Merry Christmas! Even though I'm almost 30 (yikes) when Christmas Day comes around I still get giddy. At this point it's not so much about presents as it is about eating a super sugary pancake breakfast, Facetime-ing with family, and just having a snuggle up by the fire kind of day. Reading Let It Snow definitely sparked the tiny ember that is "Christmas Fever", even if was a little bit cheesy.
Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson
Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars
The Jubilee Express - Maureen Johnson
Synopsis:
Jubilee, named after a collector's piece from a Flobie Village (Santa's Village type decorations), is on her way to Florida on Christmas Eve to stay with her grandparents. Her parents are spending the holiday in jail after a kerfluffle with some newly released, limited edition Flobie pieces. However, on her way to Florida, Juliblee's train is stuck in a storm (literally stopped by snow), in a tiny town called Gracetown. When the train looks like it's going to be stuck for the night, Jubilee jumps off of the train and treks it to a waffle house. That's when her Christmas adventure begins.
Review:
Do you ever read a book and continually say, "Hey, you're making kind a stupid decision!" over and over again? That was me with Jubilee. Get off the train? Dumb. Walk to a strange guy's house? Dumber. Stomp on the top of a frozen creek because you're kind of pissed... C'mon. However, things do work out for her in the end (no pneunomia or axe murders involved), and while it was simultaneously predictable and improbable, it is sort of heart warming and endearing.
A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle - John Green
Synopsis:
Three friends: Tobin, JP, and Angie (The Duke), are stuck inside during a snowstorm watching a James Bond marathon on the night before Christmas when Tobin receives a call from their friend that works at the waffle house. He was calling with news that a group of cheerleaders had been on the train that got stuck in Gracetown and were spending the night at the waffle house. The only catch is the three friends have to arrive before anyone else does, otherwise they get locked out.
Review:
This is why parents are terrified to leave their kids home alone. Going out into the worst snow storm of the century for no reason? Am I 40? This is crazy. Putting aside my "Oh my god you're gonna die at 17!" knee-jerk reaction, this was a pretty cute story. Being in the same vicinity as a bunch of cheerleaders is about how you would imagine (but are we really doing the cheerleaders are bad trope?), but it's sort of a sweet love story about being brave and falling in love with your best friend.
The Patron Saint of Pigs - Lauren Myracle
Synopsis:
Addie just recently broke up with her boyfriend of (almost) a year after she kissed another guy at a party. As she's wallowing in self pity, her friend needs her to pick up a tiny tea cup pig that she got for Christmas, but Addie keeps running into one obstacle after another, and she might be unable to deliver on her promise, and risk losing her friendship with her best friends.
Review:
With this story, I feel like the main character, Addie, doesn't come off as self absorbed until her friend tells her she's being selfish and self absorbed. Then gradually throughout the story, everyone keeps telling her she's self absorbed, she starts to agree with them and turns into a "better person". My problem is her "revelation" is underwhelming. She didn't seem like she was acting extraordinarily callus to me, so when she made the character transition, there wasn't a huge change for me. And I wasn't sold on the whole "I got drunk and cheated on you, but I still love you so we should stay together" story line. Ugh, teenagers.
Book Club Discussion:
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