Thanksgiving at the Inn by Tim Whitney

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Genre: YA
Pages: 223
Challenges: None
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website


Looks like I was able to sneak this one in just in time for the Holidays! Happy Thanksgiving fellow readers!

Simple Description:
Since I'm not in the best of moods, I'm going to copy and paste info about the book from the author's website:

Ever since his mother left, life hasn’t been easy for Heath Wellington III. Between his father’s (Junior’s) bouts with alcoholism and literary rejection, and Heath’s own wrongful suspension from school, there hasn’t been all that much to be thankful for.

But following the tragic death of estranged grandfather Senior, father and son alike stand to inherit a life-changing fortune . . . with one catch.

Heath and Junior must spend the next three months managing Senior’s bed and breakfast, located in the same Massachusetts home Junior has spent the last eight years trying to escape.
Upended from his everyday life and relocated to a town where everyone knew and loved the grandfather he can’t even remember, Heath finds an inn full of some of the strangest people he’s ever met, such as:

• Winsted, the old, wise Jamaican man who used to lead the prayers in Senior’s factory;
• Mrs. Farrel, an elderly woman giving away her late husband’s fortune letter by letter;
• Mustang Sally, the muscle-bound, tattooed grease monkey who doubles as a children’s author;
• Carter, the silent TV news junkie and secret Harvard graduate.

And at a nearby school is Savannah, Junior’s first love, and her adorable, autistic daughter, Tori.

But most of all, there’s Junior himself, vinegar to Heath’s oil. As Heath adjusts to his new world, what he needs most is to start anew with his father, to understand that Junior, too, is dealing with loss, and to realize that, even in the most tragic of times, there’s a lot in life to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving at the Inn is a beautiful story of family and forgiveness, and a sure holiday classic. Tim Whitney’s fantastic, heartwarming debut is one you’ll want to read with the whole family for years and years to come.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:

I actually really enjoyed the book. I thought the story was very good and love that there's a happy ending. I like that it's about a boy who is just miserable in life and he ends up finding a support system and some friends, people he can talk to. Now that being said, you can tell that the author is a new one. There was a lot of extra info in the story and different things just stuck out that made me go, oh yeah..new author. So the writing itself wasn't as good as it could be. But..the story was still worth reading and still very good.

Thanks to Harrison at Bancroft Press for providing this book for review.