John Green is one of my favorite authors, and I have read all of his bestsellers from The Fault In Our Stars to Looking for Alaska. All of his books are teen dramas, as he writes many coming-of-age novels. So when I heard that Netflix was making a movie based on the collaborative romance novel, Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances, I knew I had to read the book. My holiday season has begun!

I curled up with a blanket and sat down to read. As anticipated, it is a cheesy teenage romance. Almost every romance novel has a big twist or reveal that causes the main character to choose between two love interests. There is a cool element to this story. Three shorter stories intertwine with each other, but they share specific plots, characters, and locations.

“Jubilee Express”

This section is by Maureen Johnson. She writes young adult romance and mystery novels. She is widely known for her Blue Envelope series and Let it Snow.

At the beginning, I was very disappointed with this part of the book. The main character, Jubilee, explains what Flobie Santa Village collection pieces are. The plot then quickly picks up with her parents getting arrested at a Flobie event, pushing Jubilee to have to spend her Christmas with her grandparents in Florida. This transition is abrupt but gets the plot moving.

On the train she, as with any other teen in a romance novel, she a man who intrigues her. They share many weird and uncomfortable experiences, causing the to become closer. The train crashes. Jubilee has to go on another adventure. She is invited to Christmas with an absolute stranger named Stuart, and sparks begin to fly.

“A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle”

John Green wrote this part of the book. He has written many young adult romances, his most popular being, The Fault in Our Stars, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns. He also runs a YouTube channel where he explains chapters in Advanced Placement United States History curriculum.

Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely adore John Green, but this is not my most favorite story. He seemed to not have much of his voice as he has in his other novels, but it was still enjoyable. Since story intertwines, the character that ties the first two stories together is the Waffle House employee. 

The Waffle House employee, Keon, lets a group of his friends know about the stranded train, thus sending his friends on a journey to meet the group of stranded cheerleaders. Among the group of boys, the story focuses on Tobin and his best friend Angie. Tobin has not told Angie how he feels.

This is my favorite part of the book. It is comical and overpowers many of the cliches.

“The Patron Saint of Pigs”

The last part of the book is written by Lauren Myracle. Myracle writes more middle school and children’s novels. So seeing her write a young adult romance novel was different.

This was my least favorite part of the book. I have not read anything by Lauren Myracle, so I want to believe that the issue with the chapter was the character, Addie, and how it is structured.

Actual content. The very quiet man from the train in “Jubilee Express” is the main character Addie’s ex-boyfriend. As explained in the first part of the novel,  he is traveling to see her. Addie is supposed to meet him but he doesn’t show, so she believes that their relationship is over. Christmas day she is sent out on a journey to pick up a pet from a friend. The plot becomes more complicated.

All the characters meet up in some way, and it is super neat.

My feeling after finishing the novel is that it has the same energy as a Hallmark Christmas movie. If you’re looking for a cheesy romantic comedy that puts you in the holiday spirit, I would recommend reading the book.

Netflix’s Movie Version

The movie does not follow the same structure. It is easy to follow with a voiceover that introduces characters.

All the stories start and then converge as they go along, which is super neat. The main characters strictly followed those in the book, but some of the smaller characters in some plot lines are changed. Jubilee’s story is changed the most. Her name is switched to Julie, and Jeb the boyfriend from Addie’s story is not part of hers anymore. So his character is nothing like the book. The plot about her parents getting arrested and her having to go to Florida for the holidays is never mentioned. Instead her mom is sick and her dad left at a young age.

Stuart in “Jubliee Express” is now a music sensation which is completely different than in the book. They still go on an adventure, but she invites him over for Christmas instead of the other way around.

“Cheertastic Christmas Miracle’s” story never changes. In fact,it is the central focus for most of the movie. I believe it is because they added another storyline that closely correlated with this part.

One main difference from the book is that they added an LGBTQ+ background to a character Dorrie, when suddenly an old flame appears at the Waffle House, where she works. It was amazing to see two women falling in love, but the whole thing was so toxic. It gave hope and promise of happy endings for women who love women. In the end, the two girls figure everything out, but the way everything was dealt with was not the best.

The character from”The Patron Saint of Pigs” is still the same self-obsessed person, not much changed from this part.

The last 20 minutes of the movie was my favorite. It all wraps up and everyone gets what they want and it is just very happy and cheery. It really just put me in a really great Christmas mood.

Overall, this movie has the same energy as a Hallmark Christmas movie but in the best way. I will most definitely watch this again over the holidays.

This movie was not exactly what the book was, but I thought it was better. The movie was able to pull me further in than the book did. I would most definitely recommend the movie over the book. If you are looking to read the book before watching the movie I would read it, but go in with low expectations.