All of the characters were remarkably fun – except for maybe the zombie-like Santa Claus. I loved that the author weaved in a few surprises and magic. The recommended age range is 9 – 12 (grade level 3 – 7). This was a very enjoyable read, even for an adult. While they are in the hall being admonished by their boss, Tracy downloads some files from the computer – and now, it’s broken! Phil is the Santa Command computer ‘techie’ and Beth manages the children’s wish lists. Then she meets two adults at Santa Command who decide they will either need to wipe her mind clean (gasp!), or work with her to help her understand their mission. And, where are the reindeer, for Pete’s sake? She’s very observant and gathers a lot of ‘proof’. If Tracy can provide scientific proof of Santa - or his non-existence - and win the grand prize from the State Science Fair, she can help her cousin to get the operation.Īlong the way, Tracy encounters an almost zombie-like Santa Claus, evil elves, and a North Pole with no snow.

Her cousin needs a very expensive operation that her parents can’t afford. But, kids may be biting their nails for a while to see how the story unfolds. What!!? Oh, bah humbug – I’m not out to destroy children’s dreams of Santa magic and neither is this book. She’s out to prove that Santa doesn’t exist and she almost does. How can a girl who doesn't believe help Santa and save Christmas before it's too late? With a little Christmas magic, of course! Santa won't be able to deliver all the presents in time! Now, Tracy must fix time and help Santa, but she has no idea how. As a result, three states get knocked out of sync with the rest of the world (oops!). When Tracy attempts to hack into their computers, she accidentally introduces a virus into the system. How else could he know what every little girl and boy wants for Christmas and who has been naughty or nice? In order to test her theories, Tracy sneaks onto Santa’s sleigh then ends up at Santa Command, where a team of (gasp!) humans monitor Santa’s big night. A flying sleigh can only be powered by jet engines, after all, and Santa’s magical abilities can only be the result of altered DNA. She also doesn't believe that Santa can possibly deliver all of those presents in one night, to children around the world, without a little help from science. Tracy Tam doesn't really believe in Santa Claus, at least not like the rest of us do.

Tracy Tam by Krystalyn Drown