Juniper's Christmas

Colfer, Eoin. Juniper's Christmas
October 31, 2023 by Roaring Brook Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Juniper Lane lives in London with her mother, Jennifer, after the sudden death of her father, Briar. Briar, an immigrant from Ghana, was the caretaker of the local Cedar Park, and hosted a yearly Santa Vigil there, collecting gifts and supplies for the local homeless population. The Santa Vigil is held because for nine years, there has been no gift delivery from Santa, so many people don't believe in him any more. We do get the complicated back story about why this is, but focus more on Juniper. Her mother has some errands to run leading up to Christmas, and has a local homeless woman they call the Duchess look after Juniper for a few hours. When Jennifer doesn't come back, the two are very worried. Duchess claims that a man who has been building shelters in the park, Niko, can help them. She's not clear on the details, but since the police won't do anything, Juniper tries. Odd things happen, and Juniper discovers that Niko is really Santa Claus. He has plenty of tricks up his sleeve to try to confuse Juniper, but when she accidentally bonds with a young reindeer, Skära, the magic in her own system is activated. This is helpful because not only does she have to find her mother, but she has to help Santa battle Tomescu, an elf who is trying to find him and bring him back to the North Pole, as well as a family of Irish criminals headed by Trude Madden. These criminals were orginally hired by the man in charge of the park, Mr. Carnegie, to run the homeless people away from the park and burn the collections for the Santa Vigil. Once they get further into Juniper's world, they think that they can somehow benefit from Juniper's magic and turn their attention to her. There's a lot of chasing around London, but things turn serious when Duchess' health takes a turn for the worse and she ends up in the hospital. Will Juniper, with her newfound Santa magic, be able to find her mother, continue the Santa Vigil, and get Santa back to the North Pole. 

Strengths: Imagine Artemis Fowl with a social justice slant and a Christmas setting, and you've got Juniper's adventurous tale! This was quite a fun and innovative book, with a lot of humor as well as a break neck pace. There was also a lot of sympathy for the unhoused population, and some suggestions for how to help. The characters are all nicely complex, and I was especially fond of the Duchess with her surprising back story. Juniper is a determined character who is fazed by very little, so she definitely helps propel the story forward. Quite a fresh twist on the Santa myth, and Colfer's use of faux Scandinavian terms was on point. 
Weaknesses: This was definitely a quirky fantasy, and most of my readers who ask for holiday tales are looking more for realistic stories with friend and family drama. It is perfect, however, for avid fantasy fans, some of whom are even named Juniper! (I've had two recently, so the name must be up and coming.)
What I really think: This is a great choice for readers who like their Christmas stories to include Santa as well as a lot of action. Similar titles include Fry's The Naughty List, Rowling's The Christmas Pig, Huett's Top Elf, and Haig's The Girl Who Saved Christmas. If you can find a copy of Funke's 1994 When Santa Fell to Earth, this would also be a good one, and not only because it has a great picture of a rather hunky Santa!