[L2B]∎ [PDF] Gratis My True Love Gave to Me Twelve Holiday Stories Stephanie Perkins Holly Black Ally Carter Mathew de la Pena Gayle Forman Jenny Han David Levithan Kelly Link Myra McEntire Rainbow Rowell Laini Taylor Kiersten White Books

My True Love Gave to Me Twelve Holiday Stories Stephanie Perkins Holly Black Ally Carter Mathew de la Pena Gayle Forman Jenny Han David Levithan Kelly Link Myra McEntire Rainbow Rowell Laini Taylor Kiersten White Books

Download As PDF : My True Love Gave to Me Twelve Holiday Stories Stephanie Perkins Holly Black Ally Carter Mathew de la Pena Gayle Forman Jenny Han David Levithan Kelly Link Myra McEntire Rainbow Rowell Laini Taylor Kiersten White Books

My True Love Gave to Me Twelve Holiday Stories Stephanie Perkins Holly Black Ally Carter Mathew de la Pena Gayle Forman Jenny Han David Levithan Kelly Link Myra McEntire Rainbow Rowell Laini Taylor Kiersten White Books

I was really looking forward to a collection of YA holiday romances in My True Love Gave to Me, but overall I was quite disappointed. There are some good stories here, but some of my favorites were more for their ideas rather than the execution. Several of them just felt too big for so few pages, which is a shame. I also didn’t feel too much holiday cheer while reading these, as most of them were just kind of set around the holidays but didn’t really focus on them.

★★☆☆☆ Midnights by Rainbow Rowell

This story had a really cute premise: showing the three New Year’s Eves of two best friends, plus food allergies. It’s obvious that Mags wants more from Noel at each of these parties, and it’s obvious that she’s going to get what she wants at the most recent one. While I loved the idea of the story, the execution was really boring, and I didn’t like the choppiness of the author’s writing.

★☆☆☆☆ The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link

I cannot even begin to explain what this story was about. I have no clue what was going on. I don’t know where it was set, where Miranda was from, why she spends Christmas with these people, why her mother is in a Thai prison for life, or what that has to do with a maybe-ghost named Fenny who sits in the snow. I seriously have no idea.

★★☆☆☆ Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Pena

Another boring one. Shy is cat sitting for his boss over Christmas, when the lovely neighbor, Haley, stops by to use the shower because her pipes are frozen (or something). Of course, the two get to know each other and there’s some kissing. There’s also a lot of Shy complaining about starving, and being too proud to accept nice, homemade muffins from Haley. I didn’t particularly care.

★★☆☆☆ Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me by Jenny Han

This is the shortest story of the bunch, which is unfortunate, because it has the best premise, but doesn’t take it anywhere! Natalie is pretty much the Rudolph among the elves. She doesn’t have a red nose; she’s human. They also don’t like her because they think she makes up stories for attention, the latest being about a boy named Lars she met on a present delivery trip with Santa. She also has a crush on another elf, Flynn, but knows it can never happen. And that’s basically it. I was so sad! I wanted to love this one so much! It definitely would have made an amazing longer story or full-length novel!

★★★☆☆ It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins

I really liked this one for the most part! Marigold and North are so sweet together! I loved how he helped her with the apartment without even knowing her, and of course getting to know her while they clean. However, I could have done with Marigold’s animation project, which prompts her to seek out North. It didn’t add anything to the story, but felt like a forced way to make her even more quirky. I would have preferred if she just went looking for a tree, and then him helping her with it.

★★★★☆ Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan

Finally, I felt the holiday cheer! Well, kind of, since this story is actually kind of sad but sweet. It’s the night of Christmas Eve, and Connor has asked his boyfriend to dress up as Santa for his little sister, so she’ll keep believing. He (I don’t know his name!) goes through with it, but Connor’s older-younger sister, Lana, confronts him, because she’s not happy about what he’s doing. It was quite an emotional scene, but I do think he was doing the right thing. Very sweet.

★★☆☆☆ Krampuslauf by Holly Black

That was just super bizarre. I liked it at first because the whole Krampus thing is pretty awesome, but then it turned into annoying teenage drama. But the kind of drama that I don’t like. Then it got weird, yet kind of interesting and magical, but mostly just weird. This story definitely stood out from the rest, but not in a good way. It was like the author was trying too hard to set her story apart, and yet still fit within the holiday theme.

★★★★☆ What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman

I really liked this one! It was sweet and funny, and had an interracial romance! Sophie is Jewish, Russell is black, and neither feels like they fit in at their rural college. They bond over cynical comments in regards to the campus caroling concert, and then go out for pie. Russell also helps Sophie have a kind of makeshift Hanukkah since she’s stuck on campus for the time being. It was all just very sweet and I believed it, and I wanted more!

★★★★☆ Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire

That was so fun! I feel like this one would make a hilarious made for TV holiday movie! Vaughn is a prankster. His latest one has gone wrong and very well may have set off a snowball effect that ruins Christmas. Basically, he burned down the set of the church’s nativity play, and the new location accidentally double booked, so it’s a scramble to set everything up somewhere else and make sure the audience knows where to go. Of course, Vaugn is recruited to do all of the dirty work, since it’s his fault, but there’s also a girl he wants to impress. It was all just very Christmas hijinks and good times.

★★★★☆ Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White

It’s like Chocolat, but with teenagers, and a diner! And better! Cuter! And should also be a cutesy TV movie! Maria lives in Christmas, a small, not-even town in California, and works at a diner that serves holiday themed dishes. Then they get a new chef, and he doesn’t exactly follow the menu or the recipes. He has some uncanny ability to know just what each customer needs to eat. It’s all super sweet and magical, and I even enjoyed Maria’s relationship with her mom’s boyfriend.

★★☆☆☆ Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter

Another good premise that didn’t work as a short story. Lydia is at the airport, sees a girl who desperately wants to change her flight but has a nonexchangeable ticket. Lydia happens to be heading to New York where the girl wants to go, so she trades with her. New York is the last place Lydia wants to be, so she doesn’t even know where the other girl’s ticket is for until she gets there. Turns out she was a foreign exchange student heading to stay with her boyfriend’s family. I absolutely loved this set up, until we learn who Lydia is and then things get rushed and just end. I did like the twist, but everything that quickly followed made me roll my eyes. This would have been super fun and enjoyable as a more fleshed out story.

★★★☆☆ The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

I was most excited for this one, but I’m a bit disappointed. There’s definitely some really imaginative ideas here, but I felt like it barely skimmed the surface of those ideas. Creepy old priest who wants a 17 year old girl as his fourth wife, and magic? Awesome! Unfortunately, it all just wasn’t developed enough, so the magic of the Dreamer came across as just strange.

*Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley for review. No compensation was offered or accepted.


Tags : Amazon.com: My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories (9781250059307): Stephanie Perkins, Holly Black, Ally Carter, Mathew de la Pena, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, Kiersten White: Books,Stephanie Perkins, Holly Black, Ally Carter, Mathew de la Pena, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, Kiersten White,My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories,St. Martin's Griffin,1250059305,Holidays & Celebrations,Romance - General,Christmas,Christmas stories,Holidays,Holidays;Juvenile fiction.,JUVENILE FICTION Holidays & Celebrations General (see also Religious Christian Holidays & Celebrations),JUVENILE FICTION Love & Romance,Love stories, American,Romance fiction, American.,Short stories, American,Short stories, American.,Young adult fiction, American,060601 SMP Trade Juvenile,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fiction-Short Stories (multiple authors),Holidays & Celebrations - General,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,Holiday romance; holiday books; holiday stories; young adult romance; ya romance; ya romance books; teen romance books; teen romance novels; romance books for teens; young adult romance books; romance novels for teens; romance young adult books; ya books romance; short stories for teens; teen short stories; ya short stories; young adult short stories; short stories for young adults; short stories; short story; short stories book; ya books; ya novels; ya fiction; teen books; books for teens; teen fiction; young adult books; young adult fiction; young adult; ya; teen; teens,Love & Romance,Love stories, American,Romance & relationships stories (Children's Teenage),Romance - General,Romance General,Romance fiction, American.,Short Stories,Short Story Collections (Young Adult),Short stories, American,Short stories, American.,TEEN'S FICTION ROMANCE,TEEN'S SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Holidays & Celebrations,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,Young Adult FictionRomance - General,Young Adult FictionShort Stories,Young adult fiction, American,Holidays & Celebrations - General,Love & Romance,Romance General,Short Stories,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Holidays & Celebrations,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,Young Adult FictionRomance - General,Young Adult FictionShort Stories,Juvenile fiction,Short Story Collections (Young Adult),YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Romance & relationships stories (Children's Teenage)

My True Love Gave to Me Twelve Holiday Stories Stephanie Perkins Holly Black Ally Carter Mathew de la Pena Gayle Forman Jenny Han David Levithan Kelly Link Myra McEntire Rainbow Rowell Laini Taylor Kiersten White Books Reviews

I admit that I’m not a big anthology fan. I find the stories in them are hit and miss. ‘My True Love Gave to Me’ was a choice for one of my on-line book clubs. I thought it would help me to get into the holiday spirit and to acquaint me with some new authors. I’m really late putting up this review but I loved many of the stories and wanted to talk about which ones I loved and which one I didn’t love.

Midnight Rainbow Rowell
This story features Noël and Mags and their growing relationship every New Years from 2011-2014. I really liked this one. The premise of just having snippets of a character’s life for several years really made the story enrolling. It was fun piecing together what was going on in the characters life the rest of the year. 4/5 Stars

The Lady and the Fox Kelly Link
This tells about Miranda’s relationship, over several Christmases, with a strange man who appears and disappears. This one left me really confused. I could not figure out what was going on. I thought the stranger was a Santa type man but turned out he wasn’t and he seemed really creepy to me. I didn’t like the magical realism aspect of the story. The only part I liked was the description of the detailing of the fox and lady on the stranger’s coat. 2/5 Stars

Angels in the Snow Matt De La Pena
Shy (this is the main character’s name) pet sits for his boss during Christmas vacation. Shy meets one of the neighbors, Haley. I really liked this one. The story-line just rang so true to life to me. Reminded me of the crazy stuff that goes on at college.5/5 Stars

Polaris is Where You Left Me Jenny Han
Natty is Santa’s Adopted Daughter. Natty struggles to fit in with the elvis in Santa’s work shop. This was a cute story. Did not blow me away or anything. This read more like a kid’s story to me. 3.5/5 Stars

It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown Stephanie Perkins
Marigold buys a Christmas tree at a tree lot near her home. There she meets, North, a worker at the Christmas tree lot. North helps Marigold bring her tree up to her apartment. I really like this one. I can see something this happening to me.
5/5 Stars

Your Temporary Santa David Leviathan A young man dresses up as Santa to surprise his boyfriend’s little sister. I liked the premise of the story. Someone dressing up as Santa to surprise a child makes a sweet story. For some reason the execution just fell flat for me. 3/5

Krampuslauf Holly Black
A girl decides to throw a New Year’s party at her deceased grandmother’s trailer.
What just happened here? I loved the premise but the magical realism just ruined it for me.
2.5/5

What the Hell Have You Done, Sofie Roth Gail Forman
A Jewish college student attends Christmas caroling and makes a new friend. Cute story. Very romantic and funny. Rings true about how those that don’t celebrate Christmas often feel left out. Not my favorite but loved the characters. 4/5

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus Myra McIntire
A Church has to hold their annual Christmas pageant at another venue when their barn burns down. This should have been funny but I just didn’t buy the whole wacky story and the romance seemed really forced. Seemed like a John Green trope. 2.5/5

Welcome to Christmas, CA Kiersten White
A girl works at a Christmas themed restaurant in a town called Christmas. She is doing her best to get accepted to college and to get out-of-town. Than enter Ben, the new cook at the restaurant. I loved the story. The characters were very relatable. I live near Christmas, Florida so I totally got the cheesiness of the restaurant and the town. 5/5

Star of Bethlehem Ally Carter
A girl exchanges destinations with a desperate girl at an airport .
I really didn’t like the premise. It’s all based on two girls switching flights at the last-minute. This seems really far-fetched in this day and age. Just not for me. 2/5

The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer Laini Taylor
A fantasy story centered around Neve who is struggling with her bleak life.
Loved the world that was created here. The ending just weird. 3/5
I was really looking forward to a collection of YA holiday romances in My True Love Gave to Me, but overall I was quite disappointed. There are some good stories here, but some of my favorites were more for their ideas rather than the execution. Several of them just felt too big for so few pages, which is a shame. I also didn’t feel too much holiday cheer while reading these, as most of them were just kind of set around the holidays but didn’t really focus on them.

★★☆☆☆ Midnights by Rainbow Rowell

This story had a really cute premise showing the three New Year’s Eves of two best friends, plus food allergies. It’s obvious that Mags wants more from Noel at each of these parties, and it’s obvious that she’s going to get what she wants at the most recent one. While I loved the idea of the story, the execution was really boring, and I didn’t like the choppiness of the author’s writing.

★☆☆☆☆ The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link

I cannot even begin to explain what this story was about. I have no clue what was going on. I don’t know where it was set, where Miranda was from, why she spends Christmas with these people, why her mother is in a Thai prison for life, or what that has to do with a maybe-ghost named Fenny who sits in the snow. I seriously have no idea.

★★☆☆☆ Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Pena

Another boring one. Shy is cat sitting for his boss over Christmas, when the lovely neighbor, Haley, stops by to use the shower because her pipes are frozen (or something). Of course, the two get to know each other and there’s some kissing. There’s also a lot of Shy complaining about starving, and being too proud to accept nice, homemade muffins from Haley. I didn’t particularly care.

★★☆☆☆ Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me by Jenny Han

This is the shortest story of the bunch, which is unfortunate, because it has the best premise, but doesn’t take it anywhere! Natalie is pretty much the Rudolph among the elves. She doesn’t have a red nose; she’s human. They also don’t like her because they think she makes up stories for attention, the latest being about a boy named Lars she met on a present delivery trip with Santa. She also has a crush on another elf, Flynn, but knows it can never happen. And that’s basically it. I was so sad! I wanted to love this one so much! It definitely would have made an amazing longer story or full-length novel!

★★★☆☆ It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins

I really liked this one for the most part! Marigold and North are so sweet together! I loved how he helped her with the apartment without even knowing her, and of course getting to know her while they clean. However, I could have done with Marigold’s animation project, which prompts her to seek out North. It didn’t add anything to the story, but felt like a forced way to make her even more quirky. I would have preferred if she just went looking for a tree, and then him helping her with it.

★★★★☆ Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan

Finally, I felt the holiday cheer! Well, kind of, since this story is actually kind of sad but sweet. It’s the night of Christmas Eve, and Connor has asked his boyfriend to dress up as Santa for his little sister, so she’ll keep believing. He (I don’t know his name!) goes through with it, but Connor’s older-younger sister, Lana, confronts him, because she’s not happy about what he’s doing. It was quite an emotional scene, but I do think he was doing the right thing. Very sweet.

★★☆☆☆ Krampuslauf by Holly Black

That was just super bizarre. I liked it at first because the whole Krampus thing is pretty awesome, but then it turned into annoying teenage drama. But the kind of drama that I don’t like. Then it got weird, yet kind of interesting and magical, but mostly just weird. This story definitely stood out from the rest, but not in a good way. It was like the author was trying too hard to set her story apart, and yet still fit within the holiday theme.

★★★★☆ What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman

I really liked this one! It was sweet and funny, and had an interracial romance! Sophie is Jewish, Russell is black, and neither feels like they fit in at their rural college. They bond over cynical comments in regards to the campus caroling concert, and then go out for pie. Russell also helps Sophie have a kind of makeshift Hanukkah since she’s stuck on campus for the time being. It was all just very sweet and I believed it, and I wanted more!

★★★★☆ Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire

That was so fun! I feel like this one would make a hilarious made for TV holiday movie! Vaughn is a prankster. His latest one has gone wrong and very well may have set off a snowball effect that ruins Christmas. Basically, he burned down the set of the church’s nativity play, and the new location accidentally double booked, so it’s a scramble to set everything up somewhere else and make sure the audience knows where to go. Of course, Vaugn is recruited to do all of the dirty work, since it’s his fault, but there’s also a girl he wants to impress. It was all just very Christmas hijinks and good times.

★★★★☆ Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White

It’s like Chocolat, but with teenagers, and a diner! And better! Cuter! And should also be a cutesy TV movie! Maria lives in Christmas, a small, not-even town in California, and works at a diner that serves holiday themed dishes. Then they get a new chef, and he doesn’t exactly follow the menu or the recipes. He has some uncanny ability to know just what each customer needs to eat. It’s all super sweet and magical, and I even enjoyed Maria’s relationship with her mom’s boyfriend.

★★☆☆☆ Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter

Another good premise that didn’t work as a short story. Lydia is at the airport, sees a girl who desperately wants to change her flight but has a nonexchangeable ticket. Lydia happens to be heading to New York where the girl wants to go, so she trades with her. New York is the last place Lydia wants to be, so she doesn’t even know where the other girl’s ticket is for until she gets there. Turns out she was a foreign exchange student heading to stay with her boyfriend’s family. I absolutely loved this set up, until we learn who Lydia is and then things get rushed and just end. I did like the twist, but everything that quickly followed made me roll my eyes. This would have been super fun and enjoyable as a more fleshed out story.

★★★☆☆ The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

I was most excited for this one, but I’m a bit disappointed. There’s definitely some really imaginative ideas here, but I felt like it barely skimmed the surface of those ideas. Creepy old priest who wants a 17 year old girl as his fourth wife, and magic? Awesome! Unfortunately, it all just wasn’t developed enough, so the magic of the Dreamer came across as just strange.

*Disclaimer I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley for review. No compensation was offered or accepted.