Mistletoe: Four Holiday Stories

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Author(s)

Hailey Abbott

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Melissa de la Cruz

Publisher

Scholastic

Genre(s)

Anthology

Age Range

14+

Release Date

October 01, 2006

ISBN

0439863686

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Snuggle up beside the fire with this juicy collection of four different, but equally sizzling, winter romances.

Glittering white snowflakes. The handsome blond ski instructor. The sparkle on a cashmere skirt. Hot cocoa and kisses in front of a crackling fire. The holiday season is the ESSENCE of magic...and romance. Four of today's bestselling teen authors -- Melissa de la Cruz (THE AU PAIRS), Aimee Friedman (SOUTH BEACH), Hailey Abbott (SUMMER BOYS), and Nina Malkin (6X) -- bring us delectable tales of love and lust and holiday cheers (and tears) in this one-of-a-kind collection that teens will devour faster than a plate of Christmas cookies.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Dazzling Holiday Short Stories

September 30, 2006 (Updated: June 24, 2026)

Overall rating

5.0

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5.0

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This riveting quartet of short stories from best-selling YA writers Hailey Abbot, Melissa de la Cruz, Aimee Friedman, and Nina Malkin will knock you right out of your reading doldrums, guaranteed (it sure did for me).

In "Working in a Winter Wonderland" by Aimee Friedman, Maxine Silver bemoans the emphasis on Christmas via Hanukkah. Imagine her surprise when she is soon working as Santa's elf. This story made me laugh out loud--and the ending surprised me.

Hailey Abbott's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup" is another delightful romance, celebrating friendship, love, and new years filled with the pleasures of new beginnings.

"Scenes from a Cinematic New Year's" by Nina Malkin is a stunner. Frankly, my first impression was that I wasn't going to like it. However, if I had to pick a favorite (and I'm glad I don't) of the four, this story just might be it. It's a haunting tale of redemption, with an amazing twist. I loved it.

Melissa de la Cruz shines with "The Christmas Choos," an inventive, aw-gee-I've-got-tears-in-my-eyes variation on a classic holiday tale starring refreshingly down-to-earth characters.

This anthology is a winner. No matter what the season (I read it in August), it is sure to make you feel all the best holiday emotions. Highly recommended.

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Starts poorly, finishes on a stronger note

December 19, 2010 (Updated: June 24, 2026)

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3.0

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Reader reviewed by Ruthie

Short Story #1: Working in a Winter Wonderland

I'm not quite sure but there was just something I did not like about this story...maybe it was the main character who could not see past her nose....maybe it was just the lack of plot...I'm not exactly sure. What definitely bothered me the most though, was the relationship between the two characters. It was completely random and I could not see it coming, much less that the character liked her. It just seemed completely random and weird to me.
Short Story #2: Have Yourself a Merry Little Breakup

At least this story made sense. It was a story of a girl and a guy, getting together behind their boy/girlfriend's backs. The wrench was the fact they were all close friends. This story was good but, it seemed cut short. It was like you had only read half of it. I would've liked it better had the author wrapped things up and closed the story. Still, it was decent.

Short Story #3: Scenes from a Cinematic New Year's

This was definately a well-worked New Year's story. It had elements of a ghost story, Hollywood, pop stars and a deep lesson molded into the center. I devowered it like rich chocolate and enjoyed it as much. It just seemed to piece together and it included everything the holidays are about. For once, a cute story in this collection!

Short Story #4: The Christmas Choos

This was a delightful take on one of my favorite stories. This took The Gift of the Magi and applied it to a common situation. It was adorable, realistic, cute and funny. I definately would like to read more from this author and I plan on doing so.

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short stories

April 15, 2009 (Updated: June 24, 2026)

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Reader reviewed by stephanie

I had great expectations for Mistletoe since it was written by some of my favorite authors. However, I was sadly disappointed. :(

Out of the four stories, there was only one that I had greatly enjoyed. It was the one about the girl who dressed like an elf and ended up meeting the boy of her dream in the department store. I dont exactly remember who write this story but I really enjoyed it. I liked the plot especially the elf. Gotta love the elf! It was basically a very fun read.

The other stories, I was very depressed. The story from Nina Malkin was, in a way, similar to her newest novel, Swoon. Because guess what? It was about a ghost. I think Nina really likes writing about ghosts. Even her short story is about a ghost. But at least this short story was not as smutty or awkward as Swoon. It was about an actor who fell in love with a ghost. Not too shabby but it definitely couldve been better.

Overall, Mistletoe was just one of those books where I shake my head to. Yan definitely warned me and, in a way, I wished I heeded her words. I definitely couldve lived without reading Mistletoe.

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