Review: Let it snow

It's never a bad time for some Christmas cheer!! This anthology compiles stories from some of YA greatest writers teaching us valuable lessons in love. Although each author focused on different characters, all three stories combined in each short (about 100 pages each). Sadly, this factor made it easier to pick favorites and judge each writers ability to hold the anthology together.

4/5 The Jubilee Express
After Jubilee's parents get arrested during a Christmas Village sale event, she gets shipped off to spend the holidays with family members. But when her train breaks down, she must go find shelter somewhere else or most specifically with someone else. Will meeting the right guy on Christmas Eve break the spell her mean boyfriend has on her?

Despite of the grand events happening all in one night, this was the most credible story of all three. The characters were believable and the narration humorist enough to hook the reader. 

3/5 A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle
Stuck during a snow storm, three friends must go to a Waffle House to meet some cheerleaders for a twister game. Can a car breaking down, allow two of these friends to share their true feelings?

Frankly, this story was painful to read. One of the three friends was being treated like one of the guys despite of her desire to be seen as a girl. On top of that, she got coerced into going with her crush to see him pick up cheerleaders. During a snowstorm!! 

3/5 The Patron Saint of Pigs
A retelling of It's a Wonderful Life, about an angel helping Addie discover the true meaning of helping others.

The dialogue was realistic, but the story as a whole made little sense. Addie didn't really get a lesson from that angel, instead the angel's actions just seemed cruel and unnecessary.

Feature and Follow Friday : Fa la la

Parajunkee / Alison Can Read

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY

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Q: What is your favorite book with a winter world?

Little Women  by Louisa May Alcott



It's been my favorite for as long as I can remember. i have reread it five times so far, and sit each winter to watch the movie, always stopping before Jo declines Laurie's proposal.

What is your favorite winter book?

Review: The Gilrs

Poor girls. The world fattens them on the promise of love. How badly they need it,and how little most of them will ever get it. Evie's an introvert. Her parents divorce and mom's constant search for a lover, keeps Evie absent from home. It feels like fate when she meets Suzanne, a nineteen year old girl who loves her willingly for who she is. But being close to Suzanne means staying with Russell,a self-proclaimed genius, and his community of followers. How far will Evie go for love? Cults have always fascinated me. Although, to be fair, I didn't see the appeal any of them had in Russell. His speeches were kept short. And the girls pasts, particularly Suzanne's, were hidden from the reader. Unfortunately this stops us from caring for the girls the way Evie does, making us mostly fear for her, rather than sharing her enthusiasm. I hope the author had left that decision up to us.

Review: Walk two moons

Sal is an only child, living with her single dad. Her mom left them without saying a word. After a few days, her dad determined that she wasn't going to return. So when her best friend's Phoebe's own mother vanishes (she left a letter saying she needs a few days to sort some things out) Sal warns her ''She might not come back.'' But Phoebe insists that her mom wouldn't leave her, that she must have been abducted. And hence begins both girls investigation as Phoebe tries to figure out if certain notes can lead to her mom, and Sal tries to make peace with the incident that made her mom go away. 

To be honest, I did not feel inclined to read this book -- the premise seemed a bit confusing at first -- but I have to say I'm glad I did. The author made sure to give us sympathetic characters with well written backgrounds that make it easy to understand why they act certain ways. Mothers are often seen as the glue that holds families together, but they are also human beings with their ups and downs, and need time for themselves too.

Review: Anything you want

What would happen if Napoleon Dynamite had a child?

Dingus, life just ain't fair for Taco. Ever since his mom died from cancer, his dad took off leaving him in the care of his older brother Darius, who is an alcoholic. But before you think that this is a sad story -- I must warn you -- Taco is an extremely positive person. He has problems with the law, works nights, volunteers on the weekend, goes to school and is dealing with a pregnancy (he had no idea she could get pregnant unless they did it with that intention at heart) Can all these responsibilities turn Taco from teen to adult before the baby comes?

My first impression was to criticize Taco, I mean, which 17 year-old doesn't know about sex ed these days? But then I found that many underprivileged or religious towns don't teach it. Taco doesn't act like he's computer savvy, his innocence and naivety shines through the pages, his family is absent -- it makes perfect sense that he didn't know. 

All in all, I just wish the author hadn't thrown problem after problem on Taco. It would have allowed the story to breathe, and for his girlfriend's character to be more developed.