August 1, 2023
DEBUT Host of the Bad on Paper podcast, Freeman makes her debut with a holiday story of four friends who always celebrate Christmas together, through the many ups and downs of their lives--until their potentially last Christmas together in NYC in 2019. The first holiday together for the founding friend duo, Hannah and Finn, was in 2008. The only ones on campus during winter break (Hannah because she's an orphan and Finn because he wasn't welcome home after coming out to his family), they had a magical Christmas together. After graduation and their move to NYC, Hannah's roommate Priya was added to the group and then Theo, whom Finn brought home from a gay bar one night. Now they're planning one last Christmas together as jobs and significant others pull the four in different directions. Finn might also finally tell Theo how he really feels about him. While everyone gets a happy ending, the story is less about romance and more about friends growing up during their twenties against the backdrop of a fondly portrayed NYC. VERDICT Readers who enjoy found-family stories and tales of twentysomethings finding their way will appreciate Freeman's novel.--Melissa DeWild
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 28, 2023
Freeman’s compassionate if rocky debut digs into the heart of what makes holidays special: the people they’re spent with. Hannah and Finn’s college acquaintanceship becomes a best friendship when both are stuck on campus over the holidays. Hannah’s an orphan and Finn’s family disowned him after he came out as gay, so neither has anywhere else to go—but they make things merry by dressing up in costumes from the drama department and holding a pancake feast. Christmas together becomes a tradition, and the festivities only get more elaborate when they add Hannah’s N.Y.C. roommate, Priya, and Theo, Finn’s onetime Christmas Eve hookup turned good friend, to the mix. This year, however, Finn drops a bombshell: he’s moving cross-country for work. Hannah is devastated but determined to make this last Christmas one to remember. But with Hannah’s boyfriend pressuring her to join his family for the holidays and Finn wrestling with whether to admit his lingering crush on Theo, it might be memorable for all the wrong reasons. Freeman doesn’t skimp on the yuletide atmosphere and puts a lot of care into her characters’ growing pains. The novel’s structure has some flaws, however, hopping back and forth between many different Christmases and thereby creating information gaps and telegraphing surprises. Still, Freeman’s take on how relationships evolve is full of feeling.Agent: Allison Hunter, Trellis Literary.