Title: Snow in Love
Author: Melissa de la Cruz, Nic Stone, Aimee Freedman, and Kasie West
Genre: YA Contemporary, Holiday
Edition/Pages: E-book, 272 pages
Goodreads page

Synopsis

This YA anthology of 4 holiday stories written by 4 different authors.

Snow and Mistletoe by Kasie West is about a girl who is trying to get home for Christmas but is stuck at an airport due to an impending blizzard. Then a boy from school approaches her and offers to let her carpool back with him, 2 friends, and his sister.

Working in a Winter Wonderland by Aimee Friedman is about a girl who celebrates Hanukkah getting a job working as an elf at her high school crush’s department store. She takes the job so she can afford a dress she thinks will grab the attention of her crush at the upcoming New Year’s party.

The Magi’s Gift by Melissa de la Cruz is a Gift of the Magi retelling about a young high school couple.

Grounded by Nic Stone is a f/f romance about 2 girls who haven’t seen each other in years being stranded in an airport together. While they play a fun scavenger hunt they talk about love, life, and all the pressures they feel.

My Review

Overview

This was such a polarizing book for me. Kasie West’s story was utter perfection and Nic Stone’s was a close second. But the 2 middle stories were total busts in my opinion.

Things I Loved

1. Snow and Mistletoe by Kasie West was the precious, heartwarming romance I come to expect from Kasie West. And it was exactly what I was looking for from this anthology. I had a goofy grin throughout this entire story.
2. Grounded by Nic Stone packed so much into such a short story. This follows 2 black girls, one of whom is just coming to terms with her sexuality. She confides in an old friend, who happens to the first girl she ever noticed, while they play a scavenger hunt game in the Atlanta airport. This was so cute! And Nic Stone’s ability to talk about prejudices, sexual orientation, and personal acceptance so impact-fully in such a short story blew me away.

Things I Didn’t Love

1. Working in Winter Wonderland by Aimee Friedman felt so childish and disappointing (especially after the first story). The main character in this was so shallow and frustrating. She treated her co-workers like they were beneath her, and didn’t give any of them the time of day until her other option fell through. I appreciated that this followed a Jewish character, but beyond a few mentions of her dislike of Christmas, there wasn’t much representation here. I was simply skimming this by the end.
2. The Magi’s Gift my Melissa de la Cruz was honestly just plain boring. This was Gift of the Magi retelling (obviously) and it brought absolutely nothing new to the story. I felt like the relationship in this was problematic and didn’t connect with either of them.

Overall, the 2 stories I loved, I really loved and made this book completely worth it. If you’re thinking of picking this one up, maybe skip the middle 2.

♥♥♥♥