Mistletoe

by Hailey Abbott, Nina Malkin, Aimee Friedman

Glittering white snowflakes. The handsome blond ski instructor. The sparkle on a cashmere skirt. Hot cocoa and kisses in front of a crackling fire. The holiday season is the ESSENCE of magic...and romance. Four of today's bestselling teen authors -- Melissa de la Cruz (THE AU PAIRS), Aimee Friedman (SOUTH BEACH), Hailey Abbott (SUMMER BOYS), and Nina Malkin (6X) -- bring us delectable tales of love and lust and holiday cheers (and tears) in this one-of-a-kind collection that teens will devour faster than a plate of Christmas cookies.

Genres: Young Adult, Christmas, Short Stories, Holiday, Romance, Anthologies, Contemporary

240 pages, Library Binding

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Hailey Abbott grew up in Southern California, where she split her time between creative writing and creative beaching. She is the author of Summer Boys, Next Summer: A Summer Boys Novel, The Bridesmaid, Getting Lost with Boys, and The Secrets of Boys. Hailey now lives in New York City.

Her first book was Summer Boys, published in 2004, the first of a series. It was described as "escapist beach reading" by the School Library Journal.

Reviews

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buddy read with Stefanie!!;)

"Working in a Winter Wonderland" by Aimee Friedman 3.5 stars I really enjoyed this one great kick off to the collection and it was so Christmassy and cozy but I felt the romance came out of no where and it was a bit rushed at the end but overall really enjoyed

"Have Yourself a Very Merry Breakup" by Hailey Abbott 3 stars I really enjoyed this one as well it was cute and entertaining and the dynamics between the characters were interesting to see the romance was cute enough I just wish it was a bit more Christmassy but it was ok

"Scenes From a Cinematic New Years" by Nina Malkin 1 star this one I could barely get through i mostly skimmed it the third person POV didn't work the story was bland and boring and hard to understand and follow also it was at times unnecessarily vulgar for a Christmas collection story

"The Christmas Choos" by Melissa De La Cruz 4 stars this was my favorite of the whole collection I really liked this one a lot the ending was so endearing and sweet and kind of melted my heart the couple in this one is so cute and it was super entertaining and I enjoyed this one the most

Overall, after averaging all of my ratings it comes out to 3 stars, this book was mediocre but it was a nice light cozy christmassy read for the holidays:)

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buddy read with Gabrielle.

Breakdown of the stories:
Working in a Winter Wonderland: 5 out of 5
My favourite story in this collection by far and I really thought the entire collection would be like this.
Have yourself a Very Merry Breakup: 2 out of 5
To many brand name dropping here. And it dragged out to long for me. I felt this could have easily been finished in half of the page length.
Scenes from a Cinematic Nee Years: 1 out of 5
This one was terrible. I DNF'd this one after three pages and even tried to resumed it by skipping a few but honestly just couldn't do it.
The Christmas Choos: 4 out of 5
This ended perfectly. I loved the modernization of Gift of the Magi in here.

So I'm mixed on this one. Two I really enjoyed and two I'd never read again. It was nice for Christmas.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked three shorts in Let It Snow much better than this quartet of four Christmas stories. Some of these characters had blah personalities and all of the authors were pretty obsessed with product name-dropping constantly. This was really bad in the beginning of the first story (about a Jewish girl working as a store elf), but thankfully that one pulled out to be fairly cute by the end. Do they really think all teens really care about are labels? Some may, but a lot don't. Even when I was one, I didn't give two shits what type of phone a story's character owned. If it's not central to the plot, it's not needed!

The second story (girl's BFF comes back from college on winter break) was just alright...there wasn't much substance/plot to carry it along. It was pretty paint-by-numbers teen stuff.

The third story was the longest (famous young actor's car breaks down) and not even really Christmas-y; the majority of it took place on NYE. I didn't really care for it...all of the characters were those LA-types: flat, rich, and self-involved. The girl at the diner was supposed to be a teenager but she sounded more like a thirty-year-old woman.

And the fourth story (couple gets each other Christmas gifts) was super short and kind of depressing.

And sorry, book's cover, but you lie: These were not steamy, romantic stories, not even by teen standards. All-around fail.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Mistletoe means kissing, and four favorite authors each create a story about love and relationships during the holiday season in this anthology.

New Year's Eve equals a time for new beginnings, and Maxine can't wait for her high school BFF's famous Christmas party. However, being at home during her college break and pining away for the perfect but pricey party dress in the window leaves her feeling a little depressed. Her old crush just might have all the answers she's looking for, including a job, so all her New Year's Eve dreams just might come true. There is, of course, just one little catch--she's working as an elf in a Winter Wonderland, but she's Jewish. (WORKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND by Aimee Friedman)

A broken up foursome reunites in Hailey Abbott's tale, HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE BREAKUP, with Emily's return home from college. But things aren't really what they seem to be. Her boyfriend, with the help of her best friend, buys her a last minute gift; she doesn't know what to talk to her best friend about; and no one seems to remember that she has a whole new life...or do they?

One Hollywood superstar's New Year's turns out very different than the one he's expecting. Instead of skiing, a JLo cancellation changes his departure plans. Instead of flying, he drives towards his destination, breaking down about halfway there in a ghost town. From that point on, something shifts. He falls hard for a girl and takes a deep look at himself and sees that the world may be more than just his plaything. (SCENES FROM A CINEMATIC NEW YEAR'S by Nina Malkin)

Finally, Melissa de la Cruz spins a modern twist on an old Christmas tale from the heart in THE CHRISTMAS CHOOS. Kelsey's determination to find her boyfriend a perfect gift for the holidays leads her down a path she'd never thought she'd take. On top of present stress, she's invited to her friend's Sweet Sixteen party in the gated community in town. Will she wear the same boring dress she's worn three times in a year again and have the snobs humiliate her, or will she finally wear her inheritance?

Four unique tales from favorite authors will help readers feel the iciness of winter, yet also leave them full of warmth. Hailey Abbott, Aimee Friedman, Nina Malkin, and Melissa de la Cruz bring festival treats filled with relationships and their concerns during the holiday season.

[The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full Review on The Candid Cover

Mistletoe by Hailey Abbott gives the reader a bit of everything with four different festive stories. This book is just over 200 pages and can easily be read in one sitting. One of my favourite things to do around the holiday season is read short and sweet Christmas books.

AIMEE FREIDMAN’S STORY IS A FAVOURITE

My favourite of the stories was Aimee Friedman’s. Working in a Winter Wonderland is about a jewish girl working as an elf in a department store. I loved Maxine’s character and the humour in the story as she figures out her new job. I haven’t read any of Aimee Friedman’s books yet, but since her story was so enjoyable, I should definitely check them out!

MELISSA DE LA CRUZ WILL MAKE YOU SMILE

Melissa de la Cruz’s story was also very enjoyable. It is a Gift of the Magi retelling, which I have never read before. The sacrifices the characters make for each other are so heartwarming and made me smile. This was the perfect story to wrap up the book since the ending was just right.

HAILEY ABBOT’S STORY IS SWEET

Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup by Hailey Abbott was on the more serious side, but still lots of fun. This one is a story about friends growing apart as one of them is away at college and the changes that occur. The ending is so sweet, no matter how cliché.

Mistletoe is an anthology with four short stories by bestselling authors. My favourite stories were Aimee Friedman’s and Melissa de la Cruz’s. I would definitely recommend relaxing with this quick and cute book this holiday season!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by these 4 short Christmas stories. They were each sweet and festive and could be read in one sitting. some were better than others but overall it was exaclty what I hoped for.

Working in a Winter Wonderland by Aimee Freidman - funny and quirky. I liked the main character and the idea of a Jewish girl working in a Christmas shop was clever.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup by Hailey Abbott - a bit predictable and cliche. I'd skip this one.

Scenes from a Cinematic New Year by Nina Malkin - I started out hating this story but by the end I think it was my favorite! A true short story.

The Christmas Choos by Melissa de la Cruz - New take on a classic Christmas tale. This had me loving it from the beginning. Any story that features a saxophone player AND has references to This is Spinal Tap has my vote!

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Working in a Winter Wonderland (Amy Friedman) - 3 stars

Slightly instalove-y, but I liked how the main character grew and changed and ended up with a more positive attitude.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup (Hailey Abbott) - 3.5 stars

While Aria and Marcus did seem to have more in common with each other than with their respective bf and gf, I don’t like books with cheating. Aria and Marcus were cute together though.

Scenes From a Cinematic New Year’s (Nina Malkin) - 1 star

I didn’t like the writing style, didn’t care for the characters, and the story was quite depressing.


The Christmas Choos (Melissa de la Cruz) - 4 stars

Probably my favorite in the collection. The Gift of the Magi is one of my favorite short stories, and i liked this retelling of it. Brenden and Kelsey were so sweet.

[Kinzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first and second stories weren't bad, the other two just didn't do it for me. I took a chance and tried a book of short holiday stories and was disappointed.

[Alea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mistletoe is a mixed bag of holiday and new year's stories! They all have something different to offer but go together nicely! Just like, Let It Snow, it's perfect to read this time of year!

Of all the stories I think I enjoyed Aimee Friedman's story, Working in a Winter Wonderland the most. I don't want to give too much away because discovering the main character, Maxine's job at the department store is all part of the fun. But it's a great glimpse of the holiday madness that leads up to Christmas!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Breakup but Hailey Abbott is a great story about a group of friends and how things can change without even realizing it when one friend goes to college and the others are left back in high school. I was also engrossed by this story curious as to how it would all turn out!

Nina Malkin's story, Scenes From A Cinematic New Year's is a story of a teen tv star who has a very strange and magical night when his car gets stranded. I liked how this story progressed but the ending could have used a few more details in my opinion.

And finally, Melissa de la Cruz's story, The Christmas Choos is a sweet story about the lengths a boyfriend and girlfriend will go for each other. It is also based on a classic O. Henry story. I love when stories are reinvented in a new way but also still stay true to the heart of the original story!

Over all this was a fun holiday read that shows enough variety to keep the reader interested!

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Working in a winter wonderland:

Read in Snow in Love. Didn’t remember anything about this until it got to the part where his dad’s store needed help and Maxine was looking for a job. As soon as she says she needs a job, one lands in her lap! Just like real life!

Heath had gone skinny dipping with Nicole Richie. He always had someone on his arm, who Maxine called Heathies. I hated that, all the sleazy details for one thing but then with celebrities.

It was all so very shallow and materialistic, name dropping stores and going on about clothing and things in a way that grates on my nerves and is so unpleasant to read. It has no substance.

I was going to continue reading if I didn’t remember, but between the story vaguely coming back to me at that point, and all the disgusting details about the hero, and the heinous writing that’s so vain and shallow and gratingly materialistic, I stopped.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup:

This was in third person which I don’t like in YA.

It began with Aria out shopping with her best friend’s boyfriend, Marcus. He’d been dating her friend for years, but her friend Emily is a year older and was away at college. Aria herself has a boyfriend of almost a year and a half, Jason. Aria wondered if people thought they were a couple, and Marcus had 0 interest in choosing a gift for Emily, even though it was Christmas Eve and he hadn’t gotten her anything, literally leaving Aria to find the perfect gift while he left, so you knew where it was headed.

Aria also saw a blue scarf that would look good on Marcus and make his eyes look bluer. She caught herself but the seed was planted. She gave the scarf to Jason, even though it didn’t look right on him and it would have looked natural on Marcus.

Emily had completely changed, dressed differently, acted differently, was all about her new college life and talking about her new friends and was doing things she’d never done like having her phone out at the diner and had gotten a tattoo without telling her. All signs that she had moved on.

Marcus remarked at the party that Jason loved his new scarf and Jason said Marcus just wished he had one, and Marcus told Jason his girlfriend had great taste.

Jason ended up getting a little drunk and slurring his words and careening around, stepping on her toes. During their dance she looked over at Marcus and Emily dancing and Marcus looked up and they had a moment.

Aria was so worried about Emily’s changes and called Jason to ask if he thought Emily was weirded out that she and Marcus were friends. He was irritated that she’d called before his football game about that. She went to pick up Marcus and Emily and walked in on them in a fight. Emily wasn’t going to the game, Jason’s last game in high school, because she wanted to go help her friend and Marcus was mad that her old friends weren’t more important.

At the game Marcus told her that he was trying so hard and thought they were just friends and he was missing Emily. Something changed and he knew it before seeing Emily. He didn’t think they were just friends now and thought she felt it too. She asked what about Jason and what kind of friend that made him and he said a shitty one and he’d have to deal with it. He said to tell him she didn’t feel the same. She denied it.

At the football party that night, she left and went outside and saw Marcus. He apologized for throwing it at her like that but wasn’t sorry about what he said. He was going to break up with Emily. Aria confessed she felt the same for him.

Marcus kissed her and Emily caught them. Emily asked to talk to Aria alone and she wasn’t even mad. Emily was going to break up with Marcus today. There had been no friend emergency, she’d needed to get away.

They’d both changed and Aria didn’t know she was the kind of person who could do this. Emily thought they made sense. Emily decided Aria could be a little less good like she usually was because being bad was fun. Such a realistic reaction!

Aria was going to talk to Jason tomorrow. They kissed and that was that. The least she could have done was talk to Jason BEFORE kissing Marcus again. It would have been so much better had they broken up with their partners beforehand. I really don’t like dating your friend’s ex, but I can’t tolerate cheating. Cheaters are the lowest of the low. If you’re not happy, get out and then do what you want. I can’t condone this relationship because of that. It was also too much drama with the best friend relationship altered because one friend moved on.


Scenes from a Cinematic New Year’s:

My sister told me not to read this because it was so sleazy, so dodged this bullet.

The Christmas Choos:

This was the best story out of the book. It’s really cool how the gift of the magi was modernized into such a sweet story. I was shocked that the author was capable of writing something so sweet and wholesome and not trashy.

Kelsey’s boyfriend Brenden was a little tousled and grungy for her tastes and she wished he’d be a little more polished. Her preppy, stuck-up friend Gigi did not like Brenden at all and he didn’t like her. It made me wonder why they were friends if Gigi was like that. Brenden even wondered how she could stand her and Kelsey said they’re friends and Gigi is nice to her. I was afraid where it was going because I expected Gigi to really like Brenden and end up with him. But no worry there.

I didn’t care for Kelsey because she was prettier than the lot of all the popular girls put together. They couldn’t call themselves the Beautiful People if they didn’t count the most beautiful girl in school among them. That instantly makes me dislike a heroine.

Brenden didn’t like PDA and she wished he’d be more demonstrative.

They’d been friends since childhood, which was nice.

Brenden had a motorcycle that was his pride and joy. He’d refused all offers for it. He had a thin, tattered denim jacket though that wasn’t keeping him warm. He wanted a nice leather motorcycle jacket.

Kelsey wanted to get him something really nice for Christmas but didn’t have much money.

Gigi was having a birthday party and Kelsey planned to wear her grandma’s vintage dress.

At the mall, Kelsey overheard Gigi’s friends talking about her cheap, knockoff clothes and how she’d probably wear the same dress she’d been wearing and her cheap heels. Gigi didn’t come to her defense and Kelsey felt betrayed.

She saw a pair of Jimmy Choos that perfectly patched the dress, $950.

A few days later she ran into Gigi at the mall and they went shopping and Gigi wanted to buy the same heels in the same exact size but they were sold out.

She was out with Brenden in the snow and he was shivering. Kelsey realized the sacrifice she’d have to make to get Brenden the perfect gift. She sold the dress for $450.

Brenden dressed in a coat and a tie and combed his hair, so she got what she wanted. Everyone would notice. So she was still thinking about what everyone thought.

She gave him the jacket and he didn’t seem thrilled, and then he gave her the heels and she confessed she’d sold the dress to buy him the jacket. When they went outside and she didn’t see his motorcycle, but his mom’s car. That’s when she realized what he’d done. He sold his motorcycle to buy her the heels.
His jacket just cost over $400. He paid $950 for hers. Couldn’t she have found a pair of heels close in price?? That was way uneven.

Kelsey started to wonder what people would think of the old car and then realized she didn’t care what anyone thought of the dress, her shoes, or her boyfriend. She’d received the best gift ever, the gift of his heart, and she’d given her heart.

She managed to do such a sweet relationship and I loved how the gifts worked for modern times. It was such a refreshing spin on this old story and done really well. It was inspiring.

4 stars

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had great expectations for Mistletoe since it was written by some of my favorite authors. However, I was sadly disappointed. :(

Out of the four stories, there was only one that I had greatly enjoyed. It was the one about the girl who dressed like an elf and ended up meeting the boy of her dream in the department store. I don’t exactly remember who write this story but I really enjoyed it. I liked the plot – especially the elf. Gotta love the elf! It was basically a very fun read.

The other stories, I was very depressed. The story from Nina Malkin was, in a way, similar to her newest novel, Swoon. Because guess what? It was about a ghost. I think Nina really likes writing about ghosts. Even her short story is about a ghost. But at least this short story was not as smutty or awkward as Swoon. It was about an actor who fell in love with a ghost. Not too shabby but it definitely could’ve been better.

Overall, Mistletoe was just one of those books where I shake my head to. Yan definitely warned me and, in a way, I wished I heeded her words. I definitely could’ve lived without reading Mistletoe.

[oliviasbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Working in a Winter Wonderland (Friedman) = 4 stars. I liked that one best - even if it was pretty cheesy. But at Christmas (and at Hanukkah too?) some kitsch should be allowed.
Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup (Abbott) = 4 stars. Super cute couple. I also understood that sad feeling of fading friedship with former high-school-friends.
Stories from a Cinematic New Year's (Malkin) = 2 stars. I didn't like that über-macho, self-centered actor and that slangy language - although the hero emerges somewhat "reformed" from the end of the story.
The Christmas Choos (de la Cruz) = 3 stars. Fairly nice contemporary adaption of a well-known classic short story. One of the negative points: I thought more that once "Does she have to through around brand-names all the time?" It was made perfectly clear almost by page one that all the kids in school were rich and snobby whereas the hero and the heroine were working-class with their hearts in the right place. But maybe without all the brand-names the story would not have met the number of required lines. Who knows?

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Working in a Winter Wonderland:
I thought I’d read this book before, I knew I’d read this story, I remembered the beginning, and checked to see if I’d read it. I thought my review got deleted or something because it said I hadn’t read it. Then I realized this story was in another book: Snow in Love. I really dl when they do that, put a story in different books, but now it means I can skip to the second story, so there’s that!
Rated this 2 stars

-Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup:
I couldn’t get on board with this because the heroine like her best friend’s boyfriend. I do not like those tropes at all.
Her best friend has moved on but she’s too stupid to see that.
The best friend has the weirdest most unrealistic response to finding her bf kissing her best friend. Even if she’d been planning to break up with him herself.
“I’m so sorry,” aria whispered. “I had no idea I was the kind of person who could do this.”
“Neither did I,” Emily admitted, and then after a moment, that wicked smile of hers spread across her face. “I think it’s about time you let yourself be more than just (i)good(/i), Aria.”
“There’s nothing (i)wrong(/i) with being good,” Aria protested.
“No, but being a little bad is so much more fun,” Emily said, laughing, and despite herself, Aria giggled, but it turned into a hiccup. “Or, in your case, being slightly less good.”’
And…everything is fine. So unrealistic.
These stories are just too short. The characters are barely together and then bam they like each other right at the end. It’s just not enough, not believable.
It wasn’t romantic either, what with the cheating. They hadn’t even broken up with their partners and kept kissing each other. So respectful. But do tell us what a great best friend you are.
On top of that, it doesn’t have a holiday feel at all.
2 stars.


-Scenes from a Cinematic New Year’s:
I did not want to read this, almost skipped it. Idc to read about famous people, especially crappy ones. The sleeziness, drinking, all the cheating, calling his car the Bitch, the writing, I didn’t care for any of it, bay-bee. And that ending. He slept with a ghost?? That’s awful!
You don’t change or fall in love with someone after one night. What a joke.
I read this so fast just to hurry and finish.
1 star.


-The Christmas Choos:
Danget I’ve read this too! I remember the motorcycle jacket. Geez! Why do they do this?? Why put the same story in different books? It was in Snow in Love too!
I realized none of these were really on Christmas, but were instead on New Years but then it hit me the title is Mistletoe, so that does kind of imply it’s on New Years.
‘They had welcomed Kelsey into their ranks even though Kelsey wasn’t rich, snobby, or from Wade Hill. (Her fur-trimmed coat was a knockoff.) But she was prettier than the whole lot of them put together, and after all, they couldn’t call themselves the Beautiful People if they didn’t count the most beautiful girl in school among them.’
That is so conceited. Maybe you are snobby after all.
Even reading it a second time, I can’t believe she sold her grandma’s vintage Balenciaga dress to buy him the leather motorcycle jacket, and he sold his motorcycle to buy Choo shoes to match the dress! It’s just incredible, so selfless and loving. It made them the perfect couple. I wish the story had been longer so we could see more of their relationship. I wish it had shown them going to the party, making their entrance with his new jacket and her new shoes, but so much in love. This was sweet and touching. Worth a second read.
I remember watching gift of the magi in school. Idt I liked it but if it produces a story like this, then it’s good to get inspired by movies. This is probably the best de la Cruz has written.
Not crazy about her style, rich people, fashion, snobbery, but this was touching despite that.
3 stars.

Two stars overall. That third story had no place in this book to me.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Working on a Winter Wonderland
You’re ruining the cuteness effect.

Well, gifts can also be, like...moments instead of things, you know?

Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup
And then he kissed her.
She expected Christmas magic.
Instead, she got New Year’s fire.

Scenes From A Christmas New Year’s
You’re the person you’re supposed to be. But you had to get lost to get found.

The Christmas Choos
Kelsey shook her head and inhaled deeply. The air was tinged with just a slight edge of burning firewood-a pleasant, smoky aroma that she always associated with Christmas.

Working on a Winter Wonderland by Aimee Friedman 3 stars.
Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup by Hailey Abbot 3.5 stars.
Scenes From A Christmas New Year’s by Nina Malkin 2.5 stars.
The Christmas Choos by Melissa De La Cruz 3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this book. I had this book for about 3 or 4 years before I read it. A nice book to read during the holiday season. Overall, I would give this book a 3.5 stars.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book after reading Snowed In Love and enjoying it. The only problem? Each book has four short stories and it turns out that they both have two of the same stories.

I kind of feel like I bought the same book twice. Now, it’s ok because I only paid about $4 for this on ThriftBooks and I did enjoy the extra two stories.

But I wouldn’t necessarily recommend buying both. In my opinion, Snowed in Love was the better of the two. If you chose to buy both, just look for a good deal or you might feel like you wasted money by only getting 6 stories instead of 8.

[Kaley Alexandre · Rating 3 out of 5]

So like the book is formatted in four completely different stories that have nothing to do with each other. They were all cute and very stereotypical Christmas romance stories. I really couldn't follow the third story but that might just have been me.

[Lauren Neumann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring stories.

[Kim]

Could not do it. Too much unrealistic entitlement.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were just okay. Pretty generic really, but a decent holiday read.

[✨Jinglemarco✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ieri sera ho terminato la lettura dell’ultimo racconto della raccolta di quattro Mistletoe – four holiday stories. Non ho però letto il terzo, Scenes of a cinematic New Year’s di Nina Malkin perché è scritto in modo strano, troppo difficile per me –e devo ammettere che non mi sono impegnato molto. Mi dispiace davvero, ma questo periodo è per me molto stancante a causa della scuola e riesco a trovare davvero poca concentrazione. Se poi il libro è in lingua inglese l’attenzione che serve alla traduzione è maggiore. Per cui io parlo in questa sede degli altri tre racconti, che a loro modo sono carini, più o meno.

Considerazione generale: non sono sicuro se consigliare questa antologia o no. Un lettore anglofono o che conosce bene questa lingua, in breve tempo la legge e poi la ripone in libreria, io penso. Per me, che non conosco alla perfezione l’inglese, la lettura è stata un pochino difficile, ma non troppo, a parte il terzo racconto; però sono stato dietro al libro per lungo tempo. Quindi, o il lettore lo finisce in fretta, ne gioisce e lo ritira, oppure se lo tiene sul comodino per tanto tempo, ma senza goderne appieno. Se non mi sono spiegato bene, basta continuare a leggere le minirecensioni individuali. E poi non ho proprio trovato lo spirito natalizio che avrei voluto!

Working in a Winter Wonderland di Aimee Friedman: il migliore. Maxine, la protagonista è una ragazza di fede ebraica che necessita di un lavoretto per ottenere i soldi per comprarsi un vestito da indossare a una festa. Il lavoro è niente meno che il settore natalizio di un grande magazzino, in cui quattro studenti si devono mascherare da figura mitologica o da protagonista di un’opera teatrale. Maxine è un elfo, poi ci sono Santa Claus, la Fatina Sugar Plum e il Principe Schiaccianoci. Lei è innamorata del figlio del proprietario del centro commerciale, suo ex compagno di liceo. Finiranno per baciarsi, ma il destino la porta tra le braccia di un altro ragazzo, proprio mentre sopra il Rockefeller Center cade la neve.
Effettivamente è quello che mi è piaciuto di più. Ed è anche il più lungo e articolato. Mi è piaciuta la trama, mi sono piaciuti i personaggi… però anche qui mancano descrizioni dettagliate. Se solo la scrittrice si fosse dedicata a rendere questa storia un romanzo e non solamente un racconto! Adoro i centri commerciali che ospitano Santa Claus e i suoi folletti e altri personaggi. {♣♣♣♣ stelline}

Have yourself a very merry little breakup di Hailey Abbott: non mi è piaciuto granché. La storia non è trattata adeguatamente e I personaggi non sono molto caratterizzati. Aria e Marcus sono due amici. Lui è fidanzato con Emily, la migliore amica di lei, che è al college. Nelle vacanze di Natale Emily torna nel loro paese, però Aria e Marcus hanno scoperto di amarsi. Emily lo verrà a sapere, ma la sua reazione sarà tutt’altro che furiosa.
Il tutto si svolge in fretta e senza scene coinvolgenti. {♣♣ stelline}

The Christmas Choos di Melissa de la Cruz: è quello di mezzo, per gradimento. E pure il più breve. Mi sono sentito coinvolto dai personaggi, Kelsey e Brenden. Sono due fidanzati, appartenenti alla zone povera della città. Lei trova in un negozio di lusso un paio di scarpe Jimmy Choo che non può permettersi. Vuole anche comprare un bel regalo per Brenden, così deve usare l’unico espediente di guadagno: vendere il vecchio e costoso abito di Balenciaga che la nonna le ha lasciato in eredità. Ma la Vigilia di Natale avrà una sorpresa.
Melissa è l’unica tra le autrici di cui ho letto altre opere. Posseggo i capitoli della saga Blue Bloods. Ed è tipico di lei scrivere in modo striminzito. Però alla fine è carino, anche se dura poco, per chi conosce la lingua. E devo ammettere che ho trovato alcune scelte dei protagonisti leggermente assurde. {♣♣♣ stelline}

[Sophie Riggsby / allthingsequilateral]

Published on Mundie Moms on 12/21/2012*
http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/2012/1...

Okay, so I picked this up at my favorite used bookstore. How could I resist a cover like that? And yes, I made myself an eggnog latte and read these stories in one sitting.

Working in a Winter Wonderland by Aimee Friedman
I love stories where the main character longs for a boy who was out of reach a while ago. And when we meet Maxine she's home from college and hoping (and planning) to meet up with Heath (the hot boy from her old high school). But things are not the same at home; her stepdad and mom are more annoying in their affection. Her best friend is away for the holidays with her own family. Most of all, that dress that she has to have for the big party where she's going to talk to Heath -- well, it's expensive. Just when all hope is lost, she runs into Heath and lands an interesting part-time job. The story of a Hannukah-kind-of-girl dressed up as an elf in an upscale department store warmed my heart.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup by Hailey Abbott
Four long time friends are together for the holidays after one of them has been away at college. What happens when the paired off couples no longer click? Do they wander off their separate ways? A sweet story about growing apart and back together again (although not the way it was in the beginning).

Scenes from a Cinematic New Year's Eve by Nina Malkin
Told in a cinematic fashion, the story moves sometimes disjointedly from scene to scene as we're introduced to some rather interesting Hollywood characters. It's a story that I didn't connect with and I found it hard to keep the larger cast of characters (for a short story) straight. On a positive note, I found myself reminiscing about the book, Less than Zero. The feeling of this story reminded me of Bret Easton Ellis' setting and characters.

The Christmas Choos by Melissa de la Cruz
I enjoyed this take on a classic Christmas story (no, I won't tell you which one; you'll figure it out when you read it). Sometimes the product placement (name brands appear on almost every page) did pull me out of the story. But, the ending left me with a smile on my face.


This anthology is out of print; it's available as a used book (see links above). I enjoyed seeing these earlier writings from some of YA's most popular authors. I would say that this anthology is for people like me who just can't pass up anything remotely holiday related. Yes, I'm sipping my latte from a Santa mug. Of course, I am.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Umm well, the first two were okay, I didn't like the third, and the forth had a really stupid ending.

Working in a Winter Wonderland - Aimee Friedman
This one was okay, had a cute ending, was pretty amusing, I found it a tiny bit rushed but it was still pretty complete. Oh and the girl is Jewish in this book which would be a plus to some but was not relatable for me. But was still pretty cool to have a Christmas story focus on someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Break-up - Hailey Abbott
This one was the best and of the group and felt like it had the most complete story, relevant backstory, conflict, resolution all that well done for a short story. It was cute and perfectly cheesy like all Holiday reads should be.

Scenes From A Cinematic New Year's - Nina Malkin
I did not like this one, I didn't like the way it was written, I've never read anything by this author, actually hadn't even heard of her before this, so I don't know if this is typical for her but I did not like the set-up at all, it was confusing and the story itself was kind of dull and all the characters were un-relatable and dumb. On top of that it got super weird in its ending and we were just kind of expected to accept it without any real explanation.

The Christmas Choose - Melizza de la Cruz
This one seemed like it would be okay but the ending was just stupid and mad me angry, completely ridiculous and unrealistic and not in a good way. Seriously those two in the story are idiots.

Hailey Abbott's & Aimee Friedman are the only 2 worth reading, the other 2 are just a waste of time.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

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Starting off my celebration and talks of stories that fit in with the holidays wonderfully, the first collection of holiday themed stories that comes to my mind is Mistletoe. In fact, it was the very first collection of four holiday stories that I’d ever picked up, due to my love of Melissa de la Cruz and Aimee Friedman.

While Mistletoe: Four Holiday Stories has the promise of a lot of fluffy goodness, it isn’t the best release out there. I loved all the stories in it once upon a time, but upon my reread of it last week, I’d discovered that only two of these stories still warmed me up. This isn’t to say that the short stories aren’t good, because that’s completely untrue, it’s just that they seemed to have… well, not aged well.

I’ll start with the first story from the collection. If I were you I wouldn’t expect me to go in story order, though.

At the time of its original release, I didn’t know much about Hailey Abbot’s work. My [then] best friend was once obsessed with her Boys series, and I just couldn’t get into it at the time. Which surprised me when I found that I loved her story in this one.

Continued @ BOOKEDJ.

[Estelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted on Rather Be Reading Blog

I’ve been searching for another collection of holiday short stories since I read Let It Snow almost two holidays ago. Mistletoe‘s stories are a little shorter, and less developed but I still had a merry time reading them. The characters range from high school to college-aged to celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah — mall jobs, crushing on the wrong person,a Hollywood star, and discovering the true meaning of the holidays. I was practically giddy with the first two stories because they were set in two places I know well — NYC and North Jersey. (Seriously, a mall I used to frequent was name-dropped!)

It seems to be the case that there is always one story in these sets that I like less than others (while I loved the different writing style, the third story set up like a screenplay was a little slow) but Mistletoe is perfect to have on hand during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Slip in a bookmark and pick it up when you need a break from wrapping, sipping peppermint mochas, or caroling with your pals.

I know it’ll be a treat to cozy up with this one when the weather gets a little chillier and this time of year comes swinging through again!

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Working in a Winter Wonderland was my favorite story out of all of them. The characters was much older and it made the plot seem more realistic.

Have yourself a merry little breakup was decent enough. A little to predictable and kind of trashy but overall ok.

Scenes from a cinematic New Years Was my least favorite story. I mostly skipped through the story because it was too laggy. The whole third person thing was confusing.

The Christmas Choos was decent. I thought Kelsey's character could have had a bit more depth but other than that, the story was very enjoyable.

Overall this book was a decent pick up. I actually got it only because I thought the cover was the dorkiest thing I'd ever seen. Overall happy with the results. It thing it would have been way better if Working in a Winter Wonderland was it's own story.

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure who this book was for.. college girls? Teen girls? The ages were kinda all over the place, making for a hard read since I went from reading YA to kids lit to "What the hell is the crap?"

I did not like this book at all. None of the stories were that great. "Scenes from a Cinematic New Year's" was by far the worse story I have ever read and the "best" story, "The Christmas Choos", was barely a step up, nothing more than a update on a tired "twist".

I think I have committed all four "authors" names to memory so that I will never make the mistake of picking up anything else from them.

[Kayla Sullinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Working in a Winter Wonderland"
I thought that this was a great story to kick off the book.I felt like it had me hoping that she was going to get the date she always wanted.I like how there was a twist to it.And the ending was cute.

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup"
Not my favorite work by Hailey Abbott.It was decent.I could sort of see the ending coming.

"Scenes from a Cinematic New Year's"
This was hard for me to get through.I did not like the way it was written.It just didn't work for me.

"The Christmas Choos"
It was a good way to end the book.A cute story about love.The things people sacrifice for the ones that they truly love.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Four holiday stories with a romantic twist by popular teen authors. Pretty predictable with average plots and characters. I was only able to read three out of the four stories(I wasn't able to read the story by Nina Malkin - the writing style / dialogue drove me crazy!)I would recommend it only for those really wanting something to fit that romantic, Christmassy mood or for die hard fans of the included authors.

[Brianda Barrera · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a sucker for holiday reads, but this one was pretty bland. There was no magic :( I'd also have to add that it gave me no Christmas cheer. Particularly the one with the actor was semi-interesting but mostly slow and a bit depressing. Ex- Mas and Let it Snow are way better Christmas books. If you must read YA Christmas stories as I do, go there first. Haven't been able to find any good Christmas books since

[Gabie (OwlEyesReviews) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This book was a very odd one. I felt like the four stories were completely different. I absolutely loved one and then hated the other. I feel like there could have been a better collaboration between them. I both Melissa and Hailey's stories made this book for me. The other two were a total miss.

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