My True Love Gave to Me Mini Review: Your Temporary Santa

Book Title: My True Love Gave to Me

Editor: Stephanie Perkins

Story Title: "Your Temporary Santa"

Story Author: David Levithan

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: October 14, 2014

Add it to Goodreads

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Year's there's something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.

Mini Review: "Your Temporary Santa"

It's starting to seem like I've been living under a rock because "Your Temporary Santa" is the first piece of writing that I've ever read by YA author David Levithan. I swear to you that I haven't been living under a rock, and that I actually own a few of his books. I was really excited to be able to get a short preview of his writing style by reading his story for My True Love Gave to Me.

While I enjoyed reading "Your Temporary Santa," I quickly found out that it wouldn't be one of my favorite short stories included in the anthology. I just felt like the story line of trying to convince a little one that Santa Claus is real has been done a lot, and it really does take a lot to run with that plot and make it successful. I think Levithan was almost there, but it felt like just a little bit more could have been in the story for me to really enjoy how he presented it.

However, I loved the love in this story. There is so much of it, and there are different kinds of love in "Your Temporary Santa." Connor has a lot of love for his little sister. He shows this love and dedication to her because he has a need to show her that Santa is real. He will stop at nothing to convince her that the jolly elf exists. There's also a lot of love for Connor from his boyfriend. Even though his boyfriend is Jewish, Connor convinces him to dress up as Santa for Riley. He does it, and little Riley seems to believe. But Connor's boyfriend, who is never named by Levithan, is also self-conscious and wants so badly to fit in with Connor's family and world. 

Will love be enough for these kids this Christmas? You'll have to read this sweet story to find out.

David Levithan is the author of a good number of books about the strange things that love can do to people, including Every Day, Two Boys Kissing, Boy Meets Boy, and (with Rachel Cohn) Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and (with John Green) Will Grayson, Will Grayson. His feelings about Christmas are largely shared by his character Dash in Dash and Lily's Book of Dares (also written with Rachel Cohn).