Let It Snow, by Maureen Johnson, John Green & Lauren Myracle

Let It Snow: Three Holiday Stories by Maureen Johnson, John Green & Lauren Myracle
Publication: Oct 2nd 2008 by Speak
Genre: Chick-Lit, Festive, Romance

Sparkling white snowdrifts, beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks. Thanks to three of today’s bestselling teen authors—John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle—the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.

I saw this book at a local bookstore and wasn't too interested. I'd never heard of Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, and I was tired of John Green's cliched writing. However, I was desperately in need of a decent-if-not-perfect book with an easily available illegal ePub. Thus I decided to read Let It Snow.

My review probably has nothing different from other reviews of this book – it started out very, very strong. Maureen Johnson's contribution, The Jubilee Express, was a delightful short story that expressed both, love and the whole meaning of festivals. I could find myself  playing this story in my head: the characters were really, really good. Jubilee and Stuart were really good, and I found myself fond of Jubilee's Flobie Five parents though we didn't see much of them. Debbie was a great character, and I could just hear Rachel's voice wring through my ears. This was realistic and just really good. Made me want to read more of Maureen Johnson.

I didn't have high hopes when I started reading Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, John Green's part. There is nothing new in what he writes – same old nerdy-but-cute guy, slightly tomboyish girl and the typical best friend. And how could I forget – THE CLASSIC ROADTRIP! I got exactly what I expected. All of that. However, I found it slightly more endearing than the pity fest of The Fault in Our Stars or the sleep-inducing 'mystery' of Looking For Alaska. Angie and Tobin were, albeit repetitive, good characters. I could see myself in Angie. The little touch of Jeb, Keun, Tinfoil Guy and Stuart from the first story added nice continuity. The last sentence of the story reminded me far too much of Tim Tharp's The Spectacular Now – which was the first book I read this year and has a strange place in my heart – but other than that, it was wrapped up well. It wasn't fabulous, but it was decent. I didn't end up hating John Green at least. 

Addie from Lauren Myracle's concluding short story, with a title to do with pigs (can't remember the name), had been mentioned briefly in both the earlier stories. So subtly that you wouldn't even remember her. However, her love interest Jeb had dialogues in the same stories and it all seemed to connect together in the end. I loved how the eight-year-old girls who got Jubilee's phone in the first story showed up here, too. It was amusing to find Tegan trying to figure out why they had called Addie as a reader who knew exactly what was going on. Then Tobin and Angie from John Green's story made an appearance and everything seemed to be tying up. That was all good. What I disliked, however, was the premise of the story. Addie was a self-consumed whinny brat, and the whole point of the story was her proving to others that she wasn't one. That happened, sure. But the whole method of getting there made me yawn. The characters were bland; I found myself skipping paragraphs on paragraphs because they were plain boring. It was a poor conclusion. My favourite part of it all was the last few pages, because that's where everyone came together and the feeling of Christmas was invoked. I liked that part. It made the last story at least satisfying.

Overall, it needed a bit more tinkering on Lauren Myracle's part. Otherwise it would have been a really good Christmas collection, something from a movie instead of a TV special. I liked it a lot, I guess it just could've done better.

Overall rating: Four out of five stars (4/5)

Final comment: Good read, recommended for holiday reading.

Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Publication: Sept 10th 2013 by St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Chick-Lit, Coming of Age

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan …
But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words … And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?
Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

I came across this book while browsing for illegal ePubs of the holiday collection Let It Snow, and I’m telling you - the title captivated me like no other. I am a fangirl. Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Sherlock, name it. I am part of that fandom. (Other than Twilight and Supernatural of course, but that’s an entirely different story) So obviously I had to get this book. and read it. And oh boy, that I did.

One of the sole reasons I liked this book was because I could see myself in Cath and Wren. Yes, both of them. I can see me as Cath two years ago, trying to balance RL with internet life. Having a popular fanfiction circle, being a part of a close-knit Harry Potter next generation forum. Blogging about it. Having people wait for me to update. Then I can see myself as Wren just a few months ago, giving up on fanfiction because it was time to grow up. I can see all of that and actually relate to these characters. I can actually feel Nick here: captivating Cath, using her unknowingly. I have had that happen to someone I used to know. I can also sympathize with Cath and Levi here, because I did know someone just like him. I used to be the Cath to that person’s Levi. I can see everything in the book so clearly, because this is an everyday story. I am an everyday girl, and I can relate to it. Simple as.

However, I did have a couple problems about this story. I am not letting those go.

Simon Snow is very obviously a Harry Potter in disguise, and Baz is Draco Malfoy. I could see that. While I am not a homophobic, I am not homosexual either. I didn’t open this book to read gay magicians romancing with each other. I would have just gone on fanfiction.net and read cheesy, unrealistic Drarry instead. I know I will be challenged about this, but I’m just stating my opinion. I found myself blatantly skipping the whole read-alouds of Simon and Baz. I’m sorry, I just could not get through those. There were just too many.

Secondly, this was supposed to be ‘coming of age’, in the same genre as The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Catcher in the Rye. Characters grow, change. They accept their surroundings and move a step closer to conquering their fears. I did not see that happening here.

Cath stayed the same throughout the book. Wren was much better and I found myself wishing it was her who was narrating the story instead. She did not conquer her fear of original fiction, and stuck to the comfort zone of fanfiction-writing. You may argue, citing the last page as the proof that she did write her own thing. But tell me, did you see the process? Did you see her get hurt on the way to her goal? No. Instead we see her reading out slash fanfiction in to her boyfriend in a bid to get intimate.

Speaking of, I think the romance drove the novel way too much than it should have. Cath’s family and her writing took a backseat at times when she was with Levi. I found myself wiching so many times that she would just write her stuff and get it done with I was impatient about it. I did not want to see the romance so desperately; I wanted to see her writing journey. Rainbow Rowell failed in that aspect.

I’m not saying it was a bad book. It was good one. It just could have been better. I was hoping that the Carry On, Simon fan Cath meets would have had more significance in the novel, but that didn’t happen. That plot thread didn’t get closure. It would have been amazing to have Cath get influenced by that incident. That scene was just there, dangling. I wish it had been worked on.

Overall rating: Three and a half out of five stars (3.5/5)

Final comment: Could’ve been better.

Scored, by Lauren McLaughlin

Scored by Lauren McLaughlin
Publication: Jan 1st 2011 by Random House Books
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Young Adult

Set in the future when teenagers are monitored via camera and their recorded actions and confessions plugged into a computer program that determines their ability to succeed. All kids given a “score” that determines their future potential. This score has the ability to get kids into colleges, grant scholarships, or destroy all hope for the above.Scored's reluctant heroine is Imani, a girl whose high score is brought down when her best friend’s score plummets. Where do you draw the line between doing what feels morally right and what can mean your future? Friendship, romance, loyalty, family, human connection and human value: all are questioned in this fresh and compelling dystopian novel set in the scarily foreseeable future.

I went from being in the clouds because of the amazing story arc to in the puddle because of the horribly drafted romance, to back on the ground because of the better ending. This book was, in all honestly, a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I’m still not sure whether in a good or a bad way.

First, the plot. I loved it for most part. I loveloveloved the whole thing about the Score Corp and the eyeballs and the five elements that determine one’s score: peer group, impulse control, rapport, etc. I could see Imani shunning her friend, Cady for the most part. I liked how Diego was introduced, and the whole Imani/Diego friendship. And I loved the concept of the novel so much. So, so much. I could write a fanfiction about it, a privilege I have reserved only for Harry Potter, Doctor Who and Percy Jackson. 

The book did go very random at times - note that I will be going over the ending later on. At times I had no clue what was going on and Imani failed as a narrator. Honestly. Her family had no depth to it. I would have liked if the functioning of the Score Corp would have been elaborated upon, like say how much grades affect the final score. Or how facial expressions do. How the eyeball monitors so many at the same time.

While I liked Diego, I did not like Imani or Cady. Not at all. Imani was too fickle-minded for my taste. I understand the whole part about doing the right thing in the end. However, I did not, absolutely did not understand why she had to go and kiss Diego. And effectively do the exact thing that she had shunned Cady for. I did not see Imani and Diego as a couple at all. They were more of best friends to me. There was no leading up to that kiss at the end. The last few pages of the book were so scattered that I almost gave up on them. Ugh. It as tiring. The last page was the only one that had anything to offer. Still, my love for the book was totally erased.

Overall rating: Two out of five stars (2/5)

Final Comment: At least it wasn’t a series.