Ghostly visitations, a miserly old man, an impoverished family, and the spirit of Christmas--thus the stage is set for one of the most powerful Christmas reads that you'll ever find. Set in the heart of London, the capital of business, poverty, and culture of the times, A Christmas Carol is a one-of-a-kind Christmas story.

Charles Dickens, one of the most well-known authors in history, wrote A Christmas Carol not only to entertain the world, but also to show the world the injustices experienced by the poor in England. With his high ambitions, fiery ideals, and powerful pen, Dickens brought to us one of the world's most beloved Christmas novels--A Christmas Carol.

Set in the mid 1800s, Dicken's classic recounts the story of an unhappy, miserly banker named Ebeneezer Scrooge. With a record of cheating, stealing, and backstabbing, Scrooge seems like a hopless project. What's more, his clerk, Tom Cratchit, earns barely enough to live off of--and he also has to pay for medicines for his youngest son, Tiny Tim, who seems fated to die. The tie to Christmas? Scrooge abhors it because of the money that he might lose on that one day of the year. One night, the ghost of Scrooge's former business partner, Marley, warns him to examine himself and to reorder his life.   

Ebeneezer gets taken back to his childhood, gets shown the present, and even gets a glimpse of the "could-be" future with the three spirits who visit him during Christmas Eve night. Can they soften the heart of the stoney miser? Can Scrooge turn back to the right path? The book reaches a surprising climax. The outcome? There is only one way to find out...

Although some may find the language a bit hard to get through, or the passages dark and depressing, A Christmas Carol is riveted with rich vocabulary, strong messages, and a realistic, amazing story told in the way that only Dickens can tell. The book's defining theme is grace as Scrooge is given another chance to really live. This story leaves the reader pondering his or her own life, what past situations they have messed up, and how they, too, can make the next Christmas a better one.

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