmas spirit (and hope). This book made me smile and, in some places, laugh. I wish there were more people like Joy in the world. She is a true inspiration. This book will get you ready to get out your Christmas decorations and make some cookies. I give The Christmas Joy Ride 5 out of 5 stars. This is one of those books that I will definitely read again each year at Christmas (to get me in the mood).

I received a complimentary copy of The Christmas Joy Ride from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own. show less