I'M DREAMING OF A WYATT CHRISTMAS

A young dancer struggles with challenges in her career and her life.

Pennsylvania high school freshman Noelle Partridge lost her mother six years ago; she lives with her distant, workaholic father. Noelle relishes all the trappings of a traditional Christmas, one highlight being dancing in The Nutcracker, but this year Noelle’s mom-inspired Christmas extravaganza is feeling stale. Then she’s invited to spend the holidays on a ski trip with her favorite family to babysit for. Enter love interest Wyatt Kahale, an accomplished 15-year-old ballet dancer and hunky heartthrob, who arrives unannounced at his family’s luxurious Vermont cabin. Wyatt, whom Noelle has long crushed on from afar via family photos and online dance videos, attends the high-end ballet academy where Noelle has been offered an audition. But while she dreams of attending, he’s thinking of dropping out, defying his pushy mother and hoping for more time with his dad and half siblings. The complicated chemistry between Noelle and Wyatt, and between Noelle and the Kahale family, is well drawn. Noelle’s anxieties and embarrassment over the situations she encounters are funny, relatable, and help to drive home the ultimate message of the story—that embracing the unpredictable and appreciating one’s friends are the most important things in life. Each chapter opens with a babysitting tip from Noelle. Mr. Kahale and Wyatt are cued as Native Hawaiian; Mrs. Kahale and Noelle read as White.

A sweet, charming story about navigating life’s changes.