Let It Snow

Book jacket:
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.


Comprised of three short stories by Maureen Johnson ("The Jubilee Express"), John Green ("A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle") and Lauren Myracle ("The Patron Saint of Pigs"), Let It Snow was a very cute holiday book.  The stories led around one town starting with the story of Jubliee and her parents getting arrested in a porcelain village riot through Tobin and his friends' quest to the Waffle House and cheerleaders and finally to Addie and her broken heart and Starbucks and a very tiny pig. Each story contains some element of the others and they are all wrapped up at the end in a nice little endings.

Oh, and he was dressed in tinfoil.  Head to toe. Even had a little tinfoil hat.  Like you do. p. 31

Maureen Johnson starts the book off with the story of Jubilee who is meant to spend Christmas Eve with her boyfriend, but ends up on a train to her grandparent's house when her parents are arrested in a fight over a china Christmas village.  Her train is delayed when it runs into a snowbank so Jubilee hops off and makes her way to a nearby Waffle House to escape a cheerleading squad.  There she meets Stuart and after a series of adventures, figures out what she has been missing in her life.  As always, Johnson's story is hilariously funny and so very cute.  This was my favorite of the three.

"God, I am always foiled by my love of hash browns!" p. 134

John Green picks up the narrative with the story of Tobin and his friends as they race to the Waffle House.  Tobin and his friend, JP, are lured to the Waffle House by a friend who works there with the thought of a cheerleading squad (yep) trapped inside.  His other friend, Duke who is a girl, tags along supposedly over her love of hash browns, but it quickly becomes apparent there is something more.  The only John Green I've read is An Abundance of Katherines and I wasn't impressed, but I really enjoyed his story.  It was very funny.  I might have to give some of his other books a go now.

Inside of jingle bells, I had suckage bells. Lovely. p.215

Lauren Myracle provides the last story and the wrap-up.  Addie is nursing a broken heart after she breaks up with her boyfriend.  And when he doesn't show up for a reconciliation talk, she assumes that he doesn't want her anymore.  But her friends and customers point out to her how dramatic and selfish she can be, Addie begins to take a closer look at herself and the reasons why he may not want her back.  I've only read a couple of books by her and while her story was cute, it was by no means the best.  Addie was the worst character in the book and, if this was a book just about her, I would have abandoned it.  She wasn't a strong enough character to end the book with and her story was the weakest.  I didn't get the character growth at all and the thing about the guardian angel was weird.

But despite that, it was a very cute book with lots of Christmas spirit and a little slapstick humor.  I would recommended it to those looking for a little holiday cheer.