A "picture perfect" Christmas may bring to mind a happy Winter scene for many, but as brilliantly revealed by Isabella Zutrau-Pell, an attempt at flawless holiday season has it's dark side. "A Blended-Family Christmas" brings up all the pain and emotion that comes from two families competing for a perfect Christmas during a season that is supposed to be full of joy. From inside a blended- family home, Isabella grabs you and tells you her bittersweet story.
     Ms. Zutrau-Pell inflicts heartbreak even in the very first paragraph. Elaborate language and description allows the reader to connect with the author empathetically. For example, in the first paragraph she writes, "Neither celebration is quite right, neither family dynamic quite works, and the memory of real family time floats above our heads, taunting us all that it was the best we will ever have, and the one we will never see again." This line summeries her stabbing nostalgia for a family she has lost.
     The author also uses the example of Christmas to dip into blended-family life for the rest of the year. In the fifth paragraph, she discusses the taboos of imperfection: "If anyone implies that your other parent has done something wrong, or if you have been too pouty, the dreadful fear bubbles up: that the family is not blended, it is broken." She deeply explores all these points on her topic without dragging on or breaking the flow.
     Isabella Zutrau- Pell crafts an intensely emotional piece around Christmas in a blended family. She keeps you reading with her vivid descriptions and captivating detail. She pulls memories and things she has learned about it to put us in her world and make us want to cry. "A Blended-Family Christmas" provides an attachment to a story that has gone too long unspoken.