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Let it Snow

by John Green (Goodreads Author), Maureen Johnson (Goodreads Author), Lauren Myracle

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 12,175 ratings · 1,427 reviews

The New York Times bestseller!

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...more

Paperback, 352 pages

Published October 2nd 2008 by Speak (first published October 1st 2008)

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Aug 09, 2008 nicole j. wroblewski rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, holiday

Pretty much what you'd expect. Light, fun, festive. Had the feel of an ABC Family made-for-tv holiday special (which I love!), but funnier. And quirkier. Because John Green and Maureen Johnson are funny and quirky. I like all three authors, but side-to-side with Johnson and Green, Myracle feels like the third wheel in this collection of interconnected stories. Leaving her to write the final story, to tie everything together, wasn't the strongest move. It was nice to see all the characters from a...more Pretty much what you'd expect. Light, fun, festive. Had the feel of an ABC Family made-for-tv holiday special (which I love!), but funnier. And quirkier. Because John Green and Maureen Johnson are funny and quirky. I like all three authors, but side-to-side with Johnson and Green, Myracle feels like the third wheel in this collection of interconnected stories. Leaving her to write the final story, to tie everything together, wasn't the strongest move. It was nice to see all the characters from all three stories come together, but was a lot weaker than if the order of storytelling had been reversed. The appearances of Johnson and Green's characters throughout Myracle's story were the only parts of her piece that I didn't mind... but even those made me moan a little because her narrator quoting Johnson and Green's characters, characters I actually liked, and that, when written by Johnson and Green sound like actual people, came across like bad acting from a bimbo actress. That was disappointing because I very much like the Eleven/Twelve/Thirteen series by her, but reading this made me realize that I'm probably not capable of liking characters she writes that are supposed to be beyond the age of thirteen. I cringed reading most of it. It was just lame, and all of the shallow, meaningless things she says about Stuart (one of Johnson's characters) being Jewish just left me feeling sorry for her.

Anyway, I'm getting caught in the negatives (which is what happens when you leave the worst for last, Penguin!), but overall this is a sweet, enjoyable book with an unfortunate ending. Johnson and Green are standout authors in their genre. They write characters that sound like people I actually know and want to hang out with. Johnson, in particular, was laugh out loud funny and Green made something really fun happen with a car for the third time (or possibly fourth, but I haven't read Finding Alaska, so I don't know). Bravo! I'll be singing it's praises to teens the city over this winter.(less)

16 likes · like · see review

Dec 06, 2010 Janina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, romance, winter-books, on-my-shelf, contemporary, read-in-2010, comfort-reads, just-hilarious, pure-entertainment

This is the perfect book to curl up with when it’s cold and snowing outside. It is one of those reads that just makes you want to snuggle up on your couch, a hot cocoa or tea in hand and enjoy the winterly atmosphere. In fact, the only thing missing for my perfect reading experience was the fireplace ;).

I don’t want to give too much away about the stories themselves because I think it is best to go into this book unprepared and let yourself be surprised. I liked all three stories, but The Jubile...more

24 likes · like · see review

Dec 04, 2010 oliviasbooks rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: stays-with-me, young-adult-fiction, short-stories-essays, love-story-romance, read-2009, christmas-winter, multiple-povs-letters, read-2010, favorites

Three snowy stories by different authors melted into a satisfying whole. Yes, I think, I like it! I have finished the first story "Jubilee Line" by Maureen Johnson (great style, by the way. Funny, a little crazy, a little romantic.) and started the second one, "Cheertastic Christmas Miracle" by John Green. After a few pages I thought: "Wait, another Waffle House in the middle of nowhere? These guys know a heartbroken boy named Stuart Weintraub? Ha, this is the protagonist from story one!" The st...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen for TeensReadToo.com

I'm a sucker for romance any time of the year, but something about the holiday season makes me want to curl up in a nice blanket, drink hot chocolate, and read love stories. LET IT SNOW is the perfect holiday read.

Maureen Johnson starts things off with THE JUBILEE EXPRESS, in which Jubliee (no, not a stripper, but named for a piece in her mother's collection of the Flobie Santa Village) finds herself stranded on a train in Gra...more

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Dec 23, 2008 Shelley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: christmas, youth

It started off strong and got progressively weaker. Maureen Johnson was fun, John Green all right and Lauren Myracle dismal.

Maureen Johnson's story was super quirky and giggly and slightly ridiculous (in a good way). I liked Jubilee a lot, crazy as she was, and was amused to see a lot of my mother in Stuart's. It was just cheery, fun Christmas fluff.

John Green's kind of drove me nuts. I wanted to like it more, but I guess I am not that adventurous, because I kept thinking that the characters wer...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Wenn ihr das perfekte Winterzeit-Buch sucht, dann habt ihr es mit Let it snow gefunden! Drei Autoren haben an diesem Buch mitgeschrieben, so dass es sich eigentlich um eine Sammlung von 3 Geschichten handelt, die aber alle miteinander in Verbindung stehen.

Es dreht sich alles um ein und denselben Ort, besonders aber um das Waffel-Haus und den Starbucks, den es dort gibt, dies sind die Haupt-Schauplätze. Jede Geschichte verfügt zudem über einen anderen Protagonisten, die alle einzigartig und echt...more
Wenn ihr das perfekte Winterzeit-Buch sucht, dann habt ihr es mit Let it snow gefunden! Drei Autoren haben an diesem Buch mitgeschrieben, so dass es sich eigentlich um eine Sammlung von 3 Geschichten handelt, die aber alle miteinander in Verbindung stehen.

Es dreht sich alles um ein und denselben Ort, besonders aber um das Waffel-Haus und den Starbucks, den es dort gibt, dies sind die Haupt-Schauplätze. Jede Geschichte verfügt zudem über einen anderen Protagonisten, die alle einzigartig und echt sympathisch sind.

In der ersten Geschichte von Maureen Johnson geht es um Jubilee, die über Weihnachten gezwungenermaßen zu ihren Großeltern muss (der Grund dafür ist so blöd, dass er schon wieder komisch ist) und sich darüber überhaupt nicht freut, weil sie so nicht ihren Freund sehen kann. Ihr Zug bleibt im Schneesturm stecken und so macht sie sich auf zum Waffel-Haus und erlebt da so einiges, was echt witzig ist. Sie lernt dort auch einen Jungen kennen, mit dem sie mehr gemeinsam hat, als sie glaubt. Als Einstieg in das Buch ist Jubilees Geschichte wirklich klasse. Man hat viel zu lachen, vor allem über die Situationskomik und Jubilees Sarkasmus. Sie ist aber auch schön romantisch und herzerwärmend :).

Die zweite Geschichte ist von John Green und dreht sich um Tobin und zwei seiner Freunde den "Duke", wie Angie wegen einer bestimmen Sache genannt wird und JP. Sie machen sich auf zum Waffel Haus, denn da wimmelt es nur so von Cheerleadern (die zusammen mit Jubilee aus Geschichte Nummer Eins dort "gestrandet" sind). Auf dieser kleinen, aber abenteuerlichen Reise müssen sie sich eingestehen, dass auch Freundschaften eine andere Richtung einschlagen können und der Duke ja eigentlich auch nur ein Mädchen ist. Ich liebe John Greens Humor und seine Geschichte war mir die liebste von allen. Sie ist witzig, romantisch, spannend und habe ich witzig schon erwähnt? Ich hatte so viel Spaß!

Lauren Myracle erzählt in Geschichte drei von Addie, die man aus den anderen beiden Geschichten von Namen her schon kennt und deren Ex-Freund man ebenfalls schon kennengelernt hat. Addie ist unglücklich und vergisst vor lauter Kummer die Leute um sich herum. In ihrer Geschichte geht es darum, wie sie lernt, sich nicht immer selbst in den Mittelpunkt zu stellen und sich zu ändern. Hier lacht man vielleicht nicht ganz so viel wie in den anderen beiden Teilen, aber dennoch ist auch diese Geschichte mit viel Liebe erzählt und hat auch den "Ooooh, wie süüüüß!" Effekt, wie er auch in den anderen beiden vorkommt.

Let it snow ist bei weitem kein tiefgehendes Buch und die Charaktere haben nicht lange Zeit sich zu entfalten, aber im Zusammenspiel ergeben sie dennoch eine wirklich tolle Erzählung, die sowohl romantisch als auch spannend und vor allem super witzig ist! Aus jeder der drei Geschichten kann man etwas mitnehmen und sei es nur ein Gefühl, dass man gerade etwas wirklich Schönes gelesen hat. Die Autoren haben sie ganz geschickt miteinander verwoben, sodass am Ende alle Charaktere der drei Geschichten aufeinandertreffen und für ein tolles Ende sorgen.

FAZIT
Let it snow ist genau das richtige Buch für kalte Tage. Macht es euch mit einer Tasse Tee in eurem Sessel gemütlich und lasst euch von diesem Buch verzaubern und zum Lachen bringen. Man kann den Schnee fast riechen und die Glöckchen klingeln hören, wenn man ganz in das Buch vertieft ist... ein durch und durch schönes, romantisches und herzerwärmendes Buch! :)

ENGLISCH- PANCAKE

Let it snow bekommt einen Fortgeschrittenen-Pancake! Um wirklich alle Wortspiele, Witze und bestimmte Situationen verstehen zu können, ist ein recht großes Vokabular gefragt. Ansonsten sind die Sätze überschaubar groß. :) (less)

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Dec 26, 2008 Joanne rated it 2 of 5 stars

Looking for Alaska is popular with my students, and I've enjoyed everything I've read by John Green, so I bought this for my classroom library.

The first story was pretty good: girl-meets-boy-in-a-blizzard. The boy was very sweet. I would definitely seek out more of Maureen Johnson's work for my classroom.

The John Green story was familiar: nerdy guy's adventures with his brainy (in this case, Asian) friend and their one-of-the-boys, liable-to-say-anything platonic girl pal.

The last story seemed...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Aaron Vincent rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, contemporary-ya

3 star-rating to Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson.
The first 'book' I read from Maureen Johnson. It wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. I find Maureen's tweets and blog posts a great deal funnier than she was in this. It's cute and made me felt the merriment of the holiday season. Did it excite me to read more from her? Not really. But I won't mind reading them if I have nothing else to read.

4 star-rating to A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green.
John Green is in his usual formula...more

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Dec 18, 2008 Loryn rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young Adults, Young at Heart

Shelves: read-it-and-loved-it, young-adult-ya

I read this upon a recommendation from a co-worker and I LOVED it. It was just what I needed. I normally stay away from Christmas themed books, this just might be one of the first that I've read, but the romance in "Let it Snow" makes it hard to not fall in love with this book.

By far, my favorite of the three stories is "Jubilee Express" by Maureen Johnson. It has a great story line as well as a great romance. I liked this story so much, I am planning on reading more of her work because of it.

Jo...more

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Jan 05, 2009 Lizzie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, 2009, new-stuff

I started reading this on Christmas Eve and finished on the last night of holiday break, so, you know, beat that. When I told Meg I received it as a Christmas present, she told me: "You can rate it on two scales: actual scale, and Christmas scale." Good thinking, except actually both scales had the same denominator dragging it down for me, which is the last story, which was a dud for me in both actualness and Christmasness.

The first two stories are really nice, Maureen Johnson's lead has a prett...more I started reading this on Christmas Eve and finished on the last night of holiday break, so, you know, beat that. When I told Meg I received it as a Christmas present, she told me: "You can rate it on two scales: actual scale, and Christmas scale." Good thinking, except actually both scales had the same denominator dragging it down for me, which is the last story, which was a dud for me in both actualness and Christmasness.

The first two stories are really nice, Maureen Johnson's lead has a pretty good center. Quirk enough for a holiday romantic comedy, romance enough but just enough, a plot contrivance that's fun to explore. I believe it's John Green's story that talks about the sustained thrill of extreme weather situations, and both of these stories play around in that feeling in a fun way. I like Maureen Johnson's take on it, and I like her character's little fable of having a bad boyfriend and realizing it for the first time. It felt like a unique little lump, an appropriate lesson, to put into a charming romance trilogy about Christmas blizzards.

John Green does buddy comradery better than probably any other teen author, which is a good credential. He also seems to have a thing for the frantic ragtag journey, fueled with the slightly imagined and slightly testosterone-ish stakes of teenagers deciding to pursue something just for awesome's sake. That's fun to read about when it's kids in a comic story, and also it's what everyone tries to remember to want in real life. (Even if you can't do it a lot, I think wanting to is worthwhile.) Also his story made me order waffles at a diner one day.

But I just don't think Lauren Myracle's a writer for me. Based on this story, she lacks a warmth and substance that other authors value and I care about as a reader. (Even as a reader of romantic comedies for teenagers.) I knew I didn't like the story in the first chapter and it was so long and I kind of wanted to quit. The character's an asshole to read about, and the Christmas Lesson that is drilled into her is given total Disney treatment and has no actual bearing on the outcome, or actual change. The developments of the plot were a mess all over. What really drove me insane, though, was a reliance on (a personal peeve) pop-culture-dropping brand names everyfuckingwhere. It has a place, in jokes and in irony and in atmosphere, but as sheer CW-network materialism I would please not. There's something about that level of specificity that distracts from all the worth of any writing, and the constant 2008 commercial references make it feel like the story's depreciating in value every second. Also, it was the least Christmassy. The pig was ok.(less)

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Dec 22, 2008 Claudia rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who loves to read and laugh

Recommended to Claudia by: Bailey lent me her own copy! :)

Shelves: ya-books

One train wreck, one cheer squad, one snowy Christmas in a small NC town. A Waffle House, a Starbucks, a tea-cup pig...Three couples who must learn to trust others and themselves. Strangers, best friends, soulmates. Everyone has lessons to learn in the snow...

I laughed out loud as the Duke and Tobin slid down the snowy hill on the Twister plastic sheet, all in a desperate attempt to get to the Waffle House, full of cheerleaders, before the demented twins and the keg-carrying college boys. I LOVE...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Elina Zalkalne rated it 2 of 5 stars

Sigh. Half of me wants to scream WORST BOOK EVER. UGH. BLEHH. MNEHH. AAARGHHH MY BRAIN IS BLEEDING. The other half is thinking: John Green, you absolute motherfucking genius. You managed to salvage this utter arse-crap. Well. Fucking. Done.
As much as I hate chick-lit [and this is beyond chick-lit. it's like 300 pages of mushy, smoochy, splodge of chick-lit paradise], I read this because...oh fuck it, it's Xmas. I could barely get through the first of the 3 stories. It killed my brain cells, I sw...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Kaethe added it · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, age-ya, contemporary, fiction, feminism, friendship, humor, movies, nc, romance, strong-smart-female-protagonist, train, up-all-night, usa, xmas

This book I picked up to share with Veronica. We're both Maureen Johnson fans (as is Tash), but Veronica has been all about the Nerdfighting lately. And, well, I've been meaning to get to it forever.

So, the book starts with Maureen Johnson's tale The Jubilee Express. Our heroine's Christmas has been thrown into an uproar, but despite the craziness, she rolls with it. And because her emotional reactions remain so firmly grounded, through the wackiness, it turns out to be a sweet and believable lo...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Jamie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved it. I've never read a book with separate stories before so this was something new and I'm glad I started off with this one. It's adorable, I loved all the stories, each story stuck to me differently. What I loved about this book is that it's fast-paced and laugh out loud funny. It's definitely a worthwhile read during the holidays.

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Dec 23, 2012 Jake Rideout rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have been holding onto this book since 2009, intending to read it during the Christmas season for the last 4 years. IT IS FINALLY HAPPENING.

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Dec 31, 2012 Alice Ridge rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own

I've read this book since I came home from school and I haven't been able to put it down. It has such a feel good ending. I couldn't stop smiling throughout the last chapter. I'm in agreement with the other reviews, that Lauren Myracle's story was not as well written as the other two's. I found that the slowest story but I still enjoyed it all the same. I've just been completely immersed in this book. It's definitely put me in a Christmas mood.

2nd time reading this: I still loved it just as muc...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a collection of short stories from three prominent young adult authors. John Green, the author of Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines, and Looking for Alaska; Maureen Johnson, author of The Key to the Golden Firebird, The Bermudez Triangle, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Devilish, Girl at Sea, and Suite Scarlett; and Lauren Myracle author of Rhymes with Witches, TTYL, and Twelve.

Each author wrote a short story about the events during a blizzard in a small town and the characters who foun...more This was a collection of short stories from three prominent young adult authors. John Green, the author of Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines, and Looking for Alaska; Maureen Johnson, author of The Key to the Golden Firebird, The Bermudez Triangle, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Devilish, Girl at Sea, and Suite Scarlett; and Lauren Myracle author of Rhymes with Witches, TTYL, and Twelve.

Each author wrote a short story about the events during a blizzard in a small town and the characters who found love during this time. I know it sounds a little mushy, but it was actually very good!

In the first story, we meet Jubilee whose parents are temporarily detained (funny story but I'm not spoiling it here), as she is headed to spend Christmas with her grandparents when the snow causes the train she is on to be stopped. Enter Jeb, who is trying desperately to reach his ex-girlfriend. Behind Jeb enters 14 cheerleaders...Jubilee's only escape is a nearby Waffle House, and what she finds there will change her life.

Story #2: Keun works at Waffle House and by some kind of Christmas miracle 14 cheerleaders enter in the middle of a freak snow storm. Being the good friend that he is, Keun calls his best friends Tobin, JP, and Duke (who happens to be a girl though no one seems to notice) and tells them to brave the blizzard and get to the Waffle House immediately! It won't be easy in a gillion feet of snow, but the trio sets out on a trip that will forever alter the dyamics of their friendship.

The final story was written by Lauren Myracle, and I can't lie, I was not excited to get to it at all. After reading (and immensely disliking) Rhymes with Witches, I had placed Ms. Myracle on my mental "authors to avoid" list. I was happy to realize I had done this prematurely. The third story is told from Addie's point of view. Addie is Jeb's ex-girlfriend and since he didn't show up at the Starbucks (where they had their first kiss and where she now works) to discuss their getting back together, Addie thinks it is over for good. In a story that includes a teacup pig, pink hair, and a Christmas angel, all three stories come together with a big bow on top, just like a Christmas story should!
(less)

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Mar 18, 2009 Eli rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

As the title indicates, this is a wintertime novel set in a small Virginia town during the Christmas holiday. Three leading teen authors collaborate to write this seemingly independent though ultimately intertwined tale of the trials and tribulations of finding, losing, and rediscovering love in the both the most obvious and unexpected places. Maureen Johnson's "The Jubilee Express" has Jubilee Dougal ("not a stripper" as finds herself too frequently explaining) on a train to her grandparents' f...more

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Feb 11, 2009 Miami University Libraries rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: eli, young-adult

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Feb 04, 2009 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Popular young adult authors John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle have teamed up to write a trio of feel-good stories all centered around a Christmas eve snowstorm in Gracetown, NC. In the first story, Myracle’s Jubilee Express, Jubilee finds herself heading to Florida via train after her parents get incarcerated for a shopping brawl. When a snowstorm derails the train, she ends up at an all-night waffle house in the company of a stranger who is definitely not her boyfriend. Green’s Che...more

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Jan 28, 2009 Nian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

Myracle's writing was not up to her usual standards here. Poor dialogue, clichéd pre-Christmas breakup and post-Christmas reconciliation, and a character that would have put a stereotypical cheerleader to shame in regards of her brain (or lack of, in this case.) Addie—a name I am very fond of, just different spelling—was a complete nut. Half the time, she was too forced. The other half, she was too chipper. I'm no pessimist, but her forced chirpiness was too much. I just don't think short storie...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: christmas, youngadult

Three of today's top YA authors have written intertwining novellas set on Christmas in a small town in North Carolina. A Waffle House figures big, and so does Starbucks, a train, a blizzard, and a teacup pig. I can't say any more without ruining things, but this book is a Christmas gift in itself: funny and well-written, not to mention romantic, all three are equally strong!

Reread, Christmas 2012: Love this book every time! I think The Jubilee Express might be my favorite, by a narrow margin.

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Dec 10, 2008 Katy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teen-lit romance fans

Recommended to Katy by: Britty

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "Let it Snow" is a collection of three holiday romances written by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. The three stories are all written during the same 4 day time period, in the same city, and are concerned with roughly the same people.
I LOVED Green's and Johnson's stories-- I'll probably go back and reread those ones. I liked Johnson's because it was a) romantic and b)It was seriously something I could find in a Gilmore Girl episode, which I loved. I loved Johnson's voice and I l...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Sami rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book contains 3 stories that intertwine with each other. I enjoyed reading the different stories because they were written by three different authors and it was interesting reading how each one's writing skills differed. All these stories take place in Gracetown during a huge snow storm. The Jubilee Express, one of the stories, is about a girl Jubilee who is forced to spend Christmas with her grandparents. She ends up breaking up with her boyfriend and falls in love with this boy Stuart. A...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Dave Logghe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the last of John Green's work that I had not yet read. I had originally intended to read it over winter break (seeing as it's a Christmas story) but didn't get around to the bulk of it until spring break started.

The book is painfully sweet in both a good and bad way. This is one of those stories where you don't really have to worry that things will go badly for the likable characters. You can pretty much assume the outcomes of each vignette. At the same time, this allows the reader to r...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Haley rated it 3 of 5 stars

In short: It’s a cute, fun read by fantastic authors. I recommend it.

Three YA superstars—Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle—wrote Let it Snow in the form of three intertwining short stories. I don’t always like books of short stories because the stories don’t always connect. They end, and I’m immediately forced into a different world while I’m still attached to the other characters. I feel cheated. The way the three authors mesh their stories, however, satisfied me. I had my favorit...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Meg rated it 3 of 5 stars

I bought a copy of this book for a friend last Christmas, and I've finally gotten around to reading it. I have to admit I was expecting much from this book. My friend was so excited about it, but it was kind of disappointing for me.

The Jubilee Express started off pretty well. Johnson did a great job with character build up. Jubilee was an interesting name - stuck with me quite well. Enjoyed the 'not a hooker' bits, it added so much personality. The plot, though, was simple. Perhaps too simple...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Desiree rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: young teen girls & guys

Shelves: teen-love

Great concept… good stories. Two wonderful and one great author tackle young love over the time span of Holiday break (really Christmas Eve to Day after Christmas). Although these stories were very well targeted to the younger crowd (13-18 y/o), I found them “cute”. I love John Green, so that’s why I bought the book. I enjoyed the first story but I sped through it to get to the John Green contirbution. Of course he blew me away with his portrayal of a teen ‘racing’ his way to love. The opportuni...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Bre V. rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Meh.

Let me preface this by saying that I, like everyone else, think John Green is brilliant. I think Maureen Johnson is very very clever but her writing doesn't always translate well to me - there are times when I feel like it's a little condescending, like she could be writing at a sharper level but chooses to dumb it down for us because we obviously can't keep up with it. That could be projection. That could be because I'm a 26 year old who still reads YA fiction sometimes. Whatever the case...more Meh.

Let me preface this by saying that I, like everyone else, think John Green is brilliant. I think Maureen Johnson is very very clever but her writing doesn't always translate well to me - there are times when I feel like it's a little condescending, like she could be writing at a sharper level but chooses to dumb it down for us because we obviously can't keep up with it. That could be projection. That could be because I'm a 26 year old who still reads YA fiction sometimes. Whatever the case may be, I'm not gonna pass too much judgment on her - she is still very lovely.

The issue with this book is two-fold: for one, every different story moves well and has excellent pacing until about the last page and a half when suddenly expository writing goes flying out the window and we're suddenly covering a lot of action at warp speed. John Green's story was the worst about this - great pacing, great characters (who doesn't love JP?), and then all of the sudden it felt like the story was just flying out of my hands and down the street and I was going to have to run to catch up with it, except I don't LIKE to run, dammit!

And, for two... Lauren Myracle. No. That whole last story was awful. I cringed my way through it. You have a thoroughly uninteresting, whiny, self-indulgent protagonist (and let's be fair, every teenager has a phase, but this seemed more like a lifelong issue than a passing bout) who screwed over her boyfriend and wants to be pitied for it. I'll give Myracle the concession that this seemed to be intentional, but even when *gasp brace yourselves* she begins to see the error of her ways, she never really becomes less irritating or more sympathetic. Ironically, the one thing she does right and selflessly was the one circumstance that wasn't actually her fault. While the other stories were over-the-top in a way that was still at least somewhat conceivable, this one was definitely not. Not to even mention the utter clusterf**k that occurs in the last few pages. I'm assuming that was supposed to be entertaining or something but all it did was give me a headache.

Maureen's main character, Jubilee, was great. I kept picturing Amanda Seyfried in a black wig. Dunno why. But she was a great mix of clever and self-conscious without moving into cloying territory. John always has the oddest, most interesting manner of being able to capture perfectly how young people actually talk (more swearing usually but I digress). Lauren...I won't be going out of my way to read any of her work. My two younger sisters have - one hated the TTYLLMFAOBBQ or whatever series and the other was indifferent but insisted it was better than Twilight so hey, there's that - but I will not.

Let It Snow was cute but more of a headache than anything else. Oh well. There are other places to get a John Green fix. Onward and upward. (less)

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Jan 16, 2013 Steve lovell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Christmas. I like Christmas – well, most aspects of it anyway. I like the giving. I know it’s over-commercialised as all get out, but I think – so what? I’m not into the religious aspect; I’m into the coming togetherness of it all. I ponder, ‘How lucky am I to have all these wonderful people around me – all this love in one room for those others who share my world?’ I enjoy sending cards, and receiving them, especially from those I hear from only at this time of year. I dislike the fact that it...more Christmas. I like Christmas – well, most aspects of it anyway. I like the giving. I know it’s over-commercialised as all get out, but I think – so what? I’m not into the religious aspect; I’m into the coming togetherness of it all. I ponder, ‘How lucky am I to have all these wonderful people around me – all this love in one room for those others who share my world?’ I enjoy sending cards, and receiving them, especially from those I hear from only at this time of year. I dislike the fact that it seems to start so early these days, and the music drives me spare. My hat goes off to all those sales persons subjected to those execrable tunes day after excruciating day – and it now all seems to start mid-November! There are a couple of exceptions, though, which I can bear to listen to over and over – the Pogues great anti-carol, Bill Nighy’s piss-take, and the one – the only one - that does get me teary eyed - Tim Minchin’s – especially after I’ve had a white wine or two in the sun. As for ‘Carols by Candlelight’ – just don’t go there! Cringeworthy dross!!!!

Being Tasmania, you can never guarantee the sunshine for the day itself, but when it happens, I do get all Tim Minchinish. I adore the stereotypical Aussie Yuletide – the glorious cold tucker finished off with Nanny or Laurel’s awesome trifles. Bliss on a stick!

In my memory, the Lane Street Christmases were best – whether it be first at 13, or later at 15. At these addresses the Lovell and Klein extended families would gather on the day itself, a day or two before, or both. Later the Gordon clan was added, and there were usually a few friends thrown into the mix. One memorable Christmas lunch Big Dave, from down the road, came along as well – uninvited. In his trademark bluey and stubby shorts, he was full of good cheer by eleven o’clock in the morning, and decided to do the rounds of the neighbourhood. He got to our place, felt our spread was the best he’d seen, so decided to plonk himself down to join us, much to the disgusted squawks from his affronted missus bellowing at him from her front door. I seem to remember a straw broom and a woodstack became involved in the mix too, but by that stage I’d had a few fizzy indulgences myself, and the memory is somewhat hazier.

Generally, I love just sitting back and watching it all unfold. It is unbridled joy seeing the faces of the little ones as they unwrap, there’s pleasure in tuning in and out of the ‘craic’ and, of course, not having to worry so much about pacing the bevies.

Now though, I think Christmases are going to get a whole lot better. It’s because there’s two new special tiny imps involved – Tessa Tiger and Little Ford Man. The one just past was their first, and of course they were too young to get overly excited about it all, apart from the fascinating detritus of abundant wrapping paper. But as the world opens up to them, so will the attraction of this special time of year increase, and I for one can’t wait to see that all happen. Yes, I love Christmas.

But one day, and it will come far too quickly, Tessa and Brynner will be teenagers, and for a period of time there will be a window when family will be relegated in importance to mates, even during the festive season. It only lasts a while, but to all adults impinged it can be frustrating and unnerving. They do eventually come back to the fold, and it is during this period of estrangement that ‘Let It Snow’, with its three cleverly interlinked stories, takes place.

And snow it did during the course of the tales – a somewhat unknown phenomena in these parts at the festive stage of the year. Is it sacrilegious to state that I enjoyed the stories by the ladies, whom I’ve never previously encountered, to that of the normally god-like (when it comes to YA) John Green? His seemed to be the merely perfunctory, the more pedestrian – but Green, even at this level, is still better than many who claim kudos in the genre. Perhaps it was because his offering, bracketed by Johnson’s and Myracle’s (love that name), has a drippy lad as its protagonist, whereas the other two were blessed by beguiling lasses.

Gracetown is awash with teenage natives and blow-ins on the move, despite a Christmas Eve blizzard. We have the prerequisite falling in and out of love, lovelorn angst, and lovely happy ever-afters - after all the loose ends are resolved with the final congregation of characters in Myracle’s finale, ‘The Patron Saint of Pigs’. I liked the notion of a young lady’s parents being nabbed for creating a fracas in a sale for ultra-kitsch collectibles in the opening yarn; almost as much as I liked said young lady’s name – Jubilee. This event caused her train escape from Noah, another dodgy male, into the arms of Gracestonian Stuart, a far more worthy beau. There’s more to Johnson’s effort than this, but if I had to choose, this was the pick of the bunch. Green’s centerpiece focused, somewhat laboriously, on a short dash by some pals to rendezvous with a ‘voluptitude’ - I think I’ve just invented a new collective noun - of out of town cheerleaders at the local Waffle House. It is a dash beset by problems caused by climate and over-sexed college-types. The doofus main lad also couldn’t identify love when it was right under his nose, so to speak. Some beastie called a teacup pig – yes they do exist (I googled) – features in the final fable as our endearingly ditzy lead over-reacts to her own discretion and tosses away love, only to attempt to retrieve it, with a little help from her friends.

Ahhhhhh yes, it is all so satisfactorily such light fluff; soufflé thin on all literary bases, but in its ‘niceness’, its just so warm and comfy too. It’s just right for snuggling up under a doona on a frosty Christmas Eve – or for sitting on a porch, chilled wine in hand, waiting for your dad, Dowunder.
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About John Green

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New...more

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