As a person who loves to read, I enjoy books that coincide with the current season. Each year when the holidays come around, I am disappointed with the amount of holiday-related novels. 

However, “Let it Snow” is one that I read every year. The book is comprised of three short stories: “The Jubilee Express” by Maureen Johnson, “A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle” by John Green and “The Patron Saint of Pigs” by Lauren Myracle. 

By no means is this a perspective-changing, world-view-shattering novel, but it’s not trying to be, which is what I like about it. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do — provide heart-warming holiday content. 

The three short stories follow three different plot lines about people who live in Gracetown, Pennsylvania. In “The Jubilee Express,” the main character, Jubilee, is on a train headed to see her grandparents in Florida for Christmas. She has to leave Gracetown at the last minute because her parents, who are obsessed with collecting pieces for their Christmas village, get arrested for being aggressive at a store where they were selling a limited-edition piece for their village. Right off the bat, I knew the story was going to be comedic and entertaining.  

“One person’s crazy is another person’s sane, I guess,” Jubilee said in reference to her parents’ obsession with their Christmas village.

There is a huge snowstorm that begins while Jubilee is on the train. The train gets stuck in a snowbank and loses power. Jubilee and a group of people on the train decide to walk to the Waffle House they see in the distance to hopefully warm up before their journey begins again. 

Jubilee meets Stuart at the Waffle House and he offers to let her stay at his house for the night since the train won’t be able to run until the next day. What follows is the most chaotic walk ever. The two trudge through heavy snow and fall in a creek at one point. It was ridiculous, but it was done well, so it was actually funny. I appreciated how this was the story’s way to speed up Jubilee and Stuart’s connection.  The short story ends with them spending Christmas together at Stuart’s house. 

“A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle” follows a group of three friends, Tobin, JP and the Duke. They end up at the same Waffle House Jubilee and Stuart were at. By this point, it is clear all of the stories are going to intertwine.

As this story progresses, Tobin realizes he has feelings for his best friend, the Duke. 

“Once you think a thought, it is extremely difficult to unthink it,” Tobin said when he realized how he felt about the Duke.

This story was more straightforward in how the love interests end up together, but it is still entertaining nonetheless. The narration of Tobin did a good job of providing a lot of the story’s entertaining parts as his inner dialogue is sarcastic and witty. 

“The Patron Saint of the Pigs,” follows Addie and her ex-boyfriend Jeb, who was on the train in “The Jubilee Express.” Addie struggles with being selfish and vows to change her ways, which the rest of the story focuses on (a subtle nod to “A Christmas Carol”). This story had the most meaning by far and did an excellent job of tying all three stories together. 

The novel is fast-paced and broken up into three sections which makes it even easier to get through. I think the three authors did a great job of writing a story that is the perfect mix of holiday clichés and new, interesting plotlines. It provides the same feeling as driving around and listening to Christmas music in the snow.