Let It Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green
and Lauren Myracle
Publisher: Speak
Number of pages: 352
My copy: paperback, bought from National Bookstore
Sparkling white snowdrifts, beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks. Thanks to three of today’s bestselling teen authors–John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle–the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.
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The Philippines celebrates the longest Christmas season ever, with Christmas unofficially starting once the -ber months come along, and all the way to mid-January, as indicated in the Catholic Church’s Liturgical Calendar. I think it’s because we just really like celebrating Christmas here — and that’s also why I am posting this review weeks after Christmas season is over (but really, I was just too busy so I only got to write this review now).
I’ve been meaning to read Let It Snow for a while now, but every time I intended to get it, it was always out of stock. When the new version was released, I got my copy, and told myself I’ll make it my holiday read for 2012. I mean, when is the perfect time to read this but you know, Christmas? Let It Snow is a book with three holiday romances, with each story intersecting a little bit with the next. The first story, The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson, had main character Jubilee in a train on her way to her grandparents in Florida after her parents were jailed for a Flobie Village Convention riot. The train was traveling in the middle of a snowstorm which causes them to stop and get stranded in Gracetown, where she meets Stuart who gives her a home for the night. In John Green’s A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, Tobin, the Duke and JP were summoned from Tobin’s house where they were happily watching movies from Tobin’s dvd rack to a race to the Waffle House in the middle of a snowstorm, and it involved a game of Twister, lots of snow, twins and lots of running to get to the finish line. And finally, we meet Addie in The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle, who’s deep in her own drama on Christmas after she gets ditched by her ex-boyfriend on their make-up date. When her friends called her self-absorbed, she tries to prove them wrong by volunteering to pick up a teacup-sized pig for her best friend, which led to meeting the person responsible for her break-up, a pig buyer, as well as Jubilee and Tobin, where it all goes down in Gracetown’s local Starbucks.
Let It Snow was fun, if only because of the romantic Christmas-y vibe. I’ve read/listened to just one Maureen Johnson and I liked it enough, so I was expecting to fairly enjoy her story in the book. I did, except maybe I didn’t really buy how fast Jubilee “fell”. And I couldn’t help but think of what happens next for them after the story. But it was fun, and I liked Jubilee and the quirkiness of the family and the good back story each character had. John Green’s story was the highlight of the book, with the most quotable lines in all. It gave me the warm fuzzies that I expected, and I loved the entire adventure in the snow at night, the craziness and the conversations and how it all unfolded in the end. I saw what would happen in the end way before I got there, but even if it was a bit predictable in that sense, I still liked how it all unfolded and it left me smiling for the “happy middles” when I finished it. I’ve never read any Lauren Myracle, so I have no benchmark for this story. I liked it okay enough, although it didn’t have the same warm fuzzies that the first two stories had. I honestly felt sorry for Addie, but I also saw her friends’ points when they were talking to her. I liked it when the characters from the other stories finally showed up at the end, although I thought it fell a bit flat, like the characters from the other stories were not the same ones I’ve read earlier. The last story could have been stronger, I guess, or maybe it just paled in comparison because the first two stories were good.
So, Let It Snow wasn’t exactly the most amazing holiday read, but I enjoyed reading it. It wasn’t as fun and engaging as Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares (which I reread after reading this one), but Let It Snow was light and fun enough to read during the busyness of the holiday season. :)
Rating: [rating=3]
Other reviews:
Book Harbinger
Rabbitin
Yay for “happy middles”! I agree, the book is not amazing but it’s fun. It acted as my prelude to Dash and Lily’s, which I absolutely loved, by the way. Thanks for linking my review, Tina! :D
Oh yes, happy middles indeed! :) I bet if I read this in any other time besides Christmas, I wouldn’t have liked it as much. Now I need to find a holiday read for Christmas 2013! Hee.
Awesome review! I really looked forward to reading Let It Snow this holiday season but I never got around to it! I’m glad you liked it, it’s definitely on my holiday line-up for this year! And I adored Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares! So cute and how much fun would it be to do that in REALITY??? :)
Oh yes! Dash & Lily is such an adorable book! I’m almost tempted to try it in one bookstore here but I think someone will just take the notebook and never give it back to me. Haha. Thanks for the comment, Annie! :)
I agree – John Green’s was the best and Lauren Myracle’s was my least favorite. It was fun Christmas read though. I am still jealous of that edition you own. What a pretty cover.
I was lucky to get this edition when the bookstores here released it. The bookstores ran out of stock for this one (and other John Green books, for that matter) when it was closer to Christmas. :)
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