Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In a slice-of-life novel filled with warmth and quiet humor, Couloumbis (War Games) shows how 10-year-old Jake weathers unexpected difficulties during the holidays. A few days before Christmas, Jake is dreaming of getting his first bike when his widowed mother has an accident. She falls on the ice and has to be hospitalized for several days with a broken leg. Jake is worried about his mother, but even after he is convinced she will fully recover, there remains the problem of finding a caretaker for Jake during the interim. Having his grandfather come from North Carolina seems to be the only solution, but Granddad is practically a stranger, and the dog he brings with him isn%E2%80%99t %E2%80%9Cthe friendly kind.%E2%80%9D Jake%E2%80%99s gradual acceptance of his grandfather%E2%80%99s idiosyncrasies is touchingly portrayed, especially when it becomes apparent that some of Jake%E2%80%99s fondest memories of his father are really tied to his grandfather. With a comforting resolution that occurs just in time for Christmas, this book confirms that family boundaries are expandable and family love can overcome obstacles. Ages 8%E2%80%9312. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Gr 3-5 When 10-year-old Jake's mom slips on ice and breaks her leg a few days before Christmas, her hospital stay necessitates a holiday visit from the boy's paternal grandfather. Jake hasn't seen him and has barely spoken to him since Jake's dad died years earlier, and at first he is wary of Granddad and his unlikable little dog. The story of how they all come to appreciate one another is a simple one, relying on interesting characters and a young narrator who, perhaps because he has been raised among strong women, is punctilious about reporting his feelings and reactions to events, even when he doesn't really understand them. No high drama or overwrought emotions here, just some folksand a dogcoming together as a family. Jake tells his story in a straightforward and often funny way that will resonate with young readers well beyond the holiday season.— Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

Ten-year-old Jake's only family is his widowed mom, a limitation he feels keenly when a broken leg lands her in the hospital. When his barely known grandfather comes to stay, the boundaries of Jake's family begin to expand. Set at Christmastime, this is a quiet novel peopled with adult characters; the burgeoning relationship between Jake and Granddad is believably and poignantly drawn.

Kirkus Reviews

Ten-year-old Jake's holiday season gets off to an inauspicious start when his widowed mom slips on the ice in a mall parking lot before Christmas and has to be hospitalized. Shortly thereafter the paternal grandfather he hardly knows and little remembers comes to the rescue from out of town and into Jake's life. Potentially making matters worse is his grandfather's boon companion, the "nightmare dog" Max. Jake—and readers—need not fear, though. A warm, caring gem of an older next-door neighbor who has always been there for the family proves more nurturing than ever, and assorted family members and friends also leap into the fray to help with Jake's care. Gradually the gruff exterior of ex-Marine Granddad melts away, revealing the loving softie he's always been, and boy and grandfather—and dog—come to understand each other and bond. This is a sweet story, with the sort of kind, supportive people young readers should know in life as in literature. Narrator Jake's a good kid, though at times his self-awareness seems beyond his years. Pleasant and satisfying. (Fiction. 9-12)

ALA Booklist (Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

After his widowed mother falls in an icy parking lot, breaks her leg, and is hospitalized, 10-year-old Jake is scared, even though he gets a lot of support from his caring Baltimore neighbors and from his ex U.S. Marine grandfather, who, along with his old dog, Max, visits for the first time from North Carolina to help out. True to Jake's viewpoint, the spare, first-person narrative is filled with immediate dialogue and small details that eloquently reveal Jake's worry about his mother (and his guilt when he forgets to worry), as well as his wariness of strange, tough-love Grandpa and his crabby pet. Jake confronts Grandpa: Why didn't you ever come visit us? By the end, though, he bonds with both Grandpa and Max, and the story's warm climax is a cozy Christmas party in Mom's hospital ward with caring friends and neighbors. Never message-heavy, the drama about the meaning of family will touch readers.