Saturday, December 25, 2010

Persy -- Let It Snow

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope everyone had a wonderful day (it's SNOWING where I live! Snow on Christmas is a miracle at my locale)!

Let It Snow is a Christmas anthology containing three stories by John Green (Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines), Maureen Johnson (Devilish, Key To The Golden Firebird), and Lauren Myracle (TTYL, Twelve). I originally read it in the Summer of last year, because I was reading all of Maureen Johnson's work (that woman is amazing) and I'd finished all her actual books. So this Christmas I decided to actually read it on Christmas.

Maureen Johnson's story, The Jubilee Express, is first. Jubilee (yes, she knows her name is strange, and no, she's not a stripper) was all set on going to her boyfriend Noah's Christmas smorgasborg, but then her parents get arrested (long story), so she's put on a train to Florida to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with her grandparents. But the train doesn't make it because of the snow storm, and Jubilee finds herself stranded at a Waffle House in a small town called Gracetown. In the Waffle House, she meets Stuart, who invites her home so she won't have to spend Christmas in a Waffle House with a gazillion cheerleaders (also long story). Hijinks ensue, and Jubilee wonders if she'll get a Merry Christmas after all.

Next is John Green's A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, in which Tobin's parents are stuck in Boston because they can't get a flight home. Tobin is all ready to spend his Christmas Eve having a James Bond marathon with two of his best friends, JP and the Duke (who is actually a girl). But then their other friend calls and tells them about all the cheerleaders in the Waffle House, and it becomes a mad race to get there with a crucial game of twister. A hilarious struggle ensues, during which Tobin realizes something about the Duke and the Duke gets more than just hash browns.

And last, but not least, comes Lauren Myracle's story, The Patron Saint of Pigs. Addie broke up with her boyfriend, Jeb, just a week ago, so her Christmas isn't going very well (she gets her hair chopped off and dyes it pink, for starters). While having a fight with her two friends (who both tactfully hint that Addie might be a bit self-centered), she promises to pick up her friend's new pet pig from the pet store the day after Christmas. But things start happening, and Addie forgets until it's almost too late, and the pig has disappeared. Does she really always make it about herself? Addie starts to have a Christmas epiphany...

Maureen Johnson's was, naturally, my favorite story (she's one of my favorite authors for a reason). Then, following the chronological order, I liked John Green's, and finally Lauren Myracle's. But what makes this anthology really great is how all three stories are connected. They all happen in the same place (Gracetown), and they're all the result of the train wreck.

Admittedly, it's a bit late for you to read this around Christmas, but it's still good no matter what time of year you read it. It's a lot of fun, the characters are smart and developed, and each story could stand by itself (though being together makes them even better). Whether it's Christmas or not, these are great stories.

Merry Christmas!
-Persy

P.S. I CANNOT get over the snow!

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