Book reviews and Art

I was in love with Sara Raasch’s first book, “Nightmare Before Kissmas,” so I was delighted to see the second one in her series, “Go Luck Yourself.” This book did not disappoint! It hits all the right spots with its mix of humor, emotional moments, and great characters. It’s also peppered with appearances of characters from her first book.

Sara is amazing at creating worlds that seem real, and I get drawn right in. The settings are detailed, and I quickly find myself immersed in the book. Halloween? Christmas and now St. Patrick’s Day!

“Go Luck Yourself” keeps up the lovely found family vibe from the first book. The relationships between the characters are the glue that keeps this story together. Sara’s characters are gloriously imperfect—they’re messy, funny, and deeply human. Their quirks and flaws make them unique and entirely TOO relatable!

This story is pretty emotional as there is a lot of loss in the life of Kris and he is struggling to process it all. The engaging banter between the characters keeps a lovely balance with the emotion.

Kris, who we met in the first book, is the focus of “Go Luck Yourself.” After a run-in with another student at college, he finds himself having to repair relations between St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas. It turns out that annoying hot student he played an epic prank on is the crown prince of St. Patrick’s Day. In another twist of fate, it is discovered that someone from St. Paddy’s Day has been stealing joy from them! After the struggles Christmas has been having, Kris is dispatched to make amends and see if he can find out what is going on.

Sara really digs deep into Kris’ struggles with identity and self worth. This entire novel is a touching portait of a young man trying to figure out who he is and where he fits in the craziness around him. Kris tugged at my heart when I met him in the first novel and now he has set up permanent residence there.

Ultimately, it feels as though this novel is about the scars we collect as we move through life and the way in which we incorporate them into our makeup. The question becomes: can Kris get out of his own way and realize how important he is to the people around him or will his past continue to tug him down.

Oh Kris. How do I summarize your journey? What a character! His journey is a rough one even though it’s got sparks of joy and humour. His healing isn’t a straight path and that will really resonate for most readers. I think what makes this novel brilliant is the joy that is woven into the struggle. Hope is never really lost when you have souls around you who love you.

Overall, “Go Luck Yourself” is a fantastic continuation of Sara Raasch’s series. It combines humor, emotion, character development with a dash of magic and it’s queer! I know this world isn’t real – at least, that’s what I’m going to continue to say out loud.

Dear Sara: Can we please have a novel for every holiday? What about Iris? Doesn’t she need her happy ever after? Love – an obsessed reader.