Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb

Synopsis From Back Cover:

LBJ and Lady Bird are in the White House, Meet the Beatles is on everyone's turntable, and ten-year-old Felix Funicello (distant cousin of the iconic Annette!) is doing his best to navigate fifth grade-easier said than done when scary movies still give you nightmares and you bear a striking resemblance to a certain adorable cartoon boy.  But there are several things young Felix can depend on: the birds and the bees are puzzling, television is magical, and this is one Christmas he's never going to forget.

With the Christmas season approaching quicker than Superman on his best day, I was more than happy to get started on my holiday reading.  I had heard great things about this book so I was pleased when I was given the opportunity to review it for a TLC Book Tour.  I got the book what seemed ages ago but I wasn't able to get to it until the last week.  Needless to say I was not disappointed and found myself laughing out loud more than once. 

Now I don't want you to think I loved everything about it, because I didn't.  There were times that I felt the author was trying just a bit too hard for the laughs, they were sometimes forced just a little too much.  Thankfully it didn't detract from the story and overall I found Felix to be a wonderful storyteller, whom the author uses to his full advantage.  He got the voice of a 5th grader almost pitch perfect, right down to those strange misunderstandings we all had when things were said we didn't quite get but were too afraid to admit it.  There were times I was able to imagine Felix, in person, sitting there as he's recounting all the funny things that have happened at school.

I'm not going to go into all that many details of his misadventures through Christmas programs and TV appearances, but I will say that if you don't get the chance to meet Felix for yourself, you are missing out on one great kid.

I want to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.  You can visit the tour page for a list of tour stops and information about the author.