For the Rest of Us: 13 Festive Holiday Stories to Celebrate All Seasons

by Dahlia Adler, Sonora Reyes, Preeti Chhibber

Fourteen acclaimed authors showcase the beautiful and diverse ways holidays are observed in this festive anthology. Keep the celebrations going all year long with this captivating and joyful read!

From Lunar New Year to Solstice, Día de Los Muertos to Juneteenth, and all the incredible days in between, it’s clear that Americans don’t just have one holiday. Edited by the esteemed Dahlia Adler and authored by creators who have lived these festive experiences firsthand, this joyful collection of stories shows that there isn’t one way to experience a holiday.

With stories

Dahlia Adler, Sydney Taylor Honor winner of Going Bicoastal

Candace Buford, author of Good as Gold

A. R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy, authors of the Once & Future series

Preeti Chhibber, author of Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot

Natasha Díaz, award-winning author of Color Me In

Kelly Loy Gilbert, Stonewall Book Award winning author of Picture Us in the Light

Kosoko Jackson, USA Today bestselling author of The Forest Demands Its Due

Aditi Khorana, award-winning author of Mirror in the Sky

Katherine Locke, award-winning author of This Rebel Heart

Abdi Nazemian, Stonewall Book Award–winning author of Only This Beautiful Moment

Laura Pohl, New York Times bestselling author of The Grimrose Girls

Sonora Reyes, Pura Belpré Honor winner of The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School

Karuna Riazi, contributor to The Grimoire of Grim Fates

 

Genres: Young Adult, Anthologies, Short Stories, Contemporary, Holiday, Fiction, Jewish

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2025

About the author

Dahlia Adler is an editor by day, a freelance writer by night, and a writer of Contemporary YA and NA at every spare moment in between. She's the author of the Daylight Falls duology, Just Visiting, the Radleigh University series, Cool for the Summer, Home Field Advantage and the Sydney Taylor Honor book Going Bicoastal; editor of the anthologies His Hideous Heart, That Way Madness Lies, At Midnight, and, with Jennifer Iacopelli, Out of Our League; and a contributor to the anthologies All Out, The Radical Element, and It's a Whole Spiel. She lives in New York with her family and their overstuffed bookshelves.

Reviews

[ash (smokedshelves) · Rating 4 out of 5]

as per usual with anthologies for me, sharing the list of individual stories and my ratings for each. my average rating for the collection was a 3.6, so rounding it up to a 4 star rating. also, since this anthology heavily focuses on sharing diverse stories i wanted to include the representation in each short story so people can have that to reference!

1. lunar new year: this is how it's always been by kelly loy gilbert (5⭐️)
→ chinese american rep, bisexual MC

2. valentine's day: ps i (don't) love you by laura pohl (4⭐️)
→ brazilian rep, aromantic MC and gay SC

3. holi: holy hail! by preeti chhibber (3⭐️)
→ indian/hindu rep, sapphic SC

4. nowruz: a new day by abdi nazemian (3⭐️)
→ iranian rep, gay MC

5. eid: without a plan by karuna riazi (3⭐️)
→ muslim rep

6. passover: elijah's coming to dinner by natasha díaz (3⭐️)
→ jewish rep

7. juneteenth: hill country heartbeat by candace buford (3⭐️)
→ black/african american rep

8. rosh hashanah, yom kippur, sukkot, simchat torah: making up is hard to do by dahlia adler (4⭐️)
→ jewish rep

9. diwali: the return by aditi khorana (2⭐️)
→ indian/hindu rep

10. dia de los meurtos: honor the dead to honor the living by sonora reyes (5⭐️)
→ latinx rep, disability rep (schizoaffective disorder)

11. winter solstice: 'tis the damn season by ar capetta and cory mccarthy (3⭐️)
→ polyam and gay MC and SC

12. christmas/hanukkah: merry christmukkah, loser by katherine locke (4⭐️)
→ jewish rep, sapphic MC

13. kwanzaa: habari gani by kosoko jackson (5⭐️)
→ black/african american rep, gay MC

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

It's really rare that I read a short story anthology and genuinely enjoy every story in it. But that was definitely the case here! This collection is cozy, even if some of the stories take a more serious note. It was warm and fresh and obviously full of passion for the holidays being explored. Not all of the holidays were highlighted as much as I would have wished, but I really enjoyed every story here anyhow.

Anyway, there is more to dig into here. There are some ways this collection didn't quite meet the mark, as a collection, and I will be digging into that. But that's all for my full review, going live at Gateway Reviews on September 5, 2025. Stop by if you want to hash it out!

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.

[Starr ❇✌❇]

ooh holiday anthology with all different holidays!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 out of 5 stars

A collection of absolute bangers! Not only am I a sucker for books centering non-Christian holidays, but several authors I adore contributed to it. Sonora Reyes, Dahlia Adler, and Preeti Chhibber knocked it out the park as usual, and now I have a whole host of other authors I'm excited to explore. All of the stories were engaging and sweet with wonderful social commentaries, and the final story was a gut-punch in the best way possible. "P.S.: I (Don't) Love You" is a particular stand-out to me for its humor, emphasis on friendship, and aromantic rep. All in all, I can't recommend this book highly enough!

This anthology features stories about Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day, Holi, Nowruz, Eid, Passover, Juneteenth, Rosh HaShanah/Yom Kippur/Sukkot/Simchat Torah, Diwali, Día de los Muertos, the winter solstice, Christmas and Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Specific types of representation, as well as content warnings, are divided by story below.

**HUGE thank you to Quill Tree Books for granting me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**

"This Is How It’s Always Been"
Rep: Biracial Chinese American bisexual MC in a sapphic relationship, Chinese American side characters
Content warnings: Intense homophobia from family members, anti-vaccine family member, reference to cancer, mentions of prejudice toward biracial people and a past divorce

"P.S.: I (Don't) Love You"
Rep: Queer aromantic Brazilian exchange student MC, gay Chinese American SC, various queer SCs, Brazilian SC
Content warnings: Friendship problems, mentions of teens cheating and a past divorce

"Holi Hai!"
Rep: Indian American MC and SCs, including two who are also sapphic

"A New Day"

Rep: Iranian American gay MC, Iranian American SCs including a single mom, queer SC
Content warnings: Homophobic family member, parent's death from an overose (past), early days of COVID-19 pandemic, toxic and verbally/emotionally abusive family members including 45 supporters

"Without a Plan"
Rep: South Asian Muslim MC and SCs
Content warnings: Critical family members, anxiety around expectations

"Elijah’s Coming to Dinner"
Rep: Jewish MC and SCs including an older sapphic couple
Content warnings: A few brief references to the COVID-19 pandemic, aging character dealing with osteoporosis

"Hill Country Heartbeat"
Rep: Black MC and SCs
Content warnings: Glorification of the Confederacy (challenged), flooding

"Making Up Is Hard to Do"
Rep: Jewish MC and SCs
Content warnings: Friendship problems, underage drinking, divorce, brief mention of COVID

"The Return"
Rep: Pakistani American MC, Japanese SC
Content warnings: Racist bullying, microaggressions, discussions about colonialism, American nationalism, references to the gun industry, mentions of a parent's death and resulting grief

"Honor the Dead to Honor the Living"
Rep: Latine MC with schizoaffective disorder, Latine SCs including a few with mental illnesses
Content warnings: Past deaths of family members, grief, brief mentions of suicide and hospitalization

"’Tis the Damn Season"
Rep: Queer poly MC, queer (and a few poly) SCs including one who's disabled, nonbinary SCs, trans SC
Content warnings: Gun-related hate crime leading to chronic pain (past), underage drinking, brief mentions of COVID, allusions to bigoted family members and religious trauma

"Merry Chrismukkah, Loser"
Rep: Queer nonbinary Jewish MC in an interfaith family, Jewish SCs
Content warnings: Brief reference to general anti-Semitism

"Habari Gani"
Rep: Black gay MC, Black SCs
Content warnings: Past death of a parent, grief, financial struggles

[Anne Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever felt that holiday stories tend to revolve around the same tinsel-covered tree or turkey dinner, *For the Rest of Us* is the beautiful, generous antidote. Edited by Dahlia Adler, this anthology pulls together 14 heartfelt stories from acclaimed authors, each spotlighting a different cultural or religious celebration with sincerity, warmth, and emotional depth. From the bright burst of Holi to the quiet reverence of Winter Solstice, the book serves up a sensory-rich invitation into how different communities mark the passage of the year.

The collection as a whole is rich with meaning, generosity, and spirit. These aren’t holiday stories dressed up in costume; they’re grounded in lived experience, full of the small tensions, family contradictions, unexpected humor, and quiet personal victories that make celebrations feel so real. Together, they create a mosaic of what it truly means to belong—not to one tradition, but to the act of celebration itself.

Two stories in particular left a lasting impression. One, set during the Lunar New Year, captures the internal tug-of-war between tradition and selfhood with subtlety and power. The author weaves in family dynamics, festive detail, and quiet emotional stakes in a way that feels deeply personal and utterly universal. Another, centered around a cheeky Christmas/Hanukkah rivalry, turns enemies into allies through a hilarious and ultimately heartwarming tradition of “holiday judging.” It’s witty, warm, and surprisingly touching—reminding us how shared rituals can mend even the prickliest relationships.

In the editor’s note, Dahlia Adler writes about how holidays are about “feeling infused with the spirit of their joy.” That sentiment resonates throughout the book. For the Rest of Us is more than just a holiday read—it’s a reminder that every tradition, every story, every identity deserves space at the table.

Highly recommended—not just for teens, but for anyone who wants to read something warm, inclusive, and full of heart.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to impressed by how good Dahlia Adler is at curating YA story collections, and that she builds each one around a very different subject from the last.

This collection focuses on holidays, and almost all of the stories are terrific. There were maybe one or two stories here that weren’t great, but most of them are excellent, and every one of them engages the reader and makes you care about the characters.

The most successful stories here tell both a terrific personal story for their characters and also beautifully showcase the holiday that they feature.

My absolute favorite was Valentine’s Day, a wonderful and sweet tale of platonic love. Other standouts include: Lunar New Year, Holi, Nowruz, Passover, Diwali, and Adler’s own story about the Jewish holidays.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[A.R. Hellbender · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because one of my favorite authors has a story in it but I was amazed at how excellent the stories all were and how much nail biting conflict there was in each story even though they’re each very short and more low-stakes.
Several of the stories are also queer in addition to them all being ethnically diverse.

[Diamondback Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC Ebook

I love celebrating holidays so I saw the cover of this book, it seemed pretty interesting to me. I loved how I got to learn about holidays I don’t even celebrate because of my culture and religion. The only downside was that the chapters were like 20 pages long which is what I hate about adult books. This was still a good book.

[Gabbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s rare for me to like every single story in an anthology. I have my favorites — even in this one but I can’t say I disliked any story. I love that this book was written and to learn about all these different cultures and holidays.

[Eva B.]

A FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US!