Product Description

When I wrote my first novel, The Christmas Box, I never imagined it would become an international bestseller. It was a story for my two (then) little girls. But as I wrote, I realized that it was also for my mother -- to ease her pain over losing a child. My mother was my staunchest supporter and my biggest fan. A receptionist at a doctor's office, she would sell my book (sometimes by the case!) to patients in the waiting room. When The Christmas Box hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, no one, including me, was more excited than my mother.

I lost my mother on Valentine's Day of 2006. After weeks of struggling with my grief, I decided I would write a story for her. As she loved Christmas, I chose to write a Christmas novel, my first since The Christmas Box.

Finding Noel is about how people come into our lives for a reason. It is a love story about Macy and Mark, two young people from different worlds.

I'm sorry that this Christmas, for the first time since I became a writer, I won't be able to present my mother with a copy of my book. I think she would have enjoyed reading it. But, then again, I'm not certain that she hasn't.

As you read Finding Noel, I hope that you enjoy the journey and feel the same powerful emotions I felt as the story came to me.

Fondly,

Richard Evans

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5287 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780743287036
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
On the night that Mark Smart has decided will be his last, his car dies in a blizzard. He enters a closing coffee shop and finds Macy Wood, who literally offers him a shoulder to cry on. The two forge a deep friendship, and after three weeks, Mark proposes marriage. She declines, but waitress Joette, who has taken care of Macy since she was 13, orchestrates a reunion as Mark tries to smooth over the rifts dividing what remains of his family. Mark's stepfather's advice—"sometimes it's the fight that makes a thing worth having"—serves as the defining aphorism of Evans's yuletide offering. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Evans' latest offering is a charming holiday story about two strangers who change each other's lives. Mark Smart thinks he has hit rock bottom when his car dies on a snowy evening in Utah. He stumbles into a coffee shop and meets Macy Wood, a young woman he connects with immediately. She gives him a ride home and over the next few weeks, the two swap their life stories. Mark is reeling from his mother's death and his estrangement from his father, while Macy, adopted at age seven, longs to find her younger sister who was taken by another family. Mark encourages Macy to look for her sister, and with his support, she ventures first to the adoption agency and then to the house she and her sister lived in with their troubled father. Mark wants to marry Macy, but his unresolved family issues give her cause for concern, and she pushes him away, forcing Mark to confront his own demons. Evans' many fans will want his latest, and this heartwarming tale is perfect for every reader who loves sweet and uplifting fare. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
RICHARD PAUL EVANS is the #1 best-selling author of The Christmas Box. His thirteen novels have each appeared on the New York Times bestseller list; there are more than thirteen million copies of his books in print. His books have been translated into more than 22 languages and several have been international best sellers. He is the winner of the 1998 American Mothers Book Award, two first place Storytelling World Awards for his children's books, and the 2005 Romantic Times Best Women Novel of the Year Award.  Evans received the Washington Times Humanitarian of the Century Award and the Volunteers of America National Empathy Award for his work helping abused children.  He is the founder and CEO of BookWise, an international direct sales business. Evans lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Keri, and their five children.

Customer Reviews

The Real Story
The irony of fictional writing is that it works best when it comes from a real place. According to author Richard Paul Evans, the background story of his novel "Finding Noel," is drawn from the real-life story of Celeste Edmunds, a woman with whom he used to work.

As with his previous books, this is a personal work for Evans; he uses family names, origins, religion, illness and little slice-of-life things like recipes, traditions and tips to give a homey feel to his characters and story.

"Finding Noel" is also the first book of fiction that features a character diagnosed with eye cancer. Through the character Joette, Evans exposes millions of readers to this rare disease - only 2,000 adults are diagnosed each year - in a way that mainstream media and the inaccessible medical literature have not. For that alone, Evans and his fictional work are the real deal.

A sentimental tale for the holidays
Richard Evans has a history of writing touching stories. His first book The Christmas Box left many of our library patrons touched for weeks, most freely admitting to shedding many tears.

His newest book, Finding Noel, is sure to please those who read The Christmas Box. The lead character, Mark Smart, is facing perhaps the darkest night of his young life. His scholarship at the University of Utah has been cancelled. He's lost his dorm room and part time job at the college. Just days before he's lost his beloved mother. Then on a dark, cold, and snowy night his car dies near a small cafe. Struggling into the warmth of the diner he meets a young woman name Macy and the rest of his live changes.

Interesting characters make this read worthwhile. Mark's father is a virtual neer-do-well who embarrasses Mark but in the end has one of the more memorable lines in the book. Macy's mother died when she was only five of cancer leaving her and her infant sister, Noel, to be tended by an unreliable father. Jo, the unrelated woman who takes in Macy after her mother died works as a waitress in a truck stop. Yes, there's plenty of tension in Finding Noel. In addition to the wonderful characters, the story is tightly written and doesn't waste the readers time.

This is the first of many holiday books and may turn out to be one of the best.

3.5 stars - you'll need some tissues!
FINDING NOEL by Richard Paul Evans
December 23, 2006

Amazon Rating: 3.5/5 stars


Fans of Richard Paul Evans will enjoy this holiday story just in time for Christmas. FINDING NOEL was written in honor of Richard Paul Evans' mother, who had passed away in February and was his biggest fan. The story centers on a young man, Mark Smart, who had just recently quit college and was down on his luck. He had found out by accident that his mother had passed away. No one notified him of her death because he had left no forwarding address after leaving college, and it was during a call to his family back home that told him of the bad news.

Mark is the picture of a young man who seems to be failing in everything in life. He's an academic failure, he has a very low paying job, and he is alone in the world. It is by a fluke of an accident that Mark meets a woman that will change his life forever, Macy, and it becomes a turning point in his life.

Macy is also a loner, with a past that she doesn't divulge to too many people. But she slowly opens up to Mark. Both of them have something in their past they don't want to deal with or talk about, but unless they can get past these issues, it doesn't seem like they have a future together.

The subplot of Macy's search for her lost biological sister makes for a fast paced story line, and this adds to the story of Macy and Mark's love story, revealing part of Macy's hidden past that she herself had forgotten details to. For me, it was this part of the story that kept me reading to the end, because I found her search fascinating.

As in all of Richard Paul Evans' books, FINDING NOEL is a very sentimentally told story with a lot of old fashioned romance. His books are for those who are looking for a story that will motivate a person, stories that show that there is always hope. FINDING NOEL isn't what I'd call a literary accomplishment, but Richard Paul Evans is a good story teller, and he does succeed in telling a story that will inspire at a time when Christmas cheer is what most of us want to hear. For those who don't enjoy sappy saccharine love stories, this isn't for you, but for those who do like short, simple, happy-ending stories, this is a must read.