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

Title: Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances (Goodreads)
Author: John Green, Maureen Johnson, & Lauren Myracle
Published: September 11, 2008 by Puffin
(352 pages, paperback)
Summary: 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.
--
My thoughts: Let It Snow is a cute, light, fun, romantic read. The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson was funny and romantic. It was the most Christmassy story, really, and it was cute in a sarcastic way. John Green's A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle was my favorite of the group, because of its randomness, sweetness, and witty dialogue. Once again, Green has made me adore his characters, even if they had the shortest amount of pages. Even though Lauren Myracle's the Patron Saint of Pigs was my least favorite, it was nice in its own way, and it was also quirky. I loved the way all of the authors must have collaborated to make the character's from each story interact with each other. Overall, Let It Snow was a great holiday read, even if the holidays are technically over. Each story had its own charm and its own feel, making it a nice, light read.
--
The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson: Jubilee has just learned her parents are in jail over Christmas decorations and she will be travelling (on Christmas Eve, no less) to Florida to stay with her grandparents over Christmas. And her boyfriend doesn't really care. So when Jubilee's train gets stuck in a snowstorm in the small, but quirky town of Gracetown, she's not having the best day. I loved how Johnson wrote Jubilee; she was kind of shy, kind of strange, and more than a little annoyed. Yeah, Jubilee was a little melodramatic for me, but she was definitely bearable. SHe was a bit rash too, but in a teenager-like way that made me laugh more than anything. Even though the story was kind of predictable, it was light and cute and romantic. I loved how Jubilee wasn't really all that quirky, but because of her strange situation, she came across as a little nuts. It was nice to see a romance that wasn't all perfect and gooey and overly done. Plus, Stuart was just so darn cute. The Jubilee Express was a great start for the book, and the characters were lovable enough to make me glad they were re-introduced in the other two stories.
Rating: 4 stars
--
A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green: Not surprisingly, I loved A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle. It was hilarious, adventurous, and crazy. After reading this one, I wish I could go back to Christmas eve, grab all of my friends, and trek out in the snow to a waffle house, just to see what happens. Tobin was basically a carbon copy of every other John Green protagonist, but with his own unique personality and odd group of friends. He was cute in a dorky way, hilarious in a snarky, sarcastic way, and strange in a lot of sweet ways. I loved the Duke and how un-girly she was. It was a cute story line and I was rooting for them to get together from the first time the Duke got upset about Tobin hitting on a cheerleader (even if the back cover kind of gave it away). Green's writing style was great, as always, and funny. I loved the whole premise of traveling through four-feet of snow to get to a diner full of cheerleaders--without forgetting the all-important Twister. If there was a complete novel about these characters, I would snatch it up in a heartbeat. All the characters were well-rounded and I just loved this story.
Rating: 5 stars
--
The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle: Addie is heartbroken over Jeb, thinking he doesn't love her anymore. While the readers know what's actually going on, because it was explained in The Jubilee Express that Jeb is, in fact, still in love with her (not really a spoiler since its mentioned in one of the first pages of the book), Addie is sadly left out of the loop and therefore, having a terrible Christmas. Okay, so, I didn't like Addie. I liked the story, the writing, and the conclusion to all of the stories at the end, Addie just annoyed me. I get that readers were supposed to not like her self-absorbed nature, but it didn't feel like she genuinely changed. Other than that, I liked the story line of having to pick up a tea-cup pig named Gabriel for her friend, Tegan. I loved the memories with Jeb; he seemed like the cutest and sweetest of all the guys in the anthology. Myracle is a good writer, and she managed to work in her own adventure, even if it wasn't as epic as the others. Overall, I liked the Patron Saint of Pigs, but it wasn't fantastic, and it fell a little flat in comparison to the other stories. But I loved the ending; I loved how all the characters all got together and interacted so much. It was a nice ending.
Rating: 3.5 stars
--
Overall Rating: 4 stars

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
Published: March 3, 2005 by Puffin
(221 pages, paperback)
Summary: Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave "the Great Perhaps" even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then . . . 
After. Nothing is ever the same.
--
My thoughts: Judging from the back of this book, and from the cover, it seems like this book will be pretty serious and heavy. Well, unless you've read other Green titles, then you probably know how humorous and light his novels can be. That being said, I was a little weary of this novel; I wasn't positive this book would meet the high expectations I've come to set before starting any Green novel. But Looking for Alaska was hilarious and tear-jerking and thought-provoking. Honestly, I don't think I could ever ask anything more of any novel, ever. The book starts out with a bit of a dreary, dragging beginning, where Miles is basically lonely and is going off to boarding school to seek "the Great Perhaps"--and maybe even get some real friends along the way. What Miles gets is Alaska Young, a complicated to say the least girl who is simultaneously naive and a genius. Alaska quickly drags Miles--deemed "Pudge" by the Colonel (more on him later) for 'irony'--into her complex, vortex of a life and Miles' is changed--and when everything changes for him again, he's left choking on the dust that is and was Alaska Young.
--
For the first 150 pages of Looking for Alaska, the characters are introduced and I laughed several times so hard a I cried. From the--self-proclaimed--Colonel, to the Asian rapper Takumi, to the quiet and short i-impaired Lara, every character had a personality unique and detailed in a way that made me bond with them despite sharing almost nothing in common with them. Green weaves a background story for each character, that while not really revealed, has undoubtedly made them completely unique from other characters, and also made them extremely memorable. I don't know that I'll ever hear rap music the same after Takumi's surprisingly good--and funny--skills with rapping. Or that I'll ever think of a roomful of books and wine without thinking of Alaska. But the secondary characters didn't feel at all like secondary characters throughout the book, and they each had a very crucial part in Pudge--and ultimately Alaska's--life and transformation. 
--
Alaska Young was too many words to list; she was amazingly intelligent and completely clueless when it came to her friends. She was sweet, occasionally, and bitchy, occasionally. I loved and hated Alaska for the whole book, and I saw through the eyes of Pudge instantly. His conflicting feelings towards this 'hurricane' of a girl made sense in a nonsensical story line. Even though the first half of this novel is quick, to-the-point, and light, the second half is darker and meaningful.
--
I just wanted to quickly add how awesome I thought the whole last-words obsession Pudge has. I hadn't really truly thought about it before, but a person's last words are there last testament, and at the end of Looking for Alaska, Pudge's last words (in the book) are just as quote-worthy and amazing as any other famous last words can be.
--
Normally I would elaborate on the writing style Green uses. But really, Pudge's narrative felt so real, so descriptive, that it was like I was in the characters' lives, and no matter what was going on, it was like the words melted into the pages and I was watching the story, not the words.
--
I love, love, loved the pranking in this novel, too. I have to admit I'm a bit of a prank-er myself and it was great to see some of high school's fun parts included. It would be amazing to live at Culver Creek, and I admit to being a bit jealous of their quirky nicknames, close-knit circle of friends, and hilarious and shockingly understanding principal, the Eagle. I adored how the Colonel acted and everything about their friendship and how the relate to one another. While the brief and clumsy romance between Lara and Pudge isn't exactly fluffy (or at all romantic) it was funny and cute in its own special way. Kind of like everything that happens in this novel. I could take hours to describe (in detail) how funny, serious, or honest some of the encounters were, but I'll just say that Green doesn't miss a beat and his smart writing style makes even slightly slow parts seem to fly by.
--
Green's writing for the latter half of Looking for Alaska is pure genius in my opinion. I was surprised by how deep and philosophical the book got, and it maintained its mostly humourous air even after. Pudge's life is yet again turned on its head, and his questions, doubts, and revelations were all realistic and emotional. It's the kind of novel that stays with you long minutes, and even hours, after you've closed the cover for the final time. Also, there were just so many great quotes and moments that I was countlessly re-telling my friends and my family about different parts of the book. And really, that's what the difference was between this novel being good and great: Looking for Alaska made me not only feel, but it made me think. And not a lot of YA novels can do this; especially not with the same flair Green does.
--
Cover: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
--
Overall Rating: 5 stars

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
256 pages, paperback
Published on January 21, 2008
Summary: When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. He's also a washed-up child prodigy with ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a passion for anagrams, and an overweight, Judge Judy-obsessed best friend. Colin's on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which will predict the future of all relationships, transform him from a fading prodigy into a true genius, and finally win him the girl.

Letting expectations go and allowing love in are at the heart of Colin's hilarious quest to find his missing piece and avenge dumpees everywhere.

--

My thoughts: An Abundance of Katherines is a typical John Green novel; hilarious, light, romantic, quirky, and inventive. Colin is--used to be--a child prodigy. He always dreamed of becoming a genius. But at the age of seventeen, he's quickly realized he's not going to become one--unless he proves his theory that every relationship can be predicted using a math problem. Green includes funny footnotes about the random facts that Colin knows--everything from how to translate Arabic to explaining who the archbishops are. Colin is full of random facts and he was just smart enough to seem crazy and just dumb enough when it comes to street-smarts that he was cute. Hassan was hilarious and totally brought the novel to life with his crude sense of humor and strangely religious ways. Lindsey was sweet, cute, and also funny, and I was immediately hoping for a romance between Colin and her. The story line, with Colin trying to perfect--along with Lindsey's help--his Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, was funny and brilliant too.

--

The book starts out a little slow, with a long introduction into how Colin used to be a child prodigy, and slowly became too smart for his own good. The most frustrating part of this book was how Colin constantly thought of himself as not smart enough, or not a genius. But Lindsey helps him with that problem and Green made it a little more clear as to why. The other thing that bugged me was that it was a little unrealistic that Colin had managed to find 18 Katherines and dated (or kissed) every single one of them. It just seemed a bit out there, but hey, it worked. I loved how Colin recounted each Katherine's story at the end--it made it seem a little more realistic that he should have found quite so many Katherines. It also cleared up the fact that he does not, in fact, have a thing for the name Katherine, luck just had it that Colin would crush on girls named Katherine.

--

Lindsey was funny and cute. I liked how she was real with Colin from the beginning, and how she revealed how she didn't really like being popular, just the idea of it. TOC (the other Colin), her boyfriend, was a total jerk and she still managed to have reason to go out with him without seeming too shallow or superficial. That being said, it did irk me some that she went along with his treatment of her for so long. Still, Green does a good job of portraying the way that she must have felt and her reasoning.

--

Hassan, oy vei, Hassan. He was hilarious, a bit annoying, and probably my favorite character. His greatest quality was one that Colin didn't appreciate at all--his ability to laugh off everything. Even when insulted, injured, and cheated on, Hassan moves on with a smile on his face. At first he annoyed me because he seemed to hang out with Colin for the sake of making fun of his obsession with facts and I didn't really get why Colin kept hanging out with him. But after their argument, I saw that Colin wasn't the greatest friend either, and Hassan wasn't making fun of him for the reasons it seemed.

--

The story was great; I love road trips, and though Colin and Hassan's was cut short with a detour that basically became the setting for the whole novel, it was still fun. The town where they end up, Gutshot, had a personality all its own, along with its strange residents. I liked how everyone seemed connected and how quickly Colin and Hassan adjusted to its quirky ways. As always, Green comes up with an original plot that makes you laugh and keeps you entertained.

--

Green's writing was amazing; I can't imagine how long it would've taken me to find so many strange, random facts and I especially can't picture myself looking up so many anagrams. If anything, I was a little annoyed that it was such slow reading because of the unnecessary facts and phrases, but I still loved it. My favorite part of the entire novel were the little footnotes at the bottom of most of the pages; they were random, quirky, hilarious, and showed Colin's personality perfectly. Also, the Appendix at the end was pure genius, even if it wasn't writen by Green himself. The whole idea of a washed-up child prodigy determined to prove his worth was original and funny. Overall, An Abundance of Katherines was a great read that involved a lot of thinking and plenty of laughs.

--

Cover: 4 stars

Characters: 5 stars

Plot: 5 stars

Writing: 5 stars

Overall rating: 5 stars

Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns by John Green
305 pages, paperback
Published by September 2, 2009
Summary: Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life--dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge--he follows.
After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues--and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

--

My thoughts: Now, any one of my friends can tell you I have a secret (not so secret anymore) crush on John Green. And Paper Towns was my first John Green book and is undoubtedly the foundation of my crush. Okay, so I know people say all of his books are the same story re-told with different characters and a slight slant. (I'm one of those annoying people who gasp and shake their head at people like that) But all repetitiveness aside, Paper Towns being my first of Green's books and all, I'm not going to compare it to his other novels. Getting on with the review now. 

--

Quentin, or Q as his friends call him, was hilarious, quirky, and smart. He's also been in love with Margo, who used to be his best friend when they were kids. The prologue to Paper Towns was absolute genius in my opinion. It introduces the characters and the story line perfectly, and while Green writes hilariously, he also incorporates surprising revelations and metaphors, throughout the novel. Q realizes quickly that Margo is even more of a mystery than she used to be when they hung out, and when she appears one night in his window, it doesn't suffice to say he's surprised by her re-entrance into his life.

--

The love story was cute and quick and I was totally rooting for Q all the way. I loved the whole premise of going for an all-nighter and doing crazy, random things like sneaking into Sea World past midnight. Margo was just as quirky as Q and I loved the enigmatic air of her. I think Q got it exactly right when he says: "...she loved mysteries so much that eventually she became one." The clever way she makes herself a mystery was cool and smart and I loved the whole premise in general. Plus, near the end there was a major road trip. I love books with road trips, because so much can happen.

--

As always, Green writes with a flair for humorous anecdotes and characters. I love "Bloody" Ben, and his story and just how funny, odd, and awesome he was. His loyalty to Q worked well into the story and his presence lightened the mood. Surprisingly, Green does a great job of making the story seem deep and kind of meaningful. In a teenage romantic-comedy way.

--

The story was funny and while I complained a little that sometimes Q seemed a little too hopeful that Margo intended him to find her, it was cute how faithful he was. I loved how the mystery unfolded, with twisted and slanted facts that eventually revealed the whole. Another thing that bugged me was the sudden change from past tense to present tense. I'm sure it was intentional, but it didn't flow very well with the sudden change. One thing I thought was kind of amazing was how Green even managed to make the book kind of eerie and creepy at points. Also, the ending caught me a little off-guard, and while it wasn't my favorite part of the novel, it was well-written and the characters acted just like themselves.

--

Paper Towns is a mostly light, cute, quirky romantic comedy of a novel that delivers the perfect package for teen readers. It was funny and light at all the right moments. The subject was mysterious and interesting and the characters were three-dimensional and goofy. Of course, the writing was hilarious and filled with surprising metaphors. Oh, and here's something interesting: the definition of a paper town is: deliberately incorrect towns or landmarks inserted on maps for copyright reasons. Just thought I'd share, even though it's mentioned in the book.

--

Cover: 5 stars

Characters: 5 stars

Plot: 5 stars

Writing: 5 stars

Overall rating: 5 stars

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

It's not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old--including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theatre auteur extraordinaire--Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most awesome high school musical.
--
Will Grayson, Will Grayson had me hoping for a great, if light, read. Loving John Green as much as I do, I couldn't help but expect a fantastic novel that left me grasping for more, like Paper Towns or An Abundance of Katherines (both of which are some of my favorite books). But in the end it turned out to be a lot more fluff and comedy than I wanted. And even though I love witty, smart-ass kids as much as the next nerd, I found myself rolling my eyes more than laughing out loud. The story is interesting enough, though it lacked a major direction that I like in most novels. I found some sub-plots useless, in fact, and found one of the Will Graysons just too much and not in-depth enough. The other main characters were definitely one-dimensional and a bit on the annoying side. Especially the self-proclaimed "fabulous" Tiny Cooper, who I found to be a total waste of space. It had some perks to it: the ending I found amusing and fitting; one of the will graysons was funny a lot of the time, and had such a misfit appearance that it made him my instant favorite; and the play that Tiny writes was funny, I hate to admit.


2.5 stars for the effort, guys. I wouldn't recommend it unless you feel like a quick-read without much meaning. To each his own I suppose.