It’s unnecessarily long, as all three stories drag so much. ( )

I bought this book WAY back in 2012 when it came out. WAY back meaning I can't believe it sat on my shelf for this long with me staring at it and debating whether I should read it or not. I finally decided to pick it up for two main reasons:

A) It's almost Christmas time and I wanted some holiday cheer.

B) Apparently there's a movie adaption? And, I kinda want to see it. It's important to read the books first so I can thoroughly ruin the movie for myself and anyone I attend it with.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book: I have read most of John Green's novels so I knew what I was in for with his reading but I had never read anything by Maureen Johnson or Lauren Myracle. And, let me say, I will definitely be reading more by Maureen Johnson in the future. Her story was the absolute best in this little trio of stories. John Green's was okay (it was definitely not TFIOS, but who was expecting it to be?) and Lauren Myracle's was a little weaker than Ringo Blue's (clap and a half for those who understand the reference).

Maureen's was a beautifully crafted little love story that made my heart warm and grow like the Grinch's. John's story was a continuation that felt like the weaker sequel and Lauren's felt like a middle grade addition to a YA series. All of the stories were beautifully written, but Maureen's was for my type of reader. My friend was absolutely obsessed with Lauren's, so it's definitely a personal choice on which story you'll like more. It's another one of those anthologies you come for one author and you discover another.

The Jubilee Express is Mauren's lovely addition. Jubilee (who some people call Julie, but Jubilee is way cooler and yes it's a type of party) gets stuck on a train when her parents are arrested for fighting over a Christmas village (is Jubilee my own child? This sounds like something I am going to do in my adult future, just saying). She meets a man on the train who she befriends (who will later be featured in story #3) and then finds her way through the city. She meets a boy (because it's a romance novel, so obviously she's gotta have a love interest) and they fall into a pond and almost freeze to death (drama alert!). She stays at the boy's home (said boy's name is Stuart, why am I still calling him the boy?) and meets his Mother and little sister. The boy (I've committed, no turning back now) has an ex and it ended badly, all the while Jubilee has an dumb-face boyfriend who deserves a good dumping. The two then kiss and it's romantic and ooey gooey. It's a YA romance gallore!

A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by Paul Orange (again, I've committed to this pun so it's time to rock and roll) continues the previous story with different characters. 3 previously unknown characters are watching James Bond movies. Introduce our two key characters: Tobin and Angie (also known as The Duke). Turns out these two kinda have crushes on each other, and as the three characters try to make it to a breakfast joint to meet cheerleaders, they realize this. It was cute, but not as addicting as the first novel. It was almost... predictable. I wasn't entirely sure where Maureen's was headed, but John's story screamed FRIENDZONE ALERT all over the place.

The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle is what took me the longest to get through. In one day I flew through the first two stories, but then along came this story. Another continuation, but... different. It had a different tone than the previous two. I did not enjoy the lead character, I did love the pig and I felt bad for Jeb because he deserves someone who's more considerate than his current girl, Addie. Like... dude, you almost lost your friend's pig. That's cruel. This book was packed full of the middle grade drama I don't miss from back in the day. Lauren's writing was still absolutely beautiful, but this story was not for me. I was kinda sad this book ended on this specific story because it felt like the weakest for me.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I would love to read some more Christmas-y YA love stories. I also highly recommend Maureen now because OMG she's good.

Four out of five stars!! ( )

The jubilee express - 3
A cheertastic Christmas miracle - 2.5
The patron saint of pigs - 2 ( )

Eu adorei este livro, achei que todos os autores escreveram boas histórias, daquelas que dão um quentinho no coração e um gostinho de quero mais. A que mais me empolgou foi a do John Green, a que eu ri mais foi a da Maureen Johnson e a que eu ansiei mais pelo desfecho foi a da Lauren Myracle.
Eu amei o primeiro conto, O Expresso Jubileu da Maureen Johnson, e me encantei com escrita dela, embora a história tenha sido mediana, foi divertida.
Em O Milagre da Torcida de Natal do John Green, temos lindas amizades, uma aventura super legal, um pouco de crítica e uma pitada de romance. Com certeza um dos meus favoritos do livro.
Me encantei com a última história, O Santo Padroeiro dos Porcos da Lauren Myracle, pois tem uma referência a um dos meus filmes favoritos: A Felicidade Não Se Compra. O livro num todo foi muito gostoso de ler.
No mais, todas são histórias muito fofas e eu as recomendo. ( )

This was insanely adorable and I love how interwoven the story ended up, and how you started catching cross-over references and yelling "ah-ha!" in your head like a kid picking up all the clues in a mystery. The first two stories kept me amazingly enrapt about what was going on with their characters, the train, the Waffle House, and the two people in question. But the third was a little too convenient and anti-climactic (anti-reaching what the story promised the character was reaching for) for me.

Still cute. Definitely a great read for Christmas evening, which was when I was finishing it. ( )