Let It Snow

Setting: Gracetown, North Carolina; Christmas; massive snow storm. Three popular young adult authors write three separate but interconnected romances.

In the first, Maureen Johnson tells the story of Jubilee Dougal stuck on a train to Florida and her grandparents because her parents have been arrested as part of a riot over collectible Christmas decorations. Parted from her perfect boyfriend, things go from bad to worse when the train gets stuck in snow in Gracetown. Jubilee decides to make a break for the Waffle House across the interstate rather than get trapped on the train full of hyperactive cheerleaders. There she meets Stuart, who invites her to stay with he and his mom for Christmas. Stuart is sweet and cute, a good listener, who unfortunately asks a lot of uncomfortable questions about just how perfect her boyfriend really is. The question is, is Jubilee ready to face the answer?

John Green brings the second tale of Tobin, who is happily watching a Bond marathon with his best friends The Duke and JP while his parents are stuck in Boston with the snowstorm, when his other friend Keun calls from his night shift at Waffle House demanding they come immediately with a Twister board--for THERE ARE CHEERLEADERS here! Tobin and JP are instantly convinced it is a brilliant idea to go out in the storm for the sake of cheerleaders...the "Duke" however, their lone female friend, is less than enthusiastic...though she is convinced with the promise of Waffle House hash browns. The three friends face one crazy obstacle after another on their quest for the Waffle House, but as they near their destination, Tobin becomes uncomfortably aware that he is less and less interested in cheerleaders and more and more distracted by an unlikely source.

The third story comes from Lauren Myracle and involves the romance, or rather break up, of Addie and Jeb. Addie and Jeb have been dating for the last year, until a week before Christmas, when Addie makes a choice that may have destroyed their relationship forever. Addie is mired in her own misery and begins to feel worse as her friends help her see that it may not be Jeb who needs to change. Is it too late for Addie to start fresh and win Jeb back?

All in all, a cute collection of holiday romance, nothing too deep, but fun to kick back with on a weekend...especially if it ever gets cold enough for snow!

Suite Scarlett

When Scarlett Martin turns 15, she is given the key to her very own hotel suite...to take care of. You see, Scarlett's family owns a hotel in New York City, which sounds very glamorous, but is actually hard work...and not a very financially successful enterprise as of late. The tradition is to give each of their children a hotel suite to be responsible for when they reach 15, and when Scarlett is given the Empire Suite, she also inherits an unusual, generous, and demanding guest named Mrs. Amberson. As if that's not enough, Scarlett's older sister is having love life problems, her older brother may have to give up his dream of acting, her younger sister has survived cancer to become a brat, and her parents have had to dismiss all the other employees at the hotel. Scarlett's guest Mrs. Amberson, a wealthy ex-actress and wannabe author, hires Scarlett as her assistant and in no time at all has involved herself in Scarlett's family's problems, including helping her aspiring actor brother by taking over the direction of a play.

This book is fast-paced and lots of fun--among the best of the genre. Author Maureen Johnson accurately portrays the confusion of first love and the intricate dynamics of sisters and brothers. The end result is a witty, sweet, charming book with an extremely likeable cast of characters.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

I read this book because I'm a Nerdfighter, and the Nerdfighters have started a Blurbing Book Club where we are to come up with a blurb for the book in 10 words or less--the winners will get prizes--yay prizes!

Maureen Johnson has actually written a lot of books for young adults (including the awesome Keys to the Golden Firebird) and this is one of her strongest. The main character is Ginny, a 17-year old with an artist aunt who is important to her but often absent. During her last disappearance to Europe, Ginny's aunt is diagnosed with brain cancer and dies. But in a typical move, her adventure-loving aunt leaves her 13 envelopes with very specific instructions to open them in order and follow the instructions before opening the next one. These instructions send her on a merry chase through London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, and Greece. She finds herself tracing the steps her aunt took, finding the people her aunt met, and trying to piece together what it is her aunt wanted her to learn. While Ginny struggles to find answers, she starts to ask questions about herself and her own priorities.

All in all, it is a fun, fast read with lots of great travel descriptions. And in case you're wondering, my blurb for the Nerdfighters was:
"An archetypal artist challenges her hesitating niece to seek adventure."
To read more blurbs, go to: http://nerdfighters.ning.com/main/search/search?q=blurbing+book+club.