Do you know who wears a red and white suit, has a long white beard, slides down chimneys, eats milk and cookies, rides in a sleigh, lives on the North Pole, has a sparkle in his eyes, and rocks a head full of locs? Why, Santa Claus, of course! At least, the version of Santa that resides in Lori-Ann Drecketts' book, Mike and the Locked Santa, does.
In this charming tale, sixteen-year-old Mike is relaxing on Christmas Eve when Santa falls down the chimney and tells the skeptical teen that he needs his help saving Christmas. It seems that some of the elves and former Santa-Helpers (author's spelling) have revolted and overtaken some of the integral areas of the North Pole. If they continue, all North Poleans (author's spelling), including Santa and Mrs. Clause, will end up extinct! Can Mike and his younger sister, Abigail, help Santa win the war for Christmas, or will the holiday as we know it end?
As someone who still watches every Rankin/Bass Santa Claus story, as well as more contemporary series, such as The Santa Clause and The Christmas Chronicles, every year, I was elated to have one more Santa story in my mental database. Mike and the Locked Santa was more like the former tales, as it followed a simple path and included an elementary writing style, even though some of the terms used were more advanced. Likewise, the author's habit of telling rather than showing marked the tale as less complex. Since I'm still a child at heart, I did enjoy following along with Mike and Abigail as they worked alongside Santa and his helpers to regain control of the North Pole. Additionally, there were enough conflicts and fights - some of them slightly graphic and bloody - to keep me from falling into boredom. The use of magic also filled me with the sense of wonder that it always does, and I thought Ms. Drecketts was very creative in reimagining certain things in an area that has been retread many times already. I was especially impressed with the explanation of Christmas Spirit and its role in both powering the North Pole and making Christmas the holiday that we all know.
In Mike and the Locked Santa, the antagonists were suitably bad, though more of them seemed to be misguided than genuinely criminal. Likewise, Mrs. Clause was quite atypical from how she's usually portrayed, and the elves were also different, all in positive ways. Mike and Abigail were realistically drawn too, and I liked that they even had a slight backstory, though it was sad.
I will note that I was a little disheartened that there were not more nods to the author's Jamaican roots since About the Author says, in part, "She is always incorporating Jamaican themes in her fiction works." I would have liked for the characters to speak in Patois, and a Jamaican Christmas carol or two also would have been welcomed. A Christmas tree covered in green, yellow, and black with red accents might have been nice as well.
Despite earning a B.A. in English, the author struggled grammatically, as there were numerous typographical errors throughout the text. Punctuation mishaps were the most rampant, but there were also many issues with capitalization (including inconsistencies with the same words and phrases), verb tenses, and hyphenation. I noted a few misspellings and problems with syntax too. In addition, Drecketts' usage of slashes throughout the book was distracting, and I had to reread a few sentences due to the lack of commas after introductory phrases.
After considering all aspects of Mike and the Locked Santa, I decided to rate the yarn 3 out of 4 stars. As noted, the book does include violence, so it's not suitable for young children. There were no profanities or sexual situations in the narration, though, so readers need not concern themselves over either. Teens and young adults may like the sense of nostalgia that it gives, as may adults who miss the innocence of their younger years coupled with a belief in Santa Claus. Fans of the aforementioned movie series and Christmas specials would likely enjoy the story as well.
- Shaggy, "Jamaican Drummer Boy"Ain't nothin' like a J. A. Christmas
I wanna be right there for the Christmas
Can't fly a reindeer; that's a fiction
You may find Santa Claus; that's no fiction
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Mike and the Locked Santa
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