Maggie's Miracle

September 22, 2003
Kingsbury, whose novella Gideon's Gift struck a fervent chord with readers last year, offers this second story in the "Red Gloves Series": as one character declares to another, "Red is the color of giving." The plot is eerily similar to Gideon's Gift, complete with a lonely widower whose life is turned around by a remarkably sweet and mature eight-year-old child. (The child is a boy this time, however, and his mom is a lonely widow. See what's coming?) Although the formula could not be more predictable, the melodrama is largely overdone and the ending requires a huge suspension of disbelief, readers will find themselves caring deeply about the winsome characters. Kingsbury's note to readers at the end of the book includes several suggestions for "Red Gloves" service projects to aid children.

November 1, 2003
In a letter to God, eight-year-old Jordan Wright asks for a new daddy, believing that his prayer will be answered. (His real father died suddenly two years ago.) After reading the letter, Jordan's mother, Megan, a high-powered Manhattan attorney, determines to help her grieving son even though she never loved his father. She contacts an organization that pairs adults with children who have lost parents, and recent widower Casey Cummins enters the picture. A Christmas setting and the uplifting message that prayers are eventually answered make this second entry in the "Red Glove" series (after Gideon's Gift) an ideal stocking stuffer. Its appeal may extend to fans of Nicholas Sparks; for most public libraries.

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