Wishin’ and Hopin’

**“This book is a bonbon for any baby boomer. . . . Lamb gets Felix’s voice just right, and he does a spot-on job of evoking the special joys and trials of parochial school in the ‘60’s…Put a bow on this book and warm somebody’s heart.” — *St. Petersburg Times*** **Wally Lamb, the beloved #1 *New York Times* bestselling author of *The Hour I First Believed, I Know This Much Is True* , and *She’s Come Undone* , delivers a holiday treat with *Wishin’ and Hopin’* —an unforgettable novella that captures the warmth and joy of the holiday season.** It’s 1964. LBJ and Lady Bird are in the White House, *Meet the Beatles* is on everyone’s turntable, and ten-year-old Felix Funicello (distant cousin of the iconic Annette!) is doing his best to navigate fifth grade—easier said than done when scary movies still give you nightmares and you bear a striking resemblance to a certain adorable cartoon boy. But there are several things young Felix can depend on: the birds and bees are puzzling, television is magical, and this is one Christmas he’s never going to forget. Poignant and hilarious, in a vein similar to Jean Shepherd’s *A Christmas Story* and David Sedaris’s *The Santaland Diaries* , Lamb’s Christmas tale focuses on a feisty parochial school fifth grader named Felix Funicello—a distant cousin of the iconic Annette!