I went into reading “My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories”, a book comprised and edited by young adult author Stephanie Perkins, only knowing half of the authors, and I am ashamed to say that I did not expect much from a majority of that half. I can always appreciate the hard work of an author, because I also love to write, but I was embarrassingly unconfident in these particular individuals’ abilities to write great holiday stories. I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised at the excellence of this book.
Please forgive the sheer length of this review, as I intended to rate the book as a whole piece, a team effort of sorts. Though that is the easier option, I feel as if certain authors deserved more credit than I could give by only reviewing the book. Instead I will review the stories.
1. “Midnights” by Rainbow Rowell— Five Stars
I was already a big fan of Rowell before I read this book, because I’ve read her past work. This author was one of the rare ones that I knew would deliver in this book, and I am proud to say that I was not at all disappointed. Rowell’s story was clever, unique and as lovable as she is herself. I won’t give away too much, but I will say that it revolves around the changing relationships and conditions that young people are forced to face as they grow up, and includes a heartwarming, realistic love story that spans over the course of several New Year’s Eves.
2. “The Lady and the Fox” by Kelly Link— Five Stars
Before this book, I was not familiar with Link’s work, so I was not quite sure how this story would bode under my scrutiny. Fortunately, there was no need to worry, because I was enthralled by the story, and Link’s superior creativity and plot spinning, right off the bat. Awesome supernatural elements, an extremely interesting cast of characters and a great attention to detail pushed this story, about a magical boy that can only appear on Christmas Eve, into the spotlight.
3. “Angels in the Snow” by Matt de la Peña—Five Stars
De la Peña was another author that I had no prior knowledge of, which still amazes me. Though I had not heard of him until this book’s release, I have no problem saying that his story was my absolute favorite of the collection. I was taken aback by the sheer reality of his story and the sheer truthfulness of his characters (which will appear very ironic when you read it). I really enjoyed his lack of frills and the sweetness of the romance that he created in a minute amount of pages. Who knew that a story about a cat sitting college kid stranded at his boss’s apartment during the holidays could have such gravity?
4. “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me” by Jenny Han— Four Stars
I really wanted to love this story, both because of who wrote it and because of how cute the idea is, but there is just a part of me that screams madly any time I consider giving it a perfect rating. I love that Santa has an adopted daughter and that we get an inside scoop on the North Pole, but the limitedness of the romance really took it down a notch for me.
5. “It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown” by Stephanie Perkins— Five Stars
Let me just start this one off by saying that Stephanie Perkins is a genius with character complexity. I was expecting great things before even beginning this section, and like Rowell, Perkins did not disappoint. This was a story of finding things that you never knew that you were looking for and that you never knew that you needed, and of course the love story was sweet, because it’s Stephanie Perkins.
6. “Your Temporary Santa” by David Levithan— Five Stars
It takes someone pretty amazing to not pale in comparison when following up Stephanie Perkins, and that is definitely a description that I would put to Levithan after this story. I was intrigued by the LGBTQ element that I had pinpointed at the beginning of the story, as I am not often confronted with it in Young Adult literature. I was pleasantly surprised when I was expecting that element to be the main focus, but I was even more pleasantly surprised to learn that it was not. The main focus of this story was really about relationships as a whole and the effect that they have on us. It was really nice to see someone exploring that topic in such a fun, yet mature way.
7. “Krampulslauf” by Holly Black— Four Stars
I wasn’t expecting Holly Black to write a sappy story, and I didn’t mind that she would not be. The elements of magic and wonder that always characterize her stories and excite her fans were there, and that was enough. Yet, I still feel like she could have given me a tad bit more romance. If you don’t like romance as much as the supernatural, this is the story for you.
8. “What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?” by Gayle Forman— Five Stars
I’m about to break the hearts of faithful Gayle Forman fans everywhere, but I have to admit right off the bat that I do not like “If I Stay”. That being said, I am happy to say that this story was 10 times better than I think that story will ever be. I loved the cutesiness, the fact that the couple was mixed race, the fact that assumptions were always wrong and the fact that even more diversity was added by Sophie Roth being Jewish.
9. “Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus” by Myra Mcentire— Five Stars
I’ll admit that this story was probably the most cliché one in the book, but I happen to like the bad-boy-with-a-reason meets good–girl-with-a-big-heart story that is often retold. I have not had a lot of experience with Mcentire, but I definitely approve of her storytelling, based on this.
10. “Welcome to Christmas, Ca” by Kiersten White— Four Stars
I hate to put down a good story, but this one was definitely not a favorite of mine. It is sweet, has a great theme of not making assumptions about people before you know the real story and has a cute ending. It was definitely a good story, but was not quite as memorable to me as some of the others.
11. “Star of Bethlehem” by Ally Carter— Four Stars
I appreciated the air of mystery and the humor that Carter put into this story, yet I just did not see it measuring up to its competition in this book or some of the novels that I have enjoyed from her before. Full respect to her, though, for making such an interesting plot. Celebrities sure can bring the drama.
12. The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer” by Laini Taylor— Five Stars
I have not read any of Taylor’s past works, but I feel that this story will please her fans and critics alike. I was certainly pleased by the mix of supernatural elements, horror and love. This story was really the black sheep of the book with its intensity and lack of holiday cheer, yet it is a very entertaining and thrilling story that deserves a read.