Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Three masters of the teen novel come together and create a holiday wealth of great writing.   The book begins with Maureen Johnson’s story where a girl named Jubilee (yes, Jubilee) is forced to travel on Christmas Eve on a train into a blizzard because her parents are arrested for participating in a riot at a Christmas store.  Jubilee’s train is stopped by the snow, she finds herself in a Waffle House, and then is rescued by a quite nice boy who is not impressed by the cheerleaders who were on Jubilee’s train.  John Green’s story comes next and we see the same storm from a different perspective as three friends (two boys and a girl) enter the blizzard to make their way to the Waffle House lured by the promise of cheerleaders and hash browns.  The book finishes with Lauren Myracle’s story that mainly takes place the day after the storm and we see Addie trying to move ahead with her life after she cheated on her boyfriend and he didn’t come to Starbucks on Christmas Eve to make up.  The reader by this point knows who her boyfriend is and the backstory of his dismal Christmas, the joy is in watching Addie discover herself and the truth.

The writing here is pure perfection.  Jubilee is a wonderful, cynical protagonist who has a boyfriend that she adores but who is not worthy of her.  Readers will enjoy the chemistry between Jubilee and her rescuer far before the pair realize what they have.  John Green’s three characters are written in his classic style with lots of snarkiness and inside jokes.  As with all of his characters, readers will wish they had them as friends or that they were clever enough to pun like them.  The final story loses the cynicism and snark and pulls all of the stories together.  The self-discovery of Addie will keep readers entranced and the mystical qualities add a real sense of Christmas miracles to the entire book.

Highly recommended for teens looking for good romance paired with great writing.  A perfect Christmas gift for teen girls on your list.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.