One afternoon when I was sick and it was stormy outside, I rummaged through my To Be Read pile and grabbed this book. I’d read (and liked) John Green before, so I expected at least a third of LET IT SNOW to be good. Curled up on my bed, I read the first half in one sitting, then read the rest that evening. This is very good, for me, since I read fast but also have a short attention span when tempted by many books.
Curiously, my initial expectation of Green’s third being my favorite part of the book didn’t turn out right. Green’s “A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle” came in second to Maureen Johnson’s “Jubilee Express,” while Lauren’s Myracle’s “The Patron Saint of Pigs” came in a distant third. In more detail, here’s my lineup:
#1 Johnson wrote my favorite third of the book, carried off by the delightful narrator, Jubilee, named after one of the buildings in a fictional line of Christmas collectibles. These same collectibles, by the way, lead to a shopping riot that lands Jubilee’s parents in jail and sends Jubilee on a train-ride into a blizzard… but I won’t spoil what happens next in this quirky, charming story. Lots of little details make this story seem feel both real and amusingly ridiculous. The romance, especially, was sweet and fun.
#2 Green’s strengths seem to consistently be dialogue and character, though his characters do seem rather familiar at times. His story felt a lot like his other books that I’ve read–LOOKING FOR ALASKA and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES–with a group of clever (sometimes a little too clever, if you ask me), crazy friends examined through the eyes of a more normal guy who has a crush on a smart, eclectic, mysterious girl. That’s fine with me, I guess, since I liked his other books, though I would like to see him try writing from the viewpoint of a girl for a change. Though I suppose he balances out the other authors, who write through the eyes of female characters.
#3 Myracle’s third would have to be my least favorite. It felt like the book lost some of its spark when she took over, and the ending dragged a little while the beginning and middle flew past. I’m not sure why, though I have my theories: perhaps Johnson and Green wrote their thirds first, and then Myracle had to work with the characters and material they came up with rather than introducing too many of her own ideas. Granted, Johnson and Green are tough acts to follow. Or maybe this is just Myracle’s style, which I happen not to like as much as those of the other authors. Disclaimer: I won’t go as far as to say Myracle’s writing ruined the book, because at this point I was already intrigued by the interlocking stories and how the characters rubbed shoulders.
Overall, LET IT SNOW wasn’t an epic or deep book, by any means. Rather, it was a banana-bread kind of book: tasty, not too complicated, and when you’ve finished enjoying it, you don’t feel too guilty. (As opposed to fluffier, junkier books.) I would recommend it to anyone who likes sweet romances and quirky teen characters.
How to review this book? I’ve been puzzling over my thoughts for a while now. While reading THE DUST OF 100 DOGS, I periodically shouted to my roommate and visiting friends, “This book is cracked out! You’ve got to read it!” (While of course keeping the book all to myself so I could finish it first.) To clarify, my friends and I usually use “cracked out” to describe something amazingly creative or surprisingly funny. (Yes, not really the urbandictionary.com definition.) And I think my definition definitely applies to this book. I really didn’t know what to expect, but I was whipped along through a story that kept me guessing until the end. And most of my guesses were wrong, until, say, the last 20 pages or so, when I started to say, “Oh. Oh!” and realized just how cleverly A. S. King tied everything together.
Saying this book is about pirates, dogs, and a former terror of the seas reincarnated as a teenage girl looking for her treasure would flatten the rich depth of this book. So much story happens throughout the book, with many plot threads interwoven in both past and present times. During the first third of the book, I did squint at the pages a little suspiciously, wondering if it was such a good idea to have so many things going on at the same time, but King pulls it off, and pulls it off well. She has a real knack for getting into the heads of characters ranging from a brave little girl in Ireland to a long-suffering Doberman with a nasty owner.
Also, King has a knack for making the more extraordinary scenes feel really real, sometimes in squeamish detail. I winced at some of the bloodiest descriptions. But hey, it is a pirate book. I will warn those who think younger readers shouldn’t read about sex and gore, since both appear in this book. I found these scenes tastefully handled, though sometimes rather adult. Definitely upper YA, with crossover appeal.
Overall, a breathtakingly creative book. I’ve never read anything like it before. I will probably be reading it again soon, now that I know how it ends, just to see how it all fit together.
Disclaimer: My debut novel will be coming out from the same publisher next year, but rest assured, my honesty (or at least a healthy dose of sarcasm) should remain intact throughout this review.
