If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers (Holly Black, Ally Carter, Matt de La Peña, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra … Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, Stephanie Perkins, Laini Tayler and Kiersten White), edited by the international bestselling Stephanie Perkins. Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or Kwanzaa, there’s something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.
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I’ve read this collection of short stories the past two years at Christmas. There are some stories that are better than others, but there’s a few that are real stand-outs! There’s definitely a story for everyone!
If you’re looking for a dose of holiday happiness, you can’t go wrong with this delightful collection of short stories from some of my all-time favorite authors, including Rainbow Rowell, Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins, Holly Black, and more.
I decided during 2021 that I wanted to start reading an anthology each month. This is the eighth one, and I figured it would be cute to read in December (around Christmas) and it is, by far, my favourite anthology I’ve ever read. My plan was to read one story per evening, but I didn’t want to put it down! So I read it all in a couple days instead.
I’m going to be honest, I don’t give 5 star ratings out very easily. I’m unnecessarily picky. It’s not ideal, but here we are. And while there were some stories in this anthology that I didn’t love, I gave FOUR stories in this book a 5 star rating. That’s honestly unheard of for me. So while my overall rating may be closer to a 5, I’m rounding up to a 5 because it’s so unusual for me to fall in love with multiple short stories like this. It deserves a 5 star rating overall just for that.
After reading each story, I gave it an individual rating and wrote a little review. Here they all are:
Midnights – Rainbow Rowell
4/5 – I really liked this story. Like, really really. But it also made me sad. I don’t enjoy reading about people having to watch the person they want with someone else. And while that really was quite minor, it was enough to make me drop my rating.
The Lady and The Fox – Kelly Link
DNF – I didn’t get very far into this story. I just found the writing style to be unnecessarily descriptive, especially for such a short story.
Angels in The Snow – Matt de la Peña
3/5 – I did like this story, but it was just okay. It felt like a lot was happening, which led to it feeling slightly unfinished at the end for me.
Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me – Jenny Han
4/5 – this was really cute! I would love if it was a full length story, I’d read it in a heartbeat. But it did work as a short and sweet story.
It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown – Stephanie Perkins
5/5 – oh, my word, this was wonderful. Definitely my favourite of the book so far, even though I have enjoyed the others, but I could not get enough of this story. Marigold and North were both such great characters, and I adored both the storyline and learning about who they are as people.
Your Temporary Santa – David Levithan
3.5/5 – cute story, but I don’t think it’ll really stick with me. But I did enjoy reading it.
Krampuslauf – Holly Black
4/5 – this story was weird. But I liked it! I really don’t have many thoughts about it past that. It was entertaining, and a fun addition to this anthology.
What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? – Gayle Forman
5/5 – oh, I loved this! I don’t think it’s my favourite, I think Stephanie Perkins’ story is holding that top spot, but this is dang close.
Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus – Myra McEntire
5/5 – I never give out 5 star ratings (seriously, I’ve only given 6 this year, out of over 120 books) yet have given 3 to stories in this anthology already?? Who am I? I put my Christmas tree up today, maybe I’m just feeling festive. I adored this. It was cute, fun, and an easy read.
Welcome to Christmas, CA – Kiersten White
5/5 – why am I giving out so many 5 star ratings? Am I in a Christmas mood? Did my heart grow three sizes like the grinch? I loved this. This anthology is wonderful.
Star of Bethlehem – Ally Carter
2/5 – while this story was cute, it is my least favourite of the anthology. I didn’t care for Ethan, the story was kind of bizarre, and I didn’t feel the connection between the main character and Ethan / his family that I was supposed to feel.
The Girl Who Woke The Dreamer – Latino Taylor
3/5 – I don’t know if I can necessarily say that I LIKED this story, but I thought it was interesting. Which isn’t a bad way to end an anthology.
Perfect romance/YA book for the winter holidays!
Okay sometimes you just need a sweet Christmas story to get you in the mood for the holidays. This book does that perfectly. I enjoyed all the short stories by a ton of incredible authors. Worth the read. If you’re looking for more holiday happiness check out The Holiday Boyfriend (The Boyfriend Series Book 4) and The Winter Boyfriend