This book series has been completely surprising to me. On its face, it’s a story of two girls who have to adjust to tragic loss and starting over in a completely new situation. For a series aimed at younger children, it would be tempting to make things glossy and not move much past the surface of the story. But Ms. Martin does no such thing.
It turns out, this isn’t just the story of Flora and Ruby and their grandma Min, but of the whole town, or at least their particular part of the town and the people living in their row houses. There is a diverse group of families who live on the same block and are very involved in each others’ lives. You get a taste of the joys and pains of each family, and it’s truly lovely to see them all join up and celebrate seasons and life in general together.
The series doesn’t shy away from darkness - there are the two girls who lost their parents and we learn how the passing of time and marking special occasions affects them, there is a concern over being able to find jobs and if a family needs to move away, a husband dealing with his wife’s Alzheimer’s, and notably a poor family with alcoholic parents, and the toll it takes on the kids, tho if I’m being honest it does gloss over that a bit - dad leaves and mom suddenly is able to put drinking aside and lead her family forward. It’s a comforting thought, but doesn’t seem the most likely outcome.
The books are written with warmth and heart, and that covers a multitude of minor plot holes and leaves the reader feeling cozy and optimistic. ( )

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Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com

I loved this book. I love this series. It is a reminder of the simple yet exciting stories that I read when I was a girl.

Flora and Ruby are orphaned when their parents died a year ago. They went to Camden Falls to live with their grandmother, Min. The books are about their adjustment to living there. I enjoyed 'TIS THE SEASON immensely because it was about Christmas. The traditions of a small town were fascinating and the kindness for others was overwhelming.

But this book wasn't dripping with honey. There is a particular story line of one of the kids in the book having to deal with abuse. One scene actually brought me to tears. The complex problems of the children are written with simplicity, and the problems are just a fact of life and not written with too much drama. I liked that because I think kids need to know that these things do happen in life, but we have to have the strength to live through them.

I loved the description used in the book. Ms. Martin described the decorating of Camdem Falls and I wanted to live there. This is another successful book in a wonderful series! ( )