Thursday 19 December 2013

BOOK REVIEW: Let It Snow

BOOK REVIEW: Let It Snow 

by John Green , Maureen Johnson Lauren Myracle


Plot :

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 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 friendship.

Summary:

The Jubilee Express

This story follows teenager Jubilee Dougal, who has been forced to spend Christmas Eve with her grandparents after her parents are arrested for participating in a riot over a set of miniature decorative houses. While on the train ride to her grandparents' place in Florida, Jubilee meets Jeb, who is trying to contact his girlfriend back home but is unable to find cell phone service. 
She also runs into a group of cheerleaders, whom she attempts to distance herself from due to them annoying her. She grows further annoyed and exacerbated after the train gets stuck in a large snowstorm on Christmas Eve. While trying to call her boyfriend Noah, Jubilee runs into Stuart, a fellow teenager and employee of Target.
 After talking with him for a little while, he invites her to spend Christmas with him and his family. Jubilee agrees and is welcomed into his family's home. Stuart's mother comments that she hadn't seen Stuart this happy since before he discovered his girlfriend was cheating on him. Meanwhile Jubilee continues to tell Stuart about how wonderful Noah is, only to realize that Noah has not contacted her at all that night. She calls Noah up and confronts him.
 When Noah cannot respond to her queries over why he couldn't at least show some concern, she breaks up with him. Stuart comes to comfort Jubilee and the two kiss. Feeling guilty, Jubilee tries to sneak out and is discovered by Stuart, who tells her that everything will be OK and not to let Noah walk all over her. Her phone rings with a phone call from Noah, only for Jubilee to toss the phone into the snow and kisses Stuart, after which the two walk back to his home together.

A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle

The story  follows a boy Tobin and his friends, the Duke (a tomboy whose real name is Angie), and JP, who are watching movies at Tobin's home while his parents are out of town. They're lured to the local Waffle House by a phone call from their friend Keun, who tells them that a group of cheerleaders has entered the store and are practicing their routines, as well as requesting to play Twister. 
Thinking that traveling to the restaurant with the game would be a waste of time, Duke is initially reluctant to go but is persuaded by Tobin, who tells her that there will be hashbrowns. On the way to the Waffle House the trio's car crashes into a snow bank close to the restaurant, losing one of the tires. They forget the Twister game in the car and must go back for it at one point, but eventually make it to the Waffle House.
 Once inside, they run into the character of Jeb, who is still trying to reach his girlfriend. He asks them if they know anyone by the name of Addie. The three say no, and he asks them that if they see her, to tell her that he was coming and that she would know what he meant. Tobin then attempts and fails to make conversation with one of the cheerleaders. 
While he's returning to his seat, he notices that Duke is sitting outside on the sidewalk, clearly upset and crying. He goes outside to find out what is wrong, only for her to tell him that she's upset that nobody thinks of her as a girl and that she was jealous that he'd flirted with the cheerleader despite her feelings for him. Tobin tells her that he had been unaware of her feelings, but that he had also had a crush on her all along. The two then kiss.

The Patron Saint of Pigs

The third story follows a girl named Addie, who is depressed because she broke up with her boyfriend Jeb. The backstory of her relationship with Jeb is told, about how the two had instantly fallen for each other, but that Addie had kept trying to change Jeb. This resulted in Jeb feeling inferior and the two fighting. After one fight Addie had gotten drunk and made out with someone else, telling Jeb it was over. Upset, Jeb had taken a train to meet his family on an Indian reservation, unaware that Addie has sent him an email apologizing and hoping to work things out.
 When he didn't call or respond, Addie assumed that the relationship was over and cut her hair short and dyed it pink as a way to show that she wanted a change. She calls her friends over to talk, only for them to tell her that she can be self-absorbed and doesn't think of others. Disagreeing, she states that in the morning she will purchase a teacup pig as a gift for her friend Tegan while she is on break from work at Starbucks. The next morning at work Addie ends up getting caught in conversation with a woman who claims to be a "Christmas Angel" and says that people forget to do things for others when they get wrapped up in themselves. This causes her to forget to pick up the pig, who has been adopted by someone else. Upset, Addie manages to get the address of the woman who adopted the pig, who ends up being the woman she spoke to earlier. 
The woman informs Addie that she took the pig to teach her a lesson and gives Addie the pig. Addie then returns to work, where she sees Stuart and Jubilee and Tobin and Angie, the couples from the two previous stories. Tobin sees her name tag, which prompts him to tell her that he had met Jeb and that he had a message from her. After hearing the message Addie's spirits lift and suddenly Jeb walks into the store, having arrived shortly after the others. The two embrace, and then Jeb tells her about the train ride and his attempts to call her. As he tells her about various things he saw on the way, Tobin and Duke are drawn into the conversation as they recount that they had gone to see them at the Waffle House. Jubilee then realizes how everyone's lives have been brought together and how it had all changed for the better.

Review:

This is the perfect book to curl up with when it’s cold and snowing outside. It is one of those reads that just makes you want to snuggle up on your couch, a hot cocoa or tea in hand and enjoy the winterly atmosphere. In fact, the only thing missing for my perfect reading experience was the fireplace and snow.
I don’t want to give too much away about the stories themselves because I think it is best to go into this book unprepared and let yourself be surprised. I liked all three stories, but The Jubilee Express and A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle were slightly better than the last one, The Patron Saint of Pigs.
 The first one was the funniest. And all the stories were linked together like those movies, ‘Valentine Day’, ‘New Year’s Eve’ and ‘Love Actually’.

All in all, this short story collection is perfect for you if you are looking for a light and fun Christmas/winter read.

 The stories are sometimes hilarious, sometimes sweet, slightly crazy, full of lovable characters , provide you with a nice Christmas/winter feeling, make you laugh out loud and are just great to get lost in. I'm positive I'll pick this book up again some coming winter.

My rating for this light and funny book is : 
***1/2
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! 
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