Holiday Reading Club

  by Topiary Store

Christmas break is the perfect time to get cozy and just read all day! Immerse yourself in the holiday spirit and the warmth of the season with these three lovely holiday reads that are able to capture the magic of this festive time…

 

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
Because that’s what it’s all about, right? Connection. Togetherness. Love.

The Afterlife of Holly Chase takes a fresh spin on an iconic holiday classic—A Christmas Carol. On one Christmas Eve, 17-year-old Holly is visited by three ghost who attempt to show her how selfish, cruel, and terrible she has become in hopes for her to change her ways, however, she brushes the warnings aside and chooses not to change. But then she dies, and wakes up as the newest Ghost of Christmas Past in Project Scrooge—a company that aims to save a new “Scrooge” every year. It’s safe to say that Holly is having the worst time of her life in the afterlife, but this Christmas everything is about to change…

 

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins (Editor/Contributer), Holly Black, Ally Carter, Matt de la Peña, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, Kiersten White, Jim Tierney (Illustrator)
“Christmas Eve is my favorite... I think the anticipation is more fun than anything else. I kind of lost that. The idea that something - food, traditions, an arbitrary date on the calendar - can be special because we decide it should be. We make it special. Not just for ourselves, but for others.”

My True Love Gave to Me is an anthology of twelve different holiday-themed romances written by twelve bestselling YA authors, making for a diverse and charming collection of short stories perfect to curl up with and binge read during the holidays. The book contains a wide range of settings, themes, and characters with stories that fall on Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice and New Year; with characters of different religions, ethnicities, races, and sexualities; and with themes like first loves, racial and religious stereotypes, and dealing with change and fear about the future. Every reader is sure to find a story within this magical, quirky and emotional little book that resonates with them and that melts their heart this chilly season.

 

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
“It is time to put aside dreaming. Fairy tales are sweet on winter nights, nothing more.”

The Bear and the Nightingale is an enthralling and atmospheric historical fantasy inspired by Russian folktale and Slavic mythology, and set in the deep winter of medieval Russia. The story follows Vasya, a feisty and rebellious young girl living in a forested village with her family. She grows up listening to and immersing herself in fairytales filled with gods, creatures, spirits, and demons. But when a young Christian priest who opposes ancient beliefs enters the village, and when Vasya’s father remarries a harsh and devout woman who refuses to mollify the spirits, darkness and misfortune begin to loom over the village. As danger unfurls, Vasya is forced to wield her strange and secret gifts in order to protect the village and her family from the forces that seems to have stepped right out of her chilling childhood fairytales.

 

We hope this list brings you some holiday cheer and that you, our dear readers, have a very happy, restful, and book-filled holiday!

  by Topiary Store

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