It's that time of year again...when We Heart YA decides what fictional presents we'd give to some of our favourite fictional characters.

Kristan:

I would like to give Cadence (from WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart) the book TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS by Cheryl Strayed. It’s a compilation of personal essays – advice columns, technically – that are all about self-understanding, self-acceptance, and self-forgiveness. It’s one of my all-time favorite reads, and I half-jokingly call it my Bible. Even though there isn’t an essay that directly relates to Cadence’s problems – which are pretty unique – I still think she could find a lot of comfort in reading Strayed’s words and embracing Strayed’s philosophy of “radical empathy.”

Stephanie:

I would give Augustus Waters from THE FAULT IN OUR STARS a transfusion of Cylon blood to cure his cancer.

Sarah:

I'd put on a Christmas dinner and introduce SERAPHINA to FIRE, Elisa, Karou and the CHIME child. Then she'd see sooner that we're all monsters capable of destruction. And better the monster you know.

Sarah: One year I received a really sweet copy of LITTLE WOMEN from some cool girl named Stephanie Mooney. But my favourite ever present was a leather-bound journal with blank pages for scribbles and story sketches. I used to be quite Romantic in choosing what things were worthy of inclusion. If I had a quill pen, I probably would have used it as well and only by candle or moonlight. You get the picture of 'tween me.' She's still around somewhere!

Kristan: Oh man, I actually got a quill fountain pen as a gift once. It's so cool! (But to be honest, it basically stays in its box in a drawer, because really it's kind of a hassle to use...)

I've gotten SO many books and bookish things over the years, there's no way I could pick just one as the "best." So I'll just say that this year I won a copy of MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME, the anthology of YA holiday stories edited by Stephanie Perkins, and it's pretty great so far. Big thanks to Teen Lit Rocks for that giveaway!

Stephanie: When I was eight or nine years old, I was obsessed with Frances Hodgson Burnett's A LITTLE PRINCESS. I remember one of those years, I received a locket for Christmas that looked an awful lot like Sara's in the movie, and I used to pretend it was the same one. It wasn't intended to be a book-related gift, but I always thought of it as my princess locket.

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is all the stories. Fairytales, coming of age stories, hilarious movies — we unpack them and dust them off every year, and the magic never fades.

Here are a few of the holiday tales we enjoy:

Ingrid

A Christmas Carol — This one is just so timeless I had to include it. I took my kiddos to a staged reading of this last year, a little nervous that they wouldn't quite "get it." But they loved it and really embraced the message, which was wonderful.

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (classic) — I have loved this story since I was a little girl. The idea of the mean old Grinch doing such atrocious things and then finally realizing the true meaning of Christmas... still gives me chills and makes my heart grow three sizes bigger!

I'm sensing a theme here... I obviously appreciate stories in which characters grow emotionally!

Sarah

Every year I re-read Louisa May Alcott's LITTLE WOMEN (and last year, Steph bought me an awesome purply hardcover edition that thrills me whenever I turn a page).  It's not a holiday story, necessarily, but the beginning chronicles what Christmas might have been like for a middle-class family during the Civil War.  Yes, they are a Northern family--a White family--yet want and poverty touches all walks of life.  These girls were thrilled to have an orange on the breakfast table and what they wouldn't do for a peppermint stick!  Or a new pair of stockings or gloves that were the right size and without holes in.  Puts things in perspective, even from a place of privilege.  And if there's one thing I need in a good book, it's perspective.

Some people enjoy Will Ferrell's sense of humor, others tolerate him.  Still others want to punch him in the face to make him shut up.  I'm in the camp where Will Ferrell grazes in the pastures of my spirit animal.  He is the part of me--the ten-year old boy who laughs at farts--that I keep carefully hidden away (mostly).  ELF is, therefore, a masterpiece of a Christmas story.  It never fails to tickle me.  It's probably my favourite Christmas movie besides RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER because, hello, childhood.

High-brow and Low-brow perfectly sums me up.  Xx

Kristan

One of my all-time favorite holiday stories is the movie Love Actually. I know a lot of people hate it or think it's over-hyped, but I think it's such a great spider web of intersecting lives and stories, loves and lies, hopes and bittersweet realities -- all centered around Christmas! (Hm, but it is a shame that none of the other major holidays/religions are represented...) My favorite storyline is the one with Colin Firth as a stymied writer and his Portuguese maid. But I also adore the little boy in love for the first time (and the little girl's rendition of "All I Want For Christmas," dang!), and the heartbroken wife listening to Joni Mitchell, and the poor woman who can't hookup with the office hottie (Rodrigo Santoro) because she has to take care of her special needs brother. Is it all a bit contrived? Sure. But does it speak to the holiday spirit? To family and giving and love and loss? You bet your gingerbread cookies!

Stephanie

My favorite holiday story is the Nutcracker, specifically the ballet. I remember, when I was growing up, PBS used air my favorite version of the ballet every Christmas Eve at midnight. I would wait until the presents had been set out and my parents had gone to bed, and I would sneak out of my room to watch it. It was my own little tradition, just me sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV with the tree lights twinkling in the background. There was something magical about that.


What are some of your favorite holiday stories?

Sarah:
1. ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell

We’re grateful for good books, the authors who write them, and for readers like you!

Congratulations to our giveaway winners!

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson — Faith McLaughlin
The Brokenhearted by Amelia Kahaney — Emily Elizabeth
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis — Bookworm1858

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and we’ll send your prize your way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Independence Day to our fellow yanks, and happy Thursday to everyone else in the world.

The winner of our Sarah Dessen giveaway is Morgan from deservedly.wordpress.com. Please email us at weheartya (at) gmail (dot) com with your postal address. We'll send you a signed copy of The Moon and More.