Background:
Cherry Christmas was created and written while I was in high school. Having achieved enough credits to graduate already, I had a spare period with no classes, so I used the time to work on what became Cherry Christmas. I worked on the story and the characters in my high school's library. In addition to designing the characters, I spent time fleshing out the story by hand-writing major plot points on several sheets of blank papers (I still have these papers somewhere in my parent's house...). Later, I typed the story on the computer.
The book was inspired by a visit to a homeless shelter in Toronto. I listened to stories of homeless people and understood how people end up in these situations. Feeling like I wanted to help, or just simply wanted to say something... I wasn't sure what to do, so I slowly started working on Cherry Robinson and putting the words I wanted to say... the feelings I had... into this character. When you read this story, the voice of Cherry (or my writing), may sound youthful, naive but hopeful, because I was much younger when I first wrote this... but it works out perfectly because Cherry is exactly that... young, naive yet hopeful that she can make a difference. It really sounds like a young person experiencing a sudden realization that the world can be so harsh, difficult and unfair, which brings authenticity to Cherry Robinson.
About the book:
Cherry Christmas follows the story of a little girl named Cherry Robinson, who moves to Gratta Town when her father, Jaxe Robinson, gets a good job in the town. They move into a strange, yet very affordable house. Later, it becomes apparent that someone called The Friendly Man lived there many years ago.
Initially, Cherry's father, Jaxe Robinson, frustrated by finances and the loss of his wife (Cherry's mother), neglects Cherry and has her fending for herself. 8 year old Cherry finds herself trying to explore the town on her own, trying to grocery shop, and even passing by a nearby school. She dreams of attending this school, especially when another little girl named Bess, befriends her on the other side of the gate.
Again, we don't thoroughly understand the struggles Jaxe Robinson, Cherry's father, is facing... because the story is written in Cherry's perspective only. We don't quite understand why he doesn't enroll Cherry in school right away, or why he didn't ensure there is enough food (groceries in the house). Cherry understands that she is not very wealthy and her parents struggle. However, later, Cherry comes to understand that Cherry's mother is no longer around... and that most positively explains Jaxe's behaviour towards Cherry. When Cherry learns of this, her heart breaks and she runs far away from home... she ends up finding a homeless shelter and listening to the stories of the people who live there. Most particularly, she learns the story of a small boy named Milo, who is very sick and his caregivers believe they cannot afford to save his life. Cherry takes her heart-broken emotion and puts it to action to help the homeless shelter.
With the help of Ruther, another friend she makes when she starts going to school, together they build a Cherry Ornament and begin selling it across Gratta Town. They use the money they make to help the homeless shelter.