A winter storm hits, and Shy is snowed in with only vodka, yogurt, a chocolate bar and cat food.
“Angels in the Snow” invites us to Brooklyn, where “just regular-old Mexican” Shy, at New York University on a scholarship, can’t afford a Christmas trip home, so he’s cat-sitting for his boss. Kiersten White’s intelligent storytelling elevates “Welcome to Christmas, CA.” There, in a dying mining town just off the freeway, Maria, who is Latina, works in a diner, saving every penny to escape from her stepfather’s duplex in “the bosom of the ugly brown desert.” But the cute new cook’s uncanny ability to intuit what customers are hungry for reinvigorates the community, filling Maria with Christmas spirit and reminding her that home and heart are inextricable. At a Christmas caroling concert, where they definitely won’t be singing “I Have a Little Dreidel,” she meets Russell, one of the few designated “Black Guys on Campus.” Forman’s intricate details bring this tale of misassumptions-turned-inside-out to vivid life, as Russell shows Sophie that holiday miracles do exist. Gayle Forman’s “What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?” sends Jewish Sophie to a small country college.
and he will hold me until I am warm again”) defines the book’s holiday spirit.Īmid increasing calls for greater diversity in children’s books, three stories serve it up in satisfying ways. And the remarkable final paragraph (“Outside, there may be reindeer that fly across the moon. This very short story, about how far a guy will go to please his boyfriend, illustrates the power of making every word count. In “Your Temporary Santa,” David Levithan masters both.
In a short story, pacing is at times difficult, as is emotional connection to the characters within so few words. Winter solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve serve as backdrops, but relationships are central, reminding readers that while the season can be painful, it’s also a time of hope. Both genre and contemporary fiction are represented, making the slightly uneven terrain fascinating. authors skillfully demonstrate its breadth of styles and differing depths. In this new collection of holiday-themed tales of young love, 12 popular Y.A. Beyond “The Hunger Games” and “The Fault in Our Stars” lies a rich, varied landscape of young adult literature.
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