With his stunning debut novel, She’s Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the admiration of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman’s painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. In his heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga I Know This Much Is True, this fabulously talented author explored the powerful forces of destruction and forgiveness in ordinary lives. And in The Hour I First Believed, Lamb reached dazzling new heights, exploring the interwoven threads of family, faith, love, and violence in the American psyche.

Now, this revered writer returns with a special holiday treat sure to be savored and shared for years to come. Set in the familiar territory of his previous novels, small-town, working class Connecticut, Wishin' and Hopin' is the story of how a 10-year-old boy named Felix Funicello—a rumored distant cousin of the famous Annette—discovers the true meaning of Christmas behind the counter of his family’s luncheonette in the New London bus station.