Though it has "Boxing Day" in the title, Patsy Collins' short story would be better classified as a Christmas story as it involves finding a perfect present for a sweet, albeit impossible to shop for, mother.
It's quaint, with a happy ending, but it's still a solid piece of writing with great character development.
Still, MAD Magazine was also known for juvenile puns (ex. New Kids on the Blech!) so I was unsure what to expect about the quality of poetry.
Make no mistake and gimmicks aside, Tysdale is the real deal. Yes, some poems have humour but not all. And there's lots of poignant ideas, emotion, and creative turns of phrase throughout this collection. Besides the fold-in angle, some of the poems also try more traditional forms.
Written by a child, "Coming Home to Mother" has a simple plot, but hints that Adrija Joy may have a writing career ahead of her.
It has a somber tone, not unlike Dickens, and just the right amount of details, the only thing left would be for the author to expand upon the tale. As it is, it leaves a very intriguing mystery.
Unfortunately, Shreya Ganguly's short story "The Christmas Party" had two strikes against it for me and I was not able to overcome these to enjoy the story.
About someone hoping for a Christmas party that never materializes, it's largely a domestic, old-fashioned kind of story, the kind that I've never really appreciated. To me they're just boring, though that's a personal preference and not necessary a critique.
The second issue, however, was the wordiness and word choice. It felt like a high school assignment where the teacher emphasized using a lot of adjectives and a thesaurus.
