The Modern Magi

I read The Modern Magi by Carol Lynn Pearson simply because it was there. I don’t normally indulge in sappy Christmas novels, but I desperately needed a reading fix, and it was my only available option (okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration).

This book is a perfect example of why I don’t read Christmas novels. Annabelle Perkins dreams of going to the “Holy Land.” She is poor and sick and saves to buy her ticket. Naturally, as the title suggests, when the time comes to travel, she is faced with a situation where she can help someone with her travel funds.

Annabelle is simply too good to be true. I believe in goodness and charity, but Annabelle’s level of kindness lacks authenticity. The entire book, in fact, feels a bit disingenuous. I sensed that Pearson’s sole goal was to make her readers cry. Now, I love to cry in books, but I don’t want to be manipulated into tears (and I didn’t shed any).

The Christmas novel is a specific genre. You know what you’re going to get before you read it (like many other genres), so if you want sickly sweetness mixed with tear-wrenching tragedy, feel free to indulge.