Ravenous Bookshelf

Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

What happens when two hipsters fall in love? Over the holidays, no less?

Well, they probably get an awesome soundtrack.

This book was described by one reviewer as "a light, frothy, hot-chocolate read," and I agree on all points: warming, almost cloyingly sweet, and very little nutritional content.

But also fun, if you are in the mood to be pleased. And I was. However, if you are tipping towards the cynical side of life, you should probably steer clear. When I started reading, I had a moment of doubt: will I want to kill these characters within a few chapters? And I can see where word-nerd Dash and the improbably-upbeat Lily could drive you to violence. But the alternating POV's helped, and so did the fact that I was reading in small doses (Note: Do not chug the hot chocolate).

So, the premise: Dash is prowling the stacks in the Strand, that holy temple of bibliophiles, when he comes across a mysterious red Moleskin notebook tucked among his beloved Salinger novels.*

The notebook has a secret message that requires a word hunt through the Strand**; once he's decoded the message, Dash has a decision to make. Does he want to accept the mysterious Lily's invitation to play? Does he want to up the ante with a set of dares himself?

Of course he does.

Hijinks ensue in the grand city of New York, and it's best to sit back and enjoy the madcap zaniness that you've signed up for. Just don't think too hard!


*This is where I became Gravely Concerned.
**This is where I decided to keep reading, because I am a sucker for wordplay.

Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances
By: John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

I am not normally one for short story collections, but in the spirit of the holidays I picked up this ensemble piece, featuring three YA authors I've enjoyed. All three tales involve Christmas, romantic hijinks, and a huge blizzard, and are nicely interlinked -- the characters in each cross each others' paths in entertaining yet not-too-contrived ways.

Johnson kicks off the trilogy with Jubilee, a young lady who, in a series of unfortunate holiday
events, finds herself on a train to Graceland on Christmas Eve, with two parents in jail due to a Christmas toy village riot and no response from her busy boyfriend (and it happens to be their anniversary). And then the train gets stuck in a giant snowdrift, and Jubliee meets Jeb, and then the cheerleaders arrive...

The story was light and unpredictable and features a Waffle House (so I highly approved) -- and Jubilee handles the growing insanity with admirable aplomb.

The fun continues with John Green and Tobin, the Duke, and JP -- the Duke is actually a (totally amazing) girl, while Tobin narrates, explaining how all three of them are called to the Waffle House in the middle of the blizzard. You see, Tobin's friend Keun works at said Waffle House. And the above-mentioned plague of cheerleaders? Arrive at the WH. Obviously it is a boy's One True Dream to find himself snowed in at a Waffle House with an entire squad of bored cheerleaders. The only question is: who will supply the game of Twister?

This begins an epic race through the snowy streets and darn if this wasn't my favorite story; John Green beats all for smart, snappy teens (if a little too conscious of their own brainpower, sometimes), and his Wacky Happenings are lovingly described in hilarious detail.

Myracle brings us home with the magical story of Addie, who is most definitely not in the Christmas spirit, what with suffering a wrenching breakup that is pretty much totally her fault -- but she has her own adventure involving Starbucks, a teacup pig, and quite possibly a Christmas miracle. Not the strongest story of the bunch (Addie was self-absorbed to annoyance; a flaw that Myracle's characters often seem to struggle with) but it wrapped things up nicely, which is not an easy feat.

Overall: A light, frothy Christmas treat, tasty as sugar cookies and hot chocolate. This was my first seasonal short story piece, and I was pleasantly impressed -- do you have your own favorite holiday/cold-weather-warm-heart tales? I'd love to get more suggestions!

Wishing you all safety, warmth, family and fun for the holidays!