Stone and Shell

This is a lovely story about a happy family. It's the third holiday short I've read from NineStar Press, and I enjoyed all of them a lot. This author was new to me, and I'll definitely seek out more of his work.

The story is sweet and fluffy and completely in the little boy's perspective, with no conflict. Howie's dad, his aunt Shanna, and Mike, the boyfriend Howie finds for his dad, all love Howie, and it feels like they value him as a person. My favorite moment shows how much Howie's dad values his son's perspective, which is just so nice:

His dad looked caught between a laugh and a frown. “Yes, Howie, we kissed.”

“Doesn't that make it a date, then?”

It seemed a long time before Dad answered carefully. “Yeah, it probably does.”