My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins 
Stories written by Stephanie Perkins, Holly Black, Ally Carter, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Matt de la Peña, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, Kiersten White

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publishing Date: October 14
Genre: young adult, romance, holiday
ISBN: 9781250059307
Goodreads: —
Rating: ★★★★

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: TWELVE HOLIDAY STORIES by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins.

From New Year’s Eve parties to last-minute Hanukkahs, supernatural creatures from dreams to fantastic parallel universes, and down to your usual Christmas holiday story — twelve great YA authors bring wonderful new sets of characters this holiday season for some cozy, warm-feeling cheer that would go perfectly with a soft blanket and hot cocoa.

I’ll admit I read only the short stories written by the authors I already enjoy (Perkins, Forman, Han, Rowell, Taylor) and those I’ve heard praise for but hadn’t read yet (Black, Carter, Levithan). Because I loved those short stories — such variety! — so much, I’m going to go back and read the ones by the authors I haven’t heard anything about.

Rowell and Forman were my favorites, followed closely by Perkins. Rowell’s characters Mags and Noel went to the same New Year’s Eve party across all of high school and freshman year of college. They change with each passing year, grow closer, and their friendship is so beautiful and solid you can’t help but cheer at midnight. Forman’s Sophie is hilarious and witty, extremely sarcastic, and it intensifies when she meets Russell, the first person she views as her equal. Perkins’s story is heartfelt and authentic, Han’s was a surprising twist of her usual writing, Taylor’s was lush as usual, and Black’s was fun and quirky.

This is an adorable winter holiday read, perfect to get you into the spirit!

Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from St. Martin’s Press for review!