Carols and Crushes by Natalie Blitt
A Scholastic Wish Novel (2017)
A YA Christmas romance novel that appeals to grades 5 and up!
“What if your head, your heart, and the holidays aren’t in harmony?”
Natalie Blitt (Cover Quote)
Charlie Dickens has been waiting for her time to shine in the annual Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School holiday concert. She’s dreamt of this moment for so long that she is very nearly devastated when it is almost canceled. When her long time crush, Eric Sosland, comes up with a plan to save the holiday concert, she quickly jumps in to brainstorm ways to make this work.
The sixteen chorus singers are split into four quartets, and Charlie is beyond exited to learn that she is in a group with both Eric and her very best friend, Renee Levine. She’s almost too excited to care that the fourth person in the group is the uber-popular Matthew Yee. Charlie’s disdain for the preppy jock and the way he makes fun of her name, does not dim the joy she has that the holiday concert is back on!
Caroling with her Crush …
Charlie’s parents named her after Charles Dickens. Since Dickens wrote her absolute favorite Christmas book, Charlie loves her name. (She just doesn’t like that some people make fun of it.) Perhaps her name influenced her love of all things Christmas, especially Christmas carols. This year, it seems that she’s the only one in her family with any Christmas spirit at all. All of her parents’ attention is seemingly devoted to her athletic brother and dyslexic sister. It feels like nobody has time to hear or care about what’s important to Charlie. It even looks like her brother’s sporting event is going to cause her family to miss her holiday concert.
Charlie and Eric have never spent so much time together. Neither have Charlie and Matthew Yee, for that matter. Why is it that Renee seems to know so much about Eric? Charlie knows that she shouldn’t be jealous of the time her best friend spends with Eric. But, she can’t seem to help herself. Why is it that it’s so hard for her to hold a conversation with the guy that she’s been crushing on for three years, and so easy to talk to the guy that she thought she couldn’t stand?
Robin’s Recommendation
When Charlie’s parents refuse to allow the quartet to practice at her place, the four friends resort to caroling in the square downtown. And people actually stop to listen! The caroling scenes could be right out of a Victorian Christmas novel.
“…But these past weeks of rehearsing together have really shown me the difference holiday songs make in people’s lives. How it reminds them of where they come from. How it brings people happiness. How it brings people together.”
Natalie Blitt, spoken by character Matthew Yee (219)
In addition to the caroling, Charlie’s desire to make Christmas happen single-handedly, if need be, will also warm your heart. From her handmade Advent Calendar to her Hot Chocolate Bar, this novel would put Scrooge himself in the Christmas spirit. Furthermore, I absolutely adore that Charlie’s best friend celebrates Hanukah, and that the other three members of the quartet join Renee’s family in the Hanukkah festivities. Even more impressive: they add “Hanukkah, O Hanukkah” to their setlist.
The back cover of the book declares that this book appeals to 5th – 7th graders. However, I honestly think that the family drama, friendship drama, and relationship drama would appeal to a broader audience. You don’t have to be in middle school to enjoy this book. I’ve been out of middle school a long time, and I adore it!
At the end of this book, Natalie Blitt gives us a Christmas present: directions for recreating Charlie’s Hot Chocolate Bar and her Hot Chocolate Bar-to-Go gifts for her friends. Parents, even if you’re not into YA fiction, you may want to borrow these directions!
Review by Robin Sneed at Keeping Christmas 365
Last updated on January 31, 2023
Snow in Love: Four Stories by Melissa de la Cruz, Nic Stone, Aimee Friedman, and Kasie West
Compilation copyright 2018
A collection of YA holiday romance novellas.
“What’s better than one deliciously cozy, swoon-worthy holiday story? Four of them, from some of today’s bestselling authors … Grab some hot cocoa, snuggle up, and get ready to fall in love…”
Blurb Quote for Snow in Love
Snow in Love is from Scholastic’s Point Series. “POINT: This is Your Life In Fiction.”
Snow and Mistletoe by Kasie West (2018)
A YA Christmas romance novel that appeals to grades 9 and up.
Snow and Mistletoe is the first story in the Snow in Love collection of young adult holiday romance stories. Amalie’s 45-minute layover in Denver, Colorado turns into a nightmare when she learns that all flights have been grounded due to a snowstorm. She’s too young to rent a car, and she doesn’t have money for a hotel room. Her plane could be grounded for days, and all of her luggage, apart from a small carry-on bag, is still on the plane.
Faced with an uncertain amount of hours or days sleeping on the floor in an airport without a way to change clothes or brush her teeth, she makes a hasty decision to travel back home with Sawyer, Wes, and Logan from her high school. Sawyer’s older sister Heather is the only one among the group who can rent a car. Can they stay ahead of the storm and get home in time for Christmas? What will Amalie’s parents say? She’s supposed to be spending an exchange year in Italy, following her dream of becoming an Opera singer. Amalie has been too afraid to tell them, or anyone, that the exchange year was too tough for her. How was she ever going to pay them back?
All this time in the back of the SUV with Sawyer has stirred up even more anxiety for Amalie. She simply cannot allow herself to fall for a guy who’s heart is already spoken for. Her heart’s already battered over the ruin of her shattered dream. It simply couldn’t take the beating of falling for someone who can’t love her back. Can snow delays and a mistletoe dare bring these two together?
Working in a Winter Wonderland by Aimee Friedman (2006)
The second novella in the Snow in Love collection is Aimee Friedman’s Working in a Winter Wonderland, which was originally published in Scholastic’s Mistletoe.
Maxine Silver gets a little bummed around Christmastime, especially this year. She’s home from the university on winter break, but her best friend is spending Christmas in Oregon. Maxine celebrates Hanukah, but lives in New York, which is Christmas-central. She needs a job, though, to buy the perfect New Year’s Eve dress. Maxine daydreams about Heath Barton seeing her in The Dress and falling in love with her. When Heath himself shows up and mentions that his dad’s department store is short-handed, she rushes off to apply without asking any questions.
Before she even realizes what is happening, Maxine finds herself working Barton’s Christmas Corner in an elf suit, surrounded by a Nutcracker Knight, a ballerina, and a Santa, who are all about her age. None of them looks as uncomfortable or ridiculous in their costumes as she does in hers. However, she convinces herself to stay through Christmas. It will be worth it if Heath sees her in The Dress.
Will the reality of Heath be able to live up to the Heath she’s built up in her mind?
The Magi’s Gift by Melissa de la Cruz (2006)
The Magi’s Gift by Melissa de la Cruz is the third novella in the Snow in Love collection. Like Friedman’s novella, it was originally published in Scholastic’s Mistletoe collection. This is one of my favorites of this collection!
The Magi’s Gift is O. Henry’s beloved classic “The Gift of the Magi” meets the 2004 Mean Girls film, starring Lindsay Lohan. (Seriously, English teachers, if you’re looking for a modern YA novella to pair with “The Gift of the Magi,” look no further!)
Kelsey is in love with the boy next door, and is delighted with their relationship. However, since the Wade Hill crowd descended upon Kelsey and Brenden’s high school, there has been a little tension. Kelsey is, somewhat begrudgingly, admitted into the preppy group. The Wade Hill group’s leader, Gigi McClusky, is Kelsey’s best friend. But Gigi and Brenden can’t stand each other. And, since she’s been trying to fit in with the group, Kelsey’s inwardly judged Brenden’s attire a little more. She wishes he’d dress up more and wear his hair out of his eyes so that the rich kids could see what she sees — how handsome her boyfriend is.
It’s almost Christmas, and almost time for Gigi’s party. Kelsey has the perfect dress, but longs for the shoes that would go perfectly with them. At the same time, she really wants to find Brenden the perfect gift for Christmas — one that truly expresses to him how much he means to her.
An overheard conversation from a bathroom stall, unexpected Christmas gifts, and a new attitude just in time for the party will make this Christmas Eve a holiday to remember.
Grounded by Nic Stone (2018)
The final novella in the Snow in Love collection is Nic Stone’s Grounded. Leigh Wells has just discovered that in addition to her flight being grounded indefinitely, her childhood friend is grounded at the same airport and wants to meet up. As Leigh is on her way to meet her parents at Harper’s parents’ house for the holidays, she can’t exactly avoid her forever. But, she would like to put it off as long as she can. So, she proposes an airport scavenger hunt.
Leigh doesn’t know how to face Harper, considering that Harper is the first girl she ever “noticed.” She pretty sure that Harper noticed Leigh noticing her the last time they met, which was three years ago. To top it off, Leigh just broke up with her boyfriend, and she thinks that she might be attracted to girls. This realization scares her. She’s already one of the only 23 black kids at her high school, so she figures that “one area of overt marginalization is quite enough, thank you very much.”
Through the game, and getting reacquainted with Harper, Leigh discovers a lot about herself, and she discovers that Harper more than understands.
Robin’s Recommendation for the Snow in Love holiday collection
First, let me say that I absolutely love the diversity in this holiday story collection. I think all teenaged girls will be able to find someone they can relate to in the characters in this collection. I also love two of these stories are structured a little differently. “Snow and Mistletoe” is structured as a countdown until Christmas, as the characters try to beat the storm (and their grounded plane) home. “Grounded” tells a lot of the narrative through text messages.
While three of the four stories are more traditional boy/girl romances, the last story is a girl/girl romance. As much as I think it is important for diverse stories to be told, I also think it is important for readers to be made aware of the diversity prior to purchasing the book. The blurb on the back of the book clearly states that the story by Aimee Friedman is a Hanukkah story. (I knew it ahead of time, and I loved it!)
However, the blurb for “Grounded,” simply states, “From Nic Stone, a scavenger hunt amid the holiday crowds at an airport turns totally romantic.” There is no hint at all that the final story is a girl/girl romance. After reading three girl/boy romances, it was totally unexpected.
Girls who might want to read this to “see themselves” in a story would have no idea that this story was written for them. Girls who wanted four boy/girl romances might feel uncomfortable when the last story doesn’t deliver that, since there is no indication in the blurb to the contrary.
Review by Robin Sneed at Keeping Christmas 365
Last updated on February 19, 2023
