I rated each individual story and gave the book a rating that was an average of all those individual ratings.

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell ★☆☆☆☆
I’ve never read anything else by Rainbow Rowell but I’ve got several of her books on my to-read shelf. I’m hoping this short story isn’t indicative of what I can expect from her because I wasn’t all that impressed. A friendship grows into something more as the main character wrestles with the tendency people have to grow apart as they grow up. It was a terrible teen rom-com premise with a bland couple that culminated in the most predictable way.

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link ★★☆☆☆
This is the kind of unusual story that I tend to enjoy but, ugh, it felt like it was trying too hard to be mysterious. I’m not even totally sure how to explain it. I finished it with more questions than answers which, unfortunately, made it a less appealing read. I did enjoy most of the characters quite a bit though.

Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Peña: ★★★★★
Who is Matt de la Peña and why haven’t I heard of him?! I adored this story and very much identified with main character of the story, Shy, who finds himself alone, hungry, broke, and missing home over the hoildays. It is a story that manages to stay short and sweet while exploring some deeper themes.

Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me by Jenny Han ★★★★★
Santa Claus finds a baby in a basket by his sleigh while delivering gifts and ultimately decides to adopt her. This was a very cute, very bittersweet little story about trying to fit in and finding your place in the world. I thought it was charming.

It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins ★★★☆☆
A girl cute-stalks a boy at his family's Christmas tree farm in order to build up the courage to ask him to help her with a project she hopes will be her ticket out of town. This story seems to be the most universally loved one of the collection but, I don't know, it didn't steal the show for me. I didn't really care for the characters and I wasn't invested in the romance.

Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan ★★★☆☆
This one was pretty good but it felt incomplete. It's about a boy who sneaks into his boyfriend's house dressed as Santa Claus as part of a scheme to convince the boyfriend's little sister that Santa Claus is real and prolong her belief in Christmas magic. There are a lot of dynamics that are touched upon in this story - a possibly semi-closeted boyfriend, an absent father, another sister with some unresolved anger issues. None of this is very fleshed out. I guess I wanted more...

Krampuslauf by Holly Black ★★★★☆
After catching her friend's boyfriend out with another girl at a watered down festival based on the vengeful Christmas figure Krampus, Hanna and her friends plan a lavish New Year's party to expose him as the cheater he is. The party takes an unexpected turn when the cheating boyfriend, Roth, shows up. It was an original story with a hint of edge and a dash of magic. Of course I liked this one! It reminded me of the [a:Francesca Lia Block|9072|Francesca Lia Block|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1339015762p2/9072.jpg] books I was obsessed with when I was a teenager.

What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman ★★☆☆☆
Sophie Roth is a big city fish out of water who finds her big city charms wasted on her small town college peers until she meets a guy who finally seems to get her. It's a classic "don't judge a book by it's cover" story sprinkled with few holiday references. It might have been trying for humor but I couldn't really say. If it was, meh, the jokes fell flat for me. I thought Sophie was kind of a drag, to be honest.

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire ★☆☆☆☆
Boring! Dull characters. Dull story. Most definitely not my cup of tea. It's a story about a mischievous boy, Vaughn, whose latest prank lands him in serious hot water. When a pastor makes a case for leniency, Vaughn is court ordered to serve his community by helping out with the church's Christmas pageant. His love interest is the pastor's Mary Sue daughter.

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White ★★★★☆
Maria would rather be anywhere than Christmas, CA where she, her mother, and her mother's boyfriend live. She dreams of the day when she has enough money to get out of that one-reindeer town! When a new chef is hired at the diner she works in, strange things start to happen that make Maria wonder if Christmas isn't so bad after all. I wasn't sure I was going to like it in the beginning but it definitely grew on me. I thought the romance was perfectly paced and so sweet. Maria and Ben (her love interest) have great chemistry and are very likable. I also enjoyed the only slightly predictable twist at the end.

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter ★★☆☆☆
This is another one that I wish had been a little more developed. The story, about a runaway teenage girl who swaps airline tickets with another girl and ends up in rural Oklahoma, seemed just a little too convenient. There was not enough character development. The male love interest seems to be almost an after thought so it's hard to buy the romance. I think there was potential here but it wasn't fleshed out enough.

The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor ★★★★★
This is now the fourth short story by Laini Taylor that I have read and, I've got to say, I have to read one of her novels soon. I love her writing style so much. This was brilliant! It was a fantastic little fantasy story about a girl who summons an old god to protect herself from a predatory preacher who wishes to make her his bride. I only regret there was not more of it because I could have gone on reading it all day.