Miss Santa Claus of the Pullman

On a frozen Christmas Eve, two children board a Pullman train carrying nothing but fear. They're traveling to meet a father they barely know and a stepmother they've been taught to dread. Then they meet her: Miss Santa Claus herself, complete with bundle and benevolence, who settles beside them and tells them a story. It's the tale of Princess Ina, who discovered a powerful charm hidden in plain sight, the quiet magic of obedience, kindness, and the courage to love first. Johnston writes with the gentle authority of someone who understands that stepmothers in fairy tales are rarely the whole story, and that the real magic lies not in wands but in the small, daily choices that transform strangers into family. This is a book about the terrifying hope of new beginnings, and the radical proposition that you might be the one to make love happen.