Book Review: Tim Cratchit's Christmas Carol

Book: Tim Cratchit's Christmas Carol: The Sequel to the Celebrated Dicken's Classic by Jim Piecuch

Source: Borrowed from the Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

I have read other so called sequels to classic books but those books didn't even come close to being considered that. However, unlike those books Tim Cratchit's Christmas Carol is a wonderful story that honors the original story, A Christmas Carol.

In this story, Tiny Tim is no longer a little boy but a work weary 32 year old doctor who seems to be suffering from over working due to his high number of wealthy, unappreciative and sometime hypochondriac patients. He no longer has any time for himself or to devout to doing research and for offering care to the poor. The poor are something that Cratchit's business partner Dr. Eustace has no desire to associate with.

Tim lives a lonely existence leaving him barely any time for visiting his mother and siblings nor time to find romance. Working is the only thing he does but one day when he was leaving work, a poor young mother Ginny Whitson approached him because her 3 year old son Jonathan was in need of help, he was having difficulty breathing and had been unable to walk. Turns out the boy had a rare tumor and it was something Dr. Cratchit didn't want to rush into without further study. He didn't want to risk the boy's life.

Jonathan's case was close to Tim's heart since when he was a young boy he had health problems but all of that changed with the sudden transformation of mean old Ebenezer Scrooge to a kind and caring person.

So while he tries to figure out the right way to proceed with Jonathan, Tim was unfortunately dealing with a difficult patients such as Mrs. Crompton but his attention was more focused on her daughter Jane who seems to be fading into the shadow of her overbearing mother. It's possible Tim's attention may also be romantic but the doctor has no time for that.

With a little unknowingly ghostly help Tim Cratchit's life may turn into something that he actually enjoys. I really like this it's a very heartfelt story that's full of hope and kindness. It reminds you of all the good things you think of for the holiday.

This was very well-written and I commend the author for taking a chance with writing a sequel to one of the most beloved Christmas classics. I hope that this will become a classic as well.