Book Review: My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. It might sound weird, but I love Christmas more than my birthday. My family makes a big deal out of Christmas – it’s this one big but intimate family event with lots of food, games, laughter, singing, and tons of gifts. I love Christmas and everything about it. Which was why I was very excited to read My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories. That, and the fact that Stephanie Perkins edited it and has a story in it.



A couple of reminders before you go off reading this gem:

1. The book is a collection of twelve short stories written by wonderful YA authors – Rainbow Rowell, Kelly Link, Matt de la Peña, Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins, David Levithan, Holly Black, Gayle Forman, Myra McEntire, Kiesten White, Ally Carter, and Laini Taylor. Emphasis on short, which makes character and plot development more difficult. If you are the type who hates insta-love, be wary. You have to be open-minded about the limitations of a short story and if you can’t, then you probably shouldn't read this.


2. Also, if you are the type who hates the general mushy vibe that holiday anthologies give off (in short, if you’re The Grinch), don’t read this! Holidays (not just Christmas) are supposed to be happy and positive, and yes, maybe a bit cheesy and mushy, so you can’t be too critical about it.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you what I think about each of the stories.

1. Midnights by Rainbow Rowell - 5 stars
Midnights is about two friends -- Mags and Noel -- who spends four consecutive New Year's Eve together at a common friend's party. Since that first New Year's Eve party in 2010 (or was it 2011? I'm not sure), they've become best friends. Noel always kisses someone when the clock strikes twelve and on the fourth party, well, you'll have to read what happens!

Rainbow Rowell sure knows how to make her readers smile. Midnights is the perfect holiday read, especially if like me, you love romance between friends. Noel is such a sweet, adorable character. I think Midnights was a great opener for a collection of short stories because it promised more awesomeness.

2. The Lady & The Fox by Kelly Link - 1 star
Unfortunately, the promise of awesomeness fizzled out after I *endured* this chapter. So this girl, Miranda, spends the holidays at her friend's house. Every Christmas, when it snows, she sees a man outside the house. But he always disappears, and you know what? I will not even try to explain what happened because I really did not understand the point of this story. There was no explanation why what happens, happens. My reaction while reading was: WHAT IS THIS? A FILLER? WHAT THE HECK AM I READING? So yeah, Kelly Link was the weakest (here comes the pun!) link.

3. Angels In The Snow by Matt de la Peña - 4 star
Shy is a starving (literally) NYU student who is cat-sitting on a very snowy Christmas day. The cat's owner has a neighbor, Haley, whose shower isn't working and she ends up showering in Shy's boss' apartment.

Shy (who I found out is also the main protagonist of Matt de la Pena's novel, The Living) is a very funny but also sad guy. What I love about this story is the way Shy and Haley converse -- it sounds so natural and real.

4. Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han - 3.5 stars
This one is about a girl named Natalie (Natty for short) who was adopted by Santa Claus when she was a baby so she now lives in the North Pole. She falls for this elf, Flynn, but elves are only meant for well, elves.

Is it just me or are all of Jenny Han's main characters whiny and annoying? Natty reminded me a lot of Belly because of her whining. Despite this, I did enjoy this story but the ending, if you can even call it an ending, really threw me off. I need mooooore.

5. It's A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins - 5 stars
Marigold needs the voice of this hot guy for an animation project. This guy, North, sells Christmas trees and Marigold ends up buying a Charlie Brown Christmas tree for Yule (winter solstice).

I have my biases towards Stephanie Perkins. For good reason. She really is a good writer and I love her books. But I think Perkins' strength lies in the conversations between the characters. I've always loved this about her books. Marigold and North bickered and told stories and basically talked their way through a busy and exhausting night. So in a way, what happened wasn't insta-love (also because Marigold has been eyeing out this guy for a month before they got formally introduced) but there is definitely instant attraction. Not surprisingly, I loved this chapter.

6. Your Temporary Santa David Levithan - 4 stars
This is about a Jewish boy who dresses up as Santa in an effort to make his boyfriend's sister believe in the magic of Christmas.

This was funny in the beginning. Then, slowly, it became sad. One minute I was laughing and then I was getting this bad feeling like something bad is about to happen.

Overall, this was a bittersweet story. I've always like David Levithan's works and this was a good one.

7. Krampuslauf by Holly Black - 5 stars
The book not only features stories set on Christmas or New Year's. Krampuslauf is an annual run joined by men dressed as Krampus -- a beast who, in contrast with Santa Claus, punishes children who had misbehaved. Hanna, the main character, goes to this celebration with her friends, Wren and Penny, to see if Penny's boyfriend is cheating on her. Hanna meets a man dressed as Krampus (or so she thinks) and a Krampusnacht miracle ensues.

This was surprisingly good. I didn't expect the fantasy element but that actually made it better. I like Hanna. And I like Krampus. Okay, that's probably a weird thing to say but this was very enjoyable. The best thing about this story? It reminds us that there is magic in the world and it's okay to imagine things.

8. What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman - 5 stars
Sophie Roth is big city. She studies in a small town college and feels out of place... until she meets Russell.

I doubt I'll ever dislike any of Gayle Forman's works. She's simply amazing. Sophie Roth has assumptions -- all misplaced of course. I love how she changed throughout the story.

9. Beer Buckets & Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire - 4.5 stars
Vaughn is a guy who never runs out of pranks and practical jokes and mischief. But then he almost sets fire on the local church, resulting to forty hours of community service. He ends up helping the church's annual Christmas production along with the pastor's daughter.

Oh, this was very cute! I appreciated the character development for Vaughn, and I loved how a guy like him is a perfect example of a Christmas miracle.

10. Welcome To Christmas, CA by Kiersten White - 4 stars
Christmas is a little town in California -- so little you won't see it on a map. But it's there and that's where Maria lives. She wants to leave but a new chef, who was hired by her mom (they have a Christmas-themed restaurant) starts whipping up magic meals that makes her rethink everything she knows about her town and family.

Kiersten White's chapter is very Christmas-y and I love it! It made me feel warm all over, made me want to have some hot choco and curl up in bed. I love how this shows you that on Christmas, everything feels better.

11. Star Of Bethlehem by Ally Carter - 5 stars
Lydia swaps plane tickets with an Icelandic stranger and ends up on an Oklahoma town, pretending to be the Icelandic girlfriend of a teenage cowboy. But Lydia has more secrets up her sleeve.

I loved this chapter because it was so much more than romance. It was more about family and loss and hope. It's definitely one of my favorites in this anthology.

12. The Girl Who Woke The Dreamer by Laini Taylor - 5 stars
Neve is from the Isle of Feathers. Advent is the time for betrothal and for 24 days, girls like Neve receive gifts from their suitors. On the 25th day, the pairs gather at the Hall. But Neve's courtship proves to be very different...

This is the only chapter with the alternating POVs, which was very impressive when you think about the limitations it had to face. Laini Taylor did a great job -- the world-building was perfect, the plot was perfect, the characters were truly fantastic. This story is not something you usually read about on the holidays but it was so well-written.

 

I've only read works written by Rainbow Rowell, Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins, David Levithan, and Gayle Forman so it was really good to read from more YA authors. I thought I'd be able to get a glimpse of their writing styles through this anthology and I did. I'm definitely excited to read something from Matt de la Peña, Holly Black, Ally Carter, and Laini Taylor.

The best thing about this book (besides the awesomeness that is Christmas) is the diversity. The characters are of different races, have different religions and beliefs, sexual orientation, and backgrounds. The holidays are not even the same; in most it's Christmas, but there's also New Year's, Krampusnacht, Advent, Yule, and others. So when I say that this is a book for everyone, it really is a book for everyone.

But while I love this book, I was also (unfairly) comparing it to Let It Snow which is my favorite Christmas anthology book. I was hoping that My True Love Gave to Me will be as great as Let It Snow. It carried so much promise because of that lineup of authors. But I guess it's also because there are so many authors that there's little space for each story to really grow. That's just me though. I still think this is an awesome book and a lovely companion this holiday season.

---

As a reader and reviewer, I aim to write fair and honest reviews, both on this site and on Goodreads. Please read my Review Policy here.