Mystique is the quality of mystery, glamour, or power associated with someone or something. An air of secrecy surrounding a particular activity or subject that makes it impressive or baffling to those without specialized knowledge.
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After Mary's parents die, she's stuck dealing with the onset of adolescence while being raised by her impoverished but kindly uncle. While she's no Polyanna, her upbeat attitude makes her an enjoyable character from the start, despite her difficult circumstances. Her uncle is doing his best and wishes that he could do better for her, which is a really refreshing change from the clueless and inert adult characters that we often get in this genre of story.
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While shopping at the local big box store, Mary comes across a video game contest supposedly hosted by Santa Claus himself. Although she's not exactly a believer, she decides to give the game a go. When her good heart puts her in the top five of the contest, she's suddenly off on an adventure of a lifetime, to continue the contest with Santa at the North Pole.
Like some mad mashup between The Polar Express, and Willy Wonka, this book covers a lot of territories and familiar symbolism in new ways. Mary's journey to Santa is as much internal as external. Hope and belief compete with a cynicism born of hard circumstances. Mary has a chance to rekindle her belief in a better future as well as her belief in the magic of Christmas.
As soon as Mary arrives at the North Pole, her ability to remain a non-believer gets an immediate workout. But all is not benign in this Christmas paradise. A villainess lurks, and it's clear from the start that she especially is targeting Mary. Soon we meet the other contestants and get acquainted with the land of the North Pole with its wonders and dangers.
The contestants range from mostly naughty to very nice. But they're not the only personalities to populate Santa's special realm. There are reindeer who are sweet, silly and sober. There are elves with a range of personal quirks. The various residents of the North Pole have cute interactions and stories of their own that add dimension to the story. There are even touches of age-appropriate romance add body in this lovely Christmas fantasy, making us believe that there may be more than one kind of happily ever after in store for our favorite characters.
I loved all the beautiful, detailed descriptions of Santa's magical home. With all the residents and the various delights that await the contestants to fill the story, it's easy to visualize this North Pole world. There are a lot of scene changes, and each scene comes with extra touches of description that makes the narrative very lush.
The games at the North Pole come with high stakes, and not all the contestants play by the rules. The breakneck competition packs this cute story with thrilling action scenes, and the behind the scenes villain helps push the suspense along. Meanwhile, Mary's new human, reindeer, and elf friends both help her succeed and add delicious comic relief.
Books in this genre tend to have messages, especially when they're holiday books. The expected messages are there but are woven into the narrative naturally so that the story isn't overwhelmed by its moral themes. This is an enjoyable, exciting holiday story that could be read out loud as a family holiday tradition. It brings back memories of Rankin and Bass stop motion favorites like Rudolph and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Reading it is like getting a sweet holiday gift from the author!
