My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

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My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories
edited by Stephanie Perkins
(Audio)

This book caught my eye at the library. Rainbow Rowell? David Levithan? Holly Black? I'm THERE! This is a collection of twelve holiday stories by different young adult fiction writers. The holidays covered range from Christmas to Hanukkah, Winter Solstice to New Year's Eve. And out of twelve stories, there's got to be at least one good one in there, right? Actually, there were nearly a dozen. Of course, there were a few I didn't like as much as others, and there were some readers of the audio book version of the stories I liked more than others. But on a whole, the book definitely got me into the spirit of the holidays and entertained me.

"Midnights" by Rainbow Rowell- Two characters keep dancing around getting together every year. Every year, Mags wishes whe were kissing Noel and every year Noel's got a different girl to kiss at midnight. But, through it all, Mags is his best friend, always looking out for him. Awww. Naturally, Mags gets her happy ending after a handful of years of this, but even though that's predictable, the story itself is written so engagingly and well, I didn't even notice. It was such a great story and set the bar for all that was to come!

"The Lady and the Fox" by Kelly Link- This one was mystical and confusing, but still rather nice. Miranda spends every Christmas at her godparents' place, where she slowly (year after year) notices Daniel. But she also notices a man who shows up whenever it snows. She is the only one who sees him and she obsesses about him (poor Daniel doesn't really have a chance). At first, I thought he was Daniel, traveling through time, back to her every Christmas. Instead, it turns out he's a fox under an enchantment Miranda means to break. I was guessing more than sitting back and enjoying this story.

"Angels in the Snow" by Matt De La Pena- Shy is tasked with cat sitting for one of his coworkers during Christmas break. He's poor and hungry and misses his family. He doesn't expect the upstairs neighbor, Haley, to barge in, asking for his help with a plumbing issue (and that's no metaphor). And he doesn't expect her to take an interest in him. She's gorgeous and kind (gives him food) and interesting... and she actually thinks he's interesting too. Awwww. It was lovely watching these two get to know each other, and the final scene is gorgeous.

"Polaris is Where You'll Find Me" by Jenny Han- This is one of those stories I liked less than others in the collection. The main character is a human who was raised at the North Pole. Her father is Santa now and she helps at the North Pole, but still never quite fits in with the elves. There's one she has her eye on for the ball, but he seems to prefer elves... or does he?

"It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown" by Stephanie Perkins- This was possibly my favorite story in the whole collection. Marigold lusts after the boy who works at the Christmas tree lot outside her apartment building... because his voice is perfect for a film she's working on. She finally works up the courage to approach him about it, but instead accidentally gets talked into buying a Christmas tree. She really wanted a tree... even though she couldn't afford one and even though there's nowhere to keep it in her apartment. North discovers this when he carries it home for her, at which point he starts to clean and reorganize her apartment both so it will fit and so they'll have a functional apartment again. She and her mom moved an entire house full of items into it when her father left them. Marigold and North have amazing chemistry, and their characters are outstanding. This was such a charming story.

"Your Temporary Santa" by David Levithan- Awww. What will he do for his boyfriend, Connor? He, a jewish boy, will dress up and play Santa just so that Connor's little sister will be able to experiece the magic of Christmas, even though their dad is gone. It's been a rough year. And it's not as easy task as it seemed at first. I loved this story but wished it wasn't so short!

"Krampuslauf" by Holly Black- This one is strange, but in a Holly Black strange kind of way. So it's all good. A handsome young man with an amazing costume shows up at the Krampuslauf, an event themed/based off of Krampus, the legendary opposite of Santa who punishes those who deserve it instead of bringing presents. She invites him to a party, not expecting him to show. She and her friends also invite the rich, snobby kids--one of whom was cheating on his girlfriend with one of her friends. They planned on teaching him a lesson. Luckily, that's the sort of thing Krampus is good at...

"What the Hell Have you Done, Sophie Roth?" by Gayle Forman- Sophie is a work-study student with not enough money to go home for the holidays at college. She is a fish out of water--a city girl in a rural college town full of wealthy families--so people often think she behave strangely. And strange is definitely going Christmas Caroling, even though she's jewish and doesn't own a crazy Christmas sweater. Luckily, she bumps into Russell who, apart from North in the "Charlie Brown" story, is my favorite love interest in this collection. He gives her a fantastic night to remember. I loved this story so very much, but the reader of it in the audio book colelction's voice was SO hard for me to listen to. OMG it was painful sometimes to listen to. The inflections and tone were so hard to take. Despite that, it was still a great story.

"Beer Buckts and Baby Jesus" by Myra Mcentire- Vaughn is a trouble-maker, and he "accidentally" burned down the church's barn, where all the Christmas pagent costumes and props were kept. So it's up to him, as his community service, to put on the show. Even with a snow storm and double-booked venue. Uh oh! This wasn't one of my favorites, but it was still a nice story full of interesting characters.

"Welcome to Christmas, CA" by Kiersten White- Huh. A new cook shows up in the diner Maria works at, a diner in the "Census-designated place" called Christmas. He seems not only good at his job, but too good. He knows what customers need, not just what they order. He comes up with new menu items. I thought he must be magical. There's a lot that Maria has to deal with--a step father who doesn't really fit into her family, a coworker who's pregnant with her abusive boyfriend's baby, a job she doesn't love and where she doesn't really get paid because it's her mom's place, and an overwhelming amount of Christmas cheesiness around her that she just wants to escape. Until Ben. *G* I liked this one a lot.

"Star of Bethlehem" by Ally Carter-Lydia needs out of her life. So she switches plane tickets with an exchange student named Hulda and accidentally assumes her identity in a tiny midwestern town. Her only thought is to get away from her life... but it finds her anyway. This wasn't one of my favorites, but I still really liked it.

"The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor- This story, set in a town with its own winter customs, is beautifully written. Even so, I didn't likeit as much as some of the others. But I did like that it was different and unique and sweet. The main character is a strong young woman who would rather be alone than paired up with the reverend who has buried many wives. When she prays to the old ones, one hears her cry and awakens... then falls for her because she is who she is. He gives her gifts, as part of the town's customs and then comes for her at the annual dance.

I loved such a diverse group of stories and characters. Really an amazing collection. I'm so glad I read it!