Review: My True Love Gave to Me
My True Love Gave to Me is a collection of twelve holiday short stories by twelve different YA authors, all selected by Stephanie Perkins. There’s something for everyone in this collection – the stories are set during Christmas, New Year’s, Hanukkah and Krampuslauf, are filled with diverse characters, and are written in a few different genres. I thought this collection was wonderful but no one would be surprised to learn that I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. My favorites included:
Midnights by Rainbow Rowell: Mags and Noel meet around midnight on New Year’s Eve and, in typical Rowell fashion, their relationship develops slowly over the years.
It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins: Set in Asheville, North Carolina, this is the story of a young girl who falls for a Christmas tree farmer and comes to realize what really matters.
Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White: The diner in Christmas gets a new cook. Ben has the ability to cook whatever meal a customer needs at the moment. Maria the waitress longs to get out of the dead-end town but comes from a poor family and doesn’t see a way out.
Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter: When a young girl impulsively swaps airplane tickets with someone else she finds herself enveloped by a big family (who thinks she’s someone else) in a small town and learns to slow down and enjoy life.
I listened to the audio version of this book. Each story has a different narrator and, for the most part, I thought they were well suited to the stories. If you’re looking for something to put you in the holiday mood, this audio book is sure to do the trick!
Listen to a sample of Midnights by Rainbow Rowell:
I love the sound of this holiday collection – adding it to the list.
This would be good to listen to as I finish my wrapping!
This sounds lovely, Kathy. I like the idea of listening to it while wrapping gifts! 🙂
Oh wow! I am not normally a fan of short stories but I like the idea of these being written by YA authors! I may enjoy this one!
I don’t often read short story collections, but when there is a common theme, like Christmas, they can be wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
This sounds perfectly lovely!
I really enjoyed Stephanie Perkins and Kiersten White’s stories as well. (My kid did too!) Such a fun holiday collection.
I haven read anything Christmas-y yet this year. This one sounds like fun!
This sounds like a very good collaboration by authors to listen to or read.
Thanks for the link
I don’t read a lot of holiday themed books or stories, but this sounds good.
Glad to know you liked it!! It is one of the few Christmas books I wanted to read but I got sidetracked with life, it so I guess I’ll wait until next Christmas.
Different narrators? I love when they do that. Sounds like a winner.
This sounds so fun, and I love that it’s YA
This sounds good.
I haven’t read any Christmas books yet this year, but this sounds like a wonderful collection of stories 🙂
I’m not really a fan of Christmas books, but I kind of want to read this now!
Thanks for sharing this one. I wonder if I can find the audio version before Christmas??
Looks like it’s got some great writers~
I got this one for my sister for Christmas — she loves YA stories, many of these authors, and charming Christmas stories. I’m glad you liked it, I hope she will too!
I have this on my list already but hadn’t thought about picking it up on audio. I like that each story has a different narrator
This sounds like a great book for this time of year!
I wanted to read this book primarily because of Rainbow Rowell’s story. (I’ve become a fan.) I ran out of time so i’ll save it for next year. Merry Christmas, Kathy, to you and your family.
Sounds festive. I can relate though. In collections, some work for me and some not as much.