Welcome to Christmas, CA - Kiersten White

Until Christmas, I will be reviewing the short stories from My True Love Gave To Me. There will be a review every other day. These will be shorter than the usual reviews and will always include the same criteria on which they will be graded.

Find it on bookdepository here. 

CHRISTMAS FEELS: ★★★★/5

ROMANCE FEELS: ★★★/5

CHARACTERS: ★★★/5

HUMOUR: ★★★/5

ORIGINALITY: ★★★★★

I've never read a story by Kiersten White before, but just like most other stories in My True Love Gave to Me, her story blew me away with originality. Who knew there were so many ways to interpret Christmas?

Maria is living in Christmas, CA - a town where everything is always christmassy (and town is an overstatement, it is a tiny tiny place). She can't wait to leave the place behind - like all teenagers. Until she meets Ben, the new chef at the diner of her mum's boyfriend. He loves Christmas and he actually manages to give Christmas cheers to everyone in the town. But Maria is a different story...

What I loved about this story is that it isn't just about the day of Christmas, but about a town named Christmas. It's original and definitely not what I was expecting when I started reading this story.

Other than that, the story was okay. The characters weren't amazing - the narrator actually annoyed me with her bratty behaviour - and I didn't really feel the romance. But there was so much Christmas decoration and happiness in the story that you can't help but feel Christmassy. Is it my favourite story? No, it isn't but it definitely left me with a smile on my face.

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus - Myra McEntire

Until Christmas, I will be reviewing the short stories from My True Love Gave To Me. There will be a review every other day. These will be shorter than the usual reviews and will always include the same criteria on which they will be graded.

Find it on bookdepository here. 

CHRISTMAS FEELS: ★★★★/5

ROMANCE FEELS: ★★★★★

CHARACTERS: ★★★★★

HUMOUR: ★★★★★

ORIGINALITY: ★★★★★

Who writes a Christmas short story that is called Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus? Apparently Myra McEntire, who created my favourite story of My True Love Gave to Me so far. The characters are amazing, and totally unexpected, the plot is so original and there are plenty elements of Christmas in the story to make this story really perfect for this time a year (and I want to challenge you to read this story without at least cracking a smile).

Vaughn is the Fred/George from the world Myra McEntire created. He loves trouble and pulling pranks on people - pranks that sometimes go too far. For example, he accidentally put the barn next to the church on fire and now the church has nowhere to perform their Nativity play. The judge says that Vaughn can walk free - if he helps the local pastor with the Christmas play. Luckily for him, the pastor has a great looking daughter who is not like she seems at first sight...

So it's a little bit cliché : the bad boy turns out to be a good-ish boy, while the good girl has an edge to her. We've seen it before, but that's completely okay, because it is a cute premise. It just works, especially if you throw in the thought of Christmas. I've never seen a bad boy combined with the idea of Christmas, so I say this story is original. And wait until you read that plot twist at the end - it's really a good one.

Now excuse me, but I just have to go read this story again.....

What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? - Gayle Forman

Until Christmas, I will be reviewing the short stories from My True Love Gave To Me. There will be a review every other day. These will be shorter than the usual reviews and will always include the same criteria on which they will be graded.

CHRISTMAS FEELS: ★★★★/5

ROMANCE FEELS: ★★★★★

CHARACTERS: ★★★★/5 

HUMOUR: ★★★★/5

ORIGINALITY: ★★★★/5

I was a tad worried when I started reading this short story by Gayle Forman. All the books I've read from her have been absolutely heartbreaking. And coming so close to Christmas, I just didn't want any heartbreak stories, but warm fuzzy ones (I know I use fuzzy in every review, sorry but I can't help it). Thankfully What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? shows that Gayle Forman can do cheerful and happy stories, while still showing us great characters and incorporating just the right amount of sadness to make this a true Christmas story.

Sophie Roth is a big city girl who is now going to a small liberal arts and science college. And making a fool out of herself while being there. Until she meets Russell, who is the first person who truly understand her. With only a few days left before Christmas, and no one else left on campus, the two decide to make the best out of this night.

The plot might sound kinda boring - or very similar to Angels in the Snow, but it isn't. What I loved about this story is that it is such a simple plot, so I could imagine myself in the story. No 'real magic' as in other short stories, but just magic between people. Russell and Sophie make each other feel more happy and isn't that the real magic of Christmas? 

I also just really really liked Sophie and Russell together. They have great banter and constantly teach each other new things. The short story leaves the ending kind of open, but I hope these two end up together (hopefully in a full-length novel - I NEED MORE!!).

Gayle Forman, please always write cheerful short stories from now on. I adored What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?.

Krampuslauf - Holly Black

Until Christmas, I will be reviewing the short stories from My True Love Gave To Me. There will be a review every other day. These will be shorter than the usual reviews and will always include the same criteria on which they will be graded.

Find it on bookdepository here. 

CHRISTMAS FEELS: ★★★/5

ROMANCE FEELS: ★★★★/5

CHARACTERS: ★★★/5 

HUMOUR: ★★★/5

ORIGINALITY: ★★★★★

"What am I reading?"

I'm almost certain everyone who starts Krampuslauf by Holly Black asks themselves that. There is some kind of big festival going on, in honour of Krampuslauf (who is a cooler Satan I guess) and it's the middle of the year. So okay, why is this story here? 

Pretty soon though the focus switches to New Years Eve and a party a group of friends want to throw. I really don't want to give anything away because the whole story is a roller coaster ride of "huh??", but there are elements of magic, fantastical creatures and a lot of other characters that I've never seen in a Christmas story before!

So how to rate it? It's honestly the hardest one to talk about from all the short stories so far. I hated the beginning, because I was just so confused. And then it kinda grew on me - there's magic and I guess magic is Christmas? I just like my stories a tad more traditional, but I'm sure this is a great short story for people who are sick and tired of cliché Christmas stories. I'm just not one of those people yet.

Your Temporary Santa - David Levithan

Until Christmas, I will be reviewing the short stories from My True Love Gave To Me. There will be a review every other day. These will be shorter than the usual reviews and will always include the same criteria on which they will be graded.

Find it on bookdepository here. 

CHRISTMAS FEELS: ★★★★/5

ROMANCE FEELS: ★★★/5

CHARACTERS: ★★★/5 

HUMOUR: ★★/5

(kinda a depressing Christmas story if I'm honest)

ORIGINALITY: ★★★★/5

I want to start off by saying that I love David Levithan as a writer. His collection of short stories was absolutely one of the highlights of my reading year. But this short story? Somehow it didn't quite do it for me.

First of all because it wasn't really fluffy at all. Connor asks his boyfriend to dress up as Santa and come to his house in the middle of the night to make his baby sister believe in Santa again. His boyfriend does so and even manages to surprise the youngest sister, Riley, in the house as Santa (in what is probably the cutest scene I've ever read). However, he also interacts with everyone else in the house and ends up feeling empty.

EMPTY. On Christmas! That just won't do! I wanted sooo badly for him to be happy and you could just tell by the amazing writing of David, who is an expert in "show don't tell", that he wasn't. I was so bummed. I just... It's Christmas, I wanted it all to be happy and cheerful.

The highlight of the story was the conversation between "Santa" and Riley. It was so adorable and was a real reminder of the magic Christmas has for younger children. I just wish the teenagers in this story would still feel it too.

It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown - Stephanie Perkins

Until Christmas, I will be reviewing the short stories from My True Love Gave To Me. There will be a review every other day. These will be shorter than the usual reviews and will always include the same criteria on which they will be graded.

Find it on bookdepository here. 

CHRISTMAS FEELS: ★★★★/5

ROMANCE FEELS: ★★★★/5

CHARACTERS: ★★★★★ 

(it's Stephanie Perkins, who writes better characters?)

HUMOUR: ★★★★/5

ORIGINALITY: ★★★★/5

It's Stephanie Perkins! Finally! I ADORED Anna and the French Kiss, so I was so ready for this story. 

Marigold lives with her mother in a tiny apartment, getting ready for the first Christmas since her father left. And getting ready means completely ignoring Christmas. But Marigold is making an animation short and needs the cute guy that sells Christmas trees to voice a character. How do you ask a complete stranger something like that?

What I loved about this story is that the characters are so Stephanie Perkins. If you love any of her books, you'll love this short story as well. Marigold and North (yes, the guy's name is North and no, he is not happy about that, but it is explained why he was given that name) are both kinda awkward and adorable at the same time. It's cliché, you know what will happen, but it is also absolutely heart-warming and so Christmas.

Unlike Jenny Han's Christmas story, this story is very realistic and you could just imagine it happening to you. This is definitely one of the strengths of the story, but at the same time I was still kind of lost in Elf world with Jenny Han. It was a great read, but I don't know if it was as memorable as some of the other short stories in the book.

However, the characters are so endearing that they also don't really let you forget them. What happens to them after the story? I could easily see this short story becoming a novel and I kinda hope it does. I need more Marigold and North in my life and definitely more Stephanie Perkins!

Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me - Jenny Han

Until Christmas, I will be reviewing the short stories from My True Love Gave To Me. There will be a review every other day. These will be shorter than the usual reviews and will always include the same criteria on which they will be graded.

Find it on bookdepository here. 

CHRISTMAS FEELS: ★★★★★

ROMANCE FEELS: ★★★★/5

CHARACTERS: ★★★★/5

HUMOUR: ★★/5

(It's too heartbreaking to be funny)

ORIGINALITY: ★★★★/5

ELVES!! There are ELVES in this book! When I read this story, I had just left an all-night screener of all the Lord of the Rings films. I was slightly delusional. Kinda losing my mind. And I immediately picked Legolas as the hot elf guy in this book.

When reading the story after a good night's sleep, I realized that the story is on the North Pole and this elves are Christmas elves - so don't make the same mistake I made!

Natalie is abandoned by her mother in South Korea on Christmas Eve. The person who finds her is Santa and he decides to adopt Natalie and bring her with him to the North Pole. Here she grows up amongst elves and even developed a crush on Flynn: the hottest elf her age. However, now that Natalie is 15, she is suddenly aware that she is the only human being on the North Pole and that her only interaction with a normal human was a few years ago when she kissed Lars when Santa was dropping off presents. This Christmas, she feels more alone than ever. 

What I loved about this story was that it reminded me of the kind of Christmas movies I saw as a child. I could perfectly imagine the North Pole and the elves - though they sounded way more beautiful in this book then they were in the movies (really think more Orlando Bloom).

I loved Natalie, but I felt so bad for her at the same time. I can imagine the North Pole being an incredibly lonely place when there are no other humans there and I just wished for a happier ending for it. Jenny Han leaves the ending kinda open, but I just wanted to see Natalie truly happy - she deserved it.

So far, this story is the highest ranking in the Christmas feels, just because it has Santa and the North Pole and the wonderful Christmas food. I loved it and I am longing for snow so I can read this story again and really imagine being on the North Pole.