My favourite things about Christmas are food, family and of course having the perfect opportunity to thrust my love of books on my friends and family in the form of presents. In my latest novel, Just One Wish, Christmas features towards the end of the book, but it’s so full of drama that there isn’t really time for any festivities, so I thought it would be fun to write a Christmas present list for my characters. Below are the books I’d buy for each of the characters in Just One Wish and they might just be great gifts for your loved ones as well.
Ged – for the main character who is juggling family surprises and trying to choose between two equally problematic men, I’d give 488 Rules for Life by Kitty Flanagan because, let’s face it, every modern woman needs advice on how to live their life and this one is both hilarious and weirdly practical.
Christos – for love interest number one, I’d wrap up a copy of Chris Hammer’s latest Aussie crime, SILVER, because I’m currently reading it myself and think it would be a perfect Boxing Day read for this busy dad (not that he’ll have much time for reading THIS Christmas).
Jay – for love interest number two who has a desire to head to Mars, I’d give him a copy of Lonely Planet’s The Universe, so he can plan his trip!
Sappho – Ged’s mother is a housewife Instagram sensation, finally following her own heart’s desires, but after years of putting everyone else first and trying not to rock the boat, I think she’d really relate to Tricia Stringer’s The Model Wife.
Tony – Ged’s long-suffering father starts taking more care of himself in this book, so he’s getting the hugely useful gift of Donna Hay’s Modern Classics Book 1. I’ve had this book for years and still make loads of recipes from it.
Alice – As Ged’s grandmother is a passionate (fictional) Australian advocate for women’s rights, I think she’d love a copy of Emily Maguire’s This Is What A Feminist Looks Like – a history of Australian feminism. I’m hoping there might be one wrapped up under the tree for me as well.
Rosa – Sappho’s assistant and friend is a colourful and flamboyant champion for women, so she’d get a copy of Three Women by Lisa Taddeo because it’s been recommended to me by so many friends and is all about women’s desire and unmet needs. It’s definitely on my own Christmas wish list!
*Phil and Craig – for Ged’s gorgeous granddads I’d gift them a copy of Sh*t Towns of Australia by Rick Furphy and Geoff Rissole, because I reckon it would give them lots of laughs and I think they might be needing them by the end of the book.
*Ged’s baby (name withheld because…spoilers!) – there are so many good picture books coming out lately and so many classics that this is probably the hardest book to choose. I’d likely end up buying more than one. But, since I have a word limit for this post, the baby would get a copy of The Crayon’s Christmas by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers, because I absolutely adore this series and am excited there’s a new one out!
Happy Christmas everyone. What books are you giving this year?
Rachael Johns
Buy a copy of Just One Wish here. // Read a review of Just One Wish here.
About the author:
Rachael Johns, an English teacher by trade and a mum 24/7, is the bestselling ABIA-winning author of The Patterson Girls and a number of other romance and women’s fiction books including The Art of 
Keeping Secrets, The Greatest Gift and Lost Without You. She is currently Australia’s leading writer of contemporary relationship stories around women’s issues, a genre she has coined ‘life-lit’. Rachael lives in the Perth hills with her hyperactive husband, three mostly gorgeous heroes-in-training and a very badly behaved dog. She rarely sleeps and never irons.
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