Monica’s Musings: All I Want for Christmas

All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox

“You can love someone who isn’t perfect and be deeply loved despite your own imperfections.”
― Maggie Knox, All I Want for Christmas

Summary: True love wasn’t on their holiday wish list.

When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, each thinks they’ve finally gotten their big Nashville break. But then they’re paired up for duet week and stun the world with their romantic onstage chemistry. With fans going wild for #Saxie the network demands that they remain a duo on and offstage, or exit the competition. Faking a relationship until their final performance in the Starmaker holiday special shouldn’t be too hard, except for one small problem–Sadie and Max can’t stand each other.

But with their dreams just within reach, they agree to the ruse. Will their fake relationship be exposed before they can win? Or will an unexpected trip to Banff spark real feelings by the Christmas finale?

My Thoughts: This was such a fun little story to listen to. The audiobook is available on Libby, and I felt like the narration of each character really brought the story to life for me. I loved the mix of music, Christmas, and romance. Altogether this book feels exactly like what you would want out of a simple Christmas movie.


Although the storyline didn’t really surprise me, it made for a nice and easy read. I do find the fake dating tropes entertaining, so I really enjoyed that aspect of the romance! This is exactly the kind of book for you if you enjoy a nice and easy festive read. I would recommend this to fans of Christmas-y romcoms and the fake dating trope!

Holiday Bags for Children at the Library

Happy Holiday from the Derby Pubic Library! Bring your youth to the library to pick up their very own holiday goodie bag.

We miss you.

There, I said it. Covid-19 has kept us apart, and that makes us sad.

We even missed out on our annual time with Santa at the park this year! No trains, crafts, or young smiling faces to greet us.

It’s just too much. We can give up the cookies and crafts, but those smiling faces is where we draw the line. So, come! We have a present for a few of you.

Come pick yours up (if you are between the ages of birth and 18) Monday, December 14th- Friday December 19th! There are a few goodies in there for you to enjoy, just from us to you. A way to say “thank you for being you, and thank you for coming to see us.”

Pick up is available at the Youth Services desk, or at the drive through. Bags are divided into age groups (Birth-2) Toddler Bags, (age 3-5) Preschool Bags, (K- 2nd grade) Beginner Reader Bags, (3rd-5th grade) Elementary Bags, and (6th-12th grade) Young Adult bags. We also have a limited supply of bags with Spanish (picture) books in them.

Toddler Holiday Gift Bag

“It touches my heart how excited he is about having his own ornament. He loves it! He keeps pulling it off the tree and showing it to people.” — Conor’s mom

Preschool Holiday Gift Bag

“See all this!?” — Amelia

Beginner Reader/ Early Elementary Holiday Gift Bag

“Look! We got two bookmarks!” — Evan Gustafson

Elementary Holiday Gift Bag

“I LOVE Junie B. Jones!”

Young Adult Bag

“I love everything in the holiday bags… My favorite think in the bag was the make-your-own-ornament because it allows me to get creative and it is easy to do.” — Anni

Hopefully you’ll enjoy your bag every bit as much as these young people did! See you soon!

Happy Reading my friends,

LaLa the Library Lady

Book Review: Mr. Dickens and His Carol

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

First line: On that unseasonably warm November day at One Devonshire Terrace, Christmas was not in his head at all.

Summary: Charles Dickens had instant success with his first books but his most recent one was a flop. When the publishing firm begins to lose money, they devise an ultimatum. Write a Christmas story or pay back the advance. With less than six weeks left between the notification and Christmas Eve, Dickens has very little time to figure out his biggest success, A Christmas Carol.

Highlights: This was a very cozy little novel about one of my favorite stories. I have watched many adaptations of Dickens’ novel with my favorites being The Muppet Christmas Carol and Scrooge (with Albert Finney). The fact that this story was written in such a short period is shocking. I liked the Easter eggs in the story that tie in with A Christmas Carol. While reading I wanted it to be Christmas time and have a cup of tea. Very good debut novel!

Lowlights: There was a lot of buildup but not enough bang at the end. It was cozy and not as gripping as I hoped.

FYI: Spoilers! I have not read all of Dickens work but now I know how some of them end. Its okay. I guess after 150+ years everyone should know the stories and their endings.