John Green, Maureen Johnson, & Lauren Myracle – Let it Snow
156. Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle (2008)
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Young Adult; Romance
Started: 17 December 2008
Finished: 18 December 2008
How long has it been on my TBR pile? First heard about it from John Green’s blog posts about how he and Maureen Johnson were having a name-crossing-off signing war, but it was Nymeth’s review that made me dive in less than six hours after I’d picked it up from the library.
Verdict? Return to the library, but look for my own copy on BookMooch
Three stories of snow,
love, friends, and relationships.
I have to say: AWWW!
Summary: Let it Snow is a series of three interconnected novellas, which center around the Waffle House of Gracetown, North Carolina, on the snowiest Christmas in 50 years. The story starts when a train carrying Jeb (a Gracetown local), Jubilee (on her way to spend Christmas with her grandparents in Florida, because her parents are in jail following a riot at the manufacturers of collectible ceramic Christmas villages), and fourteen cheerleaders (all named Amber or Madison) breaks down right across the interstate from the Waffle House.
In The Jubilee Express, by Maureen Johnson, Jubilee is the first one off the broken-down train, desparate to get away from the cheerleaders, and bemoaning the fact that her perfect Christmas with her boyfriend is ruined. When the cheerleaders follow her into the Waffle House, however, she takes off with a local named Stuart, who, despite the fact that he’s wearing plastic bags on his feet, is at least offering a warm and cheerleader-free place to spend the night.
In A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, by John Green, the head cashier at the Waffle House calls his friends to inform them of the sudden influx of cheerleaders. Tobin and JP are excited by this news; Duke (real name: Angie) is rather less so, but is willing to tag along provided she gets hash browns at the end of it. Unfortunately, getting to the Waffle House through a raging blizzard turns out to be more of an adventure than any of them had bargained for.
The last story, The Patron Saint of Pigs, concerns Jeb’s newly exed ex-girlfriend, Addie, as she deals with her breakup, her lost love, her crisis, and the absolutely crazy morning shift at Starbucks on the day after Christmas.
Review: What is that strange sensation? Ah yes, that must be the melting of the frozen cockles of my cold, dead heart. Because: Aww! Let it Snow was a wonderful quick little post-finals, pre-Christmas read; a perfect mix of humor and charm and realistic teenagers and snappy dialogue and romance that is heartwarming without being cloying or saccharine. I picked up this book because John Green contributed to it (I haven’t read anything by either of the other two authors), but I think I actually wound up liking Maureen Johnson’s story just a little bit more. The Jubilee Express is the most effective as a romance, while A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle is a caper at heart, with a bit of romance stirred in – both are great, but since romance what what I was in the mood for, The Jubilee Express gets the nudge. The Patron Saint of Pigs suffered a little bit, not because of the story or the writing, but because of the characters. While I think it’d be fun to hang out with the leads in the other two stories, Addie is the perfect representation of that insufferably self-absorbed drama queen “friend” that you just want to kick in the shins, and while I get that that (and her eventual redemption) was the point of the story, it was really, really hard for me to like her enough to care. All of the stories are well-written; the three authors’ styles flow well together, and I enjoyed the little bits of interconnection between the stories. I also really appreciated that this book managed to exude holiday spirit without it being specifically Christmas-centric, meaning that it would still be a good book to curl up and read on a snow day in January or February… or whenever you’re in the mood to have your heart a little bit gooey-ified. 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: If you need a break from the holiday rush, and a little sweet and fun holiday spirit, grab a fuzzy blanket, a mug of cocoa, and this book, because: Aww.
This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon
Other Reviews: Things Mean a Lot
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First Line: It was the night before Christmas.
Fyrefly's Book Blog 
Dang it. If I already wasn’t up to my ears in holiday books I would so go get this one. Sounds great!
That does look like a sweet book to curl up with right about now.
Natasha – Next year, then! Any good holiday reads to recommend?
bermudaonion – I don’t normally make an effort to do a lot of seasonally-appropriate reading, but I couldn’t pass this one up.
Awww, both you and Nymeth just reviewed this and now I want to have a snowy holiday! Of course that’s impossible in a tropical country where I live, so I think I’ll make do with shaved ice and looking for a copy of this book :)
Nice review! And I love the way you added “how long in the TBR pile” to your review…that’s an inspired addition!
“Awww” pretty much sums it up. It melted my cold dead heart too :P Maureen Johnson’s story was such an amazing surprised. I think I still liked John Green’s better because of the ending, both I really loved both. I must read more of her stuff.
And I’m with you on the last story…Angie was harder to sympathize with, and even though that was the point, she was still annoying :P
Oh, wow, I need this one. I’m putting it right on the wish list. I have a terrible author crush on John Green, after ONE book. He’s that awesome, don’t you think? In fact, today I checked out Looking for Alaska (again — didn’t get to it, last time). I want to own everything the man ever writes.
Shield of Three Lions arrived, today. Thank you so much!!! The recipe looks absolutely wonderful. Hubby is going to make it. I am hopeless in the kitchen.
Lightheaded – Hmm, no snowy holiday for you, but also no holiday travel through the evil phenomenon known as “wintery mix”. I’d call it a draw. String up some Christmas lights, grab your shaved ice, and this book, and see if you don’t get a little blizzard-y feeling anyways. :)
Michele – Thanks! The “How long has this been on my TBR pile?” has so far been pretty innocuous, but there are some books for which the answer is going to be pretty embarrassing.
Nymeth – I too need to get my hands on more of Maureen Johnson’s work. With the exception of John Green, I don’t read a lot of “straight-up” YA fiction – mostly YA fantasy or historical fiction – but I might have to make another exception!
Nancy – If you don’t already read John Green’s blog, you should definitely go check out this post – will make your crush all the stronger. Good to hear your book made it safely – I hope you enjoy it, and the cookies!
I just ordered this book; it looks like lots of fun. You should definitely check out Maureen Johnson’s other books, and her blog is always hilarious, too (maureenjohnson.blogspot.com).
jocelyn – Any suggestions on where to start with Maureen Johnson’s books?
I like julibee-diamond verymuch
They’re not series, except for Suite Scarlett, but only one book out there. So it really doesn’t matter; they’re all great. My personal favorites are probably Suite Scarlett, Girl at Sea, and the Bermudez Triangle, though.
jocelyn – Thanks for the recs, I’ll have to check some of those out!
I just finished this one and posted my own review. I totally agree with you!
Thanks for the recs on MJ’s books too. I definitely want to read more of her work now!
You have a really great review =) Herle’s mine if you don’t mind: http://lorxiebookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/08/let-it-snow-by-john-green-maureen.html
Have a nice day!!! =) advance Merry Christmas ;D
p.s. did you know the movie rights for this book has been bought?