Books to Watch Out For: Let It Snow: Three holiday romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

It may be 90 degrees and humid here in New Jersey, but “A Very Supernatural Christmas” is on the TV and I’m craving Chinese food, so this seems like the perfect time to write about Let It Snow: Three holiday romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, coming in September.

Five people arrested, four close friends, three romances, two crashed cars, and a Waffle House (but not a pear tree). These things and more add up to three hilarious stories that are sure to bring holiday delight to fans of Johnson, Green and Myracle’s. Johnson’s story opens the collection. In it, Jubilee (yes, that’s her real name and no, she has no aspirations of being a stripper) has to cancel plans to go to her boyfriend’s for their annual Christmas smorgasbord when her parents are arrested in a brawl over a Flobie Santa Village limited-edition piece. Upon receiving news of her parents’ arrest, she’s immediately put on a train to Florida, a train that has to stop in the middle of a terrible snowstorm in northern North Carolina. Her refuge from the train is the local Waffle House, which is occupied by, among others, a very nice local boy. Some of the people the local boy knows are…

…the protagonists of Green’s story, which is sprinkled with shout-outs to the YA lit community, including a main character named Tobin who enjoyed The Book Thief. Tobin and his friends get wind of the fact that there’s a cheerleading team from Pennsylvania stranded at the Waffle House, so they do what any normal teenage boys and their best girl friend would do: They get in Tobin’s parents car and embark on a madcap road trip over unplowed roads and snowdrifts to the Waffle House, invoking the ire of the class bullies along the way.

Trapped at the Waffle House is Jeb, who we first meet on the train when he sits down next to Jubilee. Myracle’s story is told from the point of view of his girlfriend Addie, who has some very clear notions about what does and doesn’t constitute a romantic gesture. Addie’s having a perfectly miserable holiday because she’s convinced she and Jeb are over, and is spending the day confiding in her closest friends about her Jeb angst. Can she get her true love back with her mad barista skills? Maybe, but the one person she can’t seem to shake is Charlie, who…well, picture Chuck Bass with less money and more innuendo.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas in July and curl up with this fluffy-as-fresh-snow book, since you’ve no place to go. It’s sweet as eggnog and spicy as mulled wine, with a lot of coffee to perk you up.