Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances in Our Shared Shelf

Nov 19, 2021 Claire rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, short_stories, teen

I knew better and I read it anyway. Maureen Johnson’s story was cute but John Green is garbage. Just love him calling a real live in the world person a slut in his YA story for no reason. Charming.

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Dec 06, 2010 Lacey Louwagie rated it liked it

Shelves: youngadult, romance

I actually finished this book on Christmas Eve -- pretty fitting considering all the stories took place around Christmas! Since the book consisted of three novellas, it seems fair to rate each as its own entity before reviewing the book as a whole:

1. The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson: This was my favorite story of the bunch, which was unexpected, since I've never read anything by Maureen Johnson before and was more excited for the John Greene and (especially) Lauren Myracle pieces. The plot I actually finished this book on Christmas Eve -- pretty fitting considering all the stories took place around Christmas! Since the book consisted of three novellas, it seems fair to rate each as its own entity before reviewing the book as a whole:

1. The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson: This was my favorite story of the bunch, which was unexpected, since I've never read anything by Maureen Johnson before and was more excited for the John Greene and (especially) Lauren Myracle pieces. The plot centers around a girl who takes a train to her grandparents' place for Christmas, but the train gets stranded in a snowstorm and she ends up spending Christmas with strangers instead (although the family, fortuitously, includes a cute teenage boy, Stuart.) Stuart prompts Jubilee into rethinking her "perfect" relationship of one year with her boyfriend, Noah, who "squeezes her in" to his life amidst his various other goals, commitments, and achievements. The realization that the relationship wasn't really what she wanted was the strongest part of this story, much stronger than her budding romance with Stuart, as it delved into a deeper level of character development. **** (four stars)
2. Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Greene: This story involves a trio of friends--two guys and a girl, nicknamed "The Duke"--going to a waffle house in a blizzard due to the multitude of hot cheerleaders stranded there. The Duke, understandably, is often annoyed by the boys' obsession with the cheerleaders and with their general insensitivity toward girls. As the night progresses, the viewpoint character begins to realize that he's developing romantic feelings for the Duke, which scares him because he doesn't want to ruin their friendship. The exploration of romance blossoming out of friendship was compelling enough, but the vp character seemed to switch a little too quickly from, "No, of course I don't feel that way!" to "Wow, I really DO feel that way!" for it to feel totally believable or sustainable to me. It felt more like a case of unusual circumstances causing you to view someone in an unusual light rather than a surfacing of true, deep feelings. ***
3. The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle: Although this was the longest story in the book, it somehow felt the most "rushed"--there were a few errors and overall it had a "first-draft" feel. After learning that Lauren's publisher only allows about 3 months for her to finish novels, I can understand why. It didn't have the kind of laugh-out-loud humor present in her other books, and the main character's (Addie) sloooow realization that she was a little self-centered seemed heavy-handed. Still, this story DID have the best "romance" storyline, which involved Addie breaking up with her boyfriend of a year because he wasn't "demonstrative" enough with his affection, and she wanted "grand gestures." She realizes the mistake she's made, that a person's character means more than flashy shows of affection, and spends a good portion of the book trying to right the wrong of letting him go. A happy ending for all ensues. ***

Overall, this was a fun read, definitely best enjoyed during blizzards. The way all three stories interconnected felt a little contrived, but that doesn't stop them from each being decent stories in their own right. And, there is nothing in this book that justifies throwing 5 copies of it away, a story Jenna shared with me from Maureen Johnson's blog. ...more

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Dec 08, 2019 Sarah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, american-fiction, young-adult-fiction, shortstories, christmasbooks-and-winter

This book contains a set of three interlocking short stories (each one multiple chapters, so maybe novellas?), written by three different authors (including John Green), about a bunch of teenagers in love - and stranded in a snowstorm - on Christmas. The love stories are all really sweet, slow-burning, and beautiful, and thus, worth reading, and on this front, the book does a much, much better job than Netflix. The book also includes an indigenous character, even if the initial description of hi ...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Heather rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult

Cute and clever, if you are a young adult. It was a bit too youth-oriented for me as an almost 35-year-old. The three short stories by the three different author weave the characters and plot together, and at the end of the book all of the characters kind of come together and it's pretty cute. I would have really liked it when I was younger, I think. The voices of the three authors worked well together (i.e., they were similar to one another). Glad to have read another book by John Green but hop ...more

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Feb 26, 2015 Dana Berglund rated it really liked it

Shelves: youngadult, shortstories

Cute interlocking stories all set during a Christmas snowstorm in a small town. Though I was a little confused by the myriad of characters running around Starbucks at the end, it was mostly satisfying. 3.5 stars.

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Jan 02, 2015 Erin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015

I really liked parts of this book, but others made want to stop reading. In particular, the narrator in the third story was unbearably obnoxious and whiny, which ended the book on a low note.

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