These 5 Christmas novels promise to put you in the holiday spirit

Charles Dickens knew a thing or two about Christmas stories, and they remain a holiday tradition into the 21st century. USA TODAY unwraps five new holiday novels for grownups, teens and tweens, including two graced by the ghostly presence of Mr. Dickens himself.

Mr. Dickens and His Carol

By Samantha Silva

Flatiron, 288 pp.

★★★ out of four

Tis the season, happily for fans of A Christmas Carol, for getting Scrooged, if you’ll pardon the expression. First a movie, The Man Who Invented Christmas starring Dan Stevens, and now the novel Mr. Dickens and His Carol imagine how Charles Dickens, on a tight deadline, concocted what may be the most beloved holiday story of all time. In Samantha Silva’s lively if treacly tale, it’s November 1843 and the immensely popular Dickens is nearly as humbug-y as Scrooge himself. Dickens is mired in debt and his latest work, Martin Chuzzlewit, is a bust. His irritated wife has left London with their ever-growing brood. His publishers are demanding a Christmas hit. But wait, who is the lovely, elusive Eleanor Lovejoy, a mysterious would-be muse for our writer hero? Marley, wink-wink, might know.

— Jocelyn McClurg

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This holiday season tale follows author Charles Dickens as he brings Ebenezer Scrooge to life. USA TODAY

The Afterlife of Holly Chase

By Cynthia Hand

Harper Teen, 400 pp.

★★★½

“Whatevs” is the new “Bah, humbug” in this clever young-adult sequel of sorts to A Christmas Carol set in present-day New York. Project Scrooge operates as a secret-ops outfit that attempts to show one person a year the true meaning of Christmas. It doesn’t always take, though, and Holly Chase is one of those failures. She died quickly thereafter and is now a hoodie-clad 17-year-old Ghost of Christmas Past for the group, whose newest project is a rich boy named Ethan Winters. Holly immediately has the hots for him and risks her gig by going rogue and trying to get to know Ethan. Cynthia Hand blends the tropes and archetypes of the Dickens' classic with office hijinks, but also conjures a festive and touching narrative about second chances.

— Brian Truitt

Tru & Nelle: A Christmas Tale

By G. Neri

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, 286 pp.

★★★½

When they were little kids, future literary stars Truman Capote and Harper (Nelle) Lee were fast pals in Monroeville, Ala. G. Neri celebrated their youthful friendship in 2016’s Tru & Nelle, a sweet tale for young readers that did not shy away from the grim realities of the Jim Crow South. In this holiday sequel for middle-graders, the year is 1935, and Truman is visiting for Christmas. He’s run away from military school, and the scene where delicate Tru, now 11, leaps off a train (with help from a hobo) is priceless. While this Christmas tale has its lighter moments (think fruitcake), it takes on tough topics such as bullying and the real-life murder trial of two black men, father and son Frank and Brown Ezell. Lee’s attorney father lost the case, which inspired To Kill a Mockingbird. Mature young readers and adult fans of Lee’s masterpiece will find Neri’s deft approach both touching and educational.

— McClurg

Pupcakes: A Christmas Novel

By Annie England Noblin

William Morrow, 369 pp.

★★★

After a messy divorce and sudden move to Memphis, Brydie Benson finds herself as a former wife, a former bakery owner and a soon-to-be former house guest of her best friend, Elliott. Brydie’s chances of a festive holiday season do not look good. Enter an overweight and drooling Teddy Roosevelt to the rescue. That would be Teddy Roosevelt, the pug, and his elderly owner, Pauline Neumann, who needs a house- and dog-sitter after she moves into assisted living. Through caring for Teddy and befriending Pauline, Brydie slowly returns to making a life for herself that includes handsome doctors and a talent for baking for a canine clientele. Noblin’s tale of self-discovery, populated with a colorful cast of characters, is both lighthearted and life-affirming. Readers are in for a sweet treat.

— Mary Cadden

The Noel Diary

By Richard Paul Evans

Simon & Schuster, 283 pp.

★★★

Don’t break out the candy-cane pitchforks but the popular Christmas Box author’s annual holiday treat is pretty devoid of the season, other than a main character’s name and parallel roads toward grace happening in December. Jacob Churcher is a best-selling author who has to revisit a rough childhood and clean up the Salt Lake City home of his estranged, abusive mother after she dies. A mysterious woman named Rachel knocks on the door looking for her own mom who lived there when Jacob was a boy, and they head off to not only find lost relatives but also redemptive paths. It’s a different type of love story for Evans, albeit one that’s still fairly predictable, and he explores complicated morals and emotions while warming your heart.

— Truitt