When December is here, I usually want to curl up with all the cozy Christmas books. So today, I’m sharing a list of 15 perfect young adult Christmas books to read all month long!
On this list you’ll find the perfect mixture of classic retellings, holiday romance and heartwarming stories. You’ll also find some great books to pair with movie adaptations (like Let it Snow and Dash & Lily – which are both amazing!)
In case you missed it, I shared a list of 24 Christmas books for kids yesterday and I’ll be sharing an adult themed Christmas book list tomorrow!
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Young Adult Christmas Books
Sophie wants one thing for Christmas-a little freedom from her overprotective parents. So when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie is looking forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except it turns out that Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship. Cue devastation.
Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents’ house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That’s when her nonna devises a (not so) brilliant plan: Over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. Like her sweet cousin Sara, who sets her up with a hot guy at an exclusive underground party. Or her crazy aunt Patrice, who signs Sophie up for a lead role in a living nativity. With a boy who barely reaches her shoulder. And a screaming baby.
When Griffin turns up unexpectedly and begs for a second chance, Sophie feels more confused than ever. Because maybe, just maybe, she’s started to have feelings for someone else … Someone who is definitely not available.
This is going to be the worst Christmas break ever … or is it?
Amazon
Readers looking for a light, fun read full of holiday mischief will be delighted by Samantha Hastings’ A Royal Christmas Quandary, perfect for fans of A Christmas Prince.
When you spend Christmas in a castle, anything is possible.
1860. Lady Alexandrina Gailey is looking forward to a cozy holiday at Windsor Castle with her best friend, Princess Alice, and her long-time crush, Lord George Worthington. But Drina’s plans are all but dashed when Alice’s parents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, declare that Alice must choose one of two royal princes to become engaged to before Christmas.
There’s just one problem: George, a junior member of the Foreign Office, has accidentally misplaced one of the princes.
Together, Drina and George scour the town of Windsor for the missing prince, desperately hoping to deliver him to the royal dinner party with the queen and king none the wiser. They might just need a royal Christmas miracle to pull it off.
Midnights is the story of Noel and Mags, who meet at the same New Year’s Eve party every year and fall a little more in love each time …
Kindred Spirits is about Elena, who decides to queue to see the new Star Wars movie and meets Gabe, a fellow fan.
Midnights was previously published as part of the My True Love Gave to Me anthology, edited by Stephanie Perkins and Kindred Spirits was previously published as a World Book Day title.
This sweet and magical romance about a girl who has just one wish — someone to kiss under the mistletoe — is the perfect holiday escape!
Bailey Briggs is counting down the days to Christmas: she lives for holiday music, baking cookies, going on snowy sleigh rides, and wearing her light-up reindeer ears to work at Winslow’s bookstore. But all she really wants this year is the one thing she doesn’t have: someone special to kiss under the mistletoe. And she’s 100 percent certain that that someone isn’t Jacob Marley — athlete, player, and of questionable taste in girlfriends — and that Charlie, the mysterious stranger with the British accent, is the romantic lead of her dreams. Is she right? This will be a December to remember, filled with real-life Christmas magic … and, if she stays on Santa’s nice list, a wish that just might come true.
A lady’s maid and a valet become entangled in a yuletide counterfeiting scheme in this romantic Christmas YA adventure.
1817. The happy chaos of the Yuletide season has descended upon the country estate of Shackleford Park in full force, but lady’s maid Kate Darby barely has the time to notice. Between her household duties, caring for her ailing mother, and saving up money to someday own a dress shop, her hands are quite full. Matt Harlow is also rather busy. He’s performing double-duty, acting as valet for both of the Steeple brothers, two of the estate’s holiday guests.
Falling in love would be a disaster for either of them. But staving off their feelings for each other becomes the least of their problems when a devious counterfeiting scheme reaches the gates of Shackleford Park, and Kate and Matt are unwittingly swept up in the intrigue.
A companion book to Suitors and Sabotage.
“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”
So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?
Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.
Two Exes. One holiday adventure. Merry Ex-Mas?
Seventeen-year-old Lila Beckwith’s parents just left for vacation, and Lila’s all set to throw the holiday party of the season. But when her Christmas-obsessed little brother, Cooper, discovers that global warming is melting the North Pole, he and his best friend, Tyler, take off on a runaway mission to save Santa.
Lila has to get Cooper safely home before her parents get back on Christmas Eve. But the only person who can help her is Tyler’s older brother, Beau — a.k.a. Lila’s musician, anti-everything ex-boyfriend.
It’ll take more than a Christmas miracle for Lila and Beau to overcome their differences and find their fugitive brothers. But could a journey destined for disaster help these polar opposites fall in love…all over again?
Amazon
A princess always knows how to celebrate the holidays. There’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Chinese New Year, Saturnalia … to name just a few.
Then there’s gift giving, the royal Genovian Fabergé advent calendar, hot chocolate with marshmallows — oh, and all those fabulous holiday movies. How will YOU celebrate this holiday season? Mia and her subjects have a few ideas.
It’s Christmas Eve at JFK in NYC.
Charlotte is a British student, waiting for a flight home after the worst semester of her life. Anthony is a native New Yorker, surprising his girlfriend at the airport after three months apart. Charlotte has just been dumped, and Anthony is about to be dumped, right in the middle of the holiday crowd.
Charlotte’s flight is canceled when a blizzard blows in, and Anthony can’t bear to go home. So, they set out into the city together, clutching a book Charlotte picks up in the airport gift shop: Ten Easy Steps for Getting Over Your Ex. For this one night, they’ll focus on healing their broken hearts … together.
Step-by-step, the two struggle to put the past behind them. But the snow is so enchanting, and the holiday lights are so beguiling, that soon their shared misery gives way to something else. Soon, they’re not only over their exes — they’re falling for each other.
Then a subway ride splits them up by mistake. Will they reunite before Charlotte’s flight leaves New York forever?
Three interconnected stories from three bestselling authors: John Green (Paper Towns, The Fault in our Stars), Maureen Johnson (The Name of the Star), and Lauren Myracle (The Internet Girls series.)
A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks. Thanks to three of today’s bestselling teen authors — John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle — the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.
Charlotte Charlie Donovan knows exactly what she wants for Christmas: Teo Ortiz. He’s the school’s star athlete, in the National Honor Society, invited to every party, contributes to the school paper (where Charlie is co-editor), and is about to be featured as One to Watch in a teen magazine basically, he’s exactly the type of guy Charlie s meant to be with. The only problem he barely knows she exists.
But Charlie is determined to be Teo’s date to the Christmas ball. And she has a plan: To rig the paper’s Secret Santa so that she can win his heart with five perfect gifts. But to do that she needs help. Enter J.D. Ortiz Teo s cousin, and possibly the most annoying person on the planet. He’s easy going, laid back, unorganized, spontaneous, and makes a joke out of everything the exact opposite of Charlie (and Teo). But he’s willing to provide insight into what Teo wants, so she s stuck with him.
Yet, the more time Charlie spends with J.D., the more she starts to wonder: Does she really know what, or rather who, she wants for Christmas?
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.
Sliding Doors meets To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in a sweet, smart holiday romance about a girl who decides to stop letting her anxiety stand in the way of true love.
The average person makes 35,000 decisions every single day. That’s about 34,999 too many for Paige Collins who lives in debilitating fear of making the wrong choice. The simple act of picking an art elective is enough to send her into a spiral of what ifs. What if she’s destined to be a famous ceramicist but wastes her talent in drama club? What if there’s a carbon monoxide leak in the ceramics studio and everyone drops dead? (Grim, but possible!)
That’s why when Paige is presented with two last-minute options for Christmas vacation, she’s paralyzed by indecision. Should she go with her best friend (and longtime crush) Fitz to his family’s romantic mountain cabin? Or should she accompany her mom to New York, a city Paige has spent her whole life dreaming about?
Just when it seems like Paige will crack from the pressure of choosing, fate steps in — in the form of a slippery grocery store floor — and Paige’s life splits into two very different parallel paths. One path leads to New York where Paige falls for the city … and the charms of her unexpected tour guide. The other leads to the mountains where Paige might finally get her chance with Fitz … until her anxiety threatens to ruin everything.
However, before Paige gets her happy ending in either destiny, she’ll have to face the truth about her struggle with anxiety — and learn that you don’t have to be “perfect” to deserve true love.
What’s better than one deliciously cozy, swoon-worthy holiday story? Four of them, from some of today’s bestselling authors.
From Kasie West, a snowy road trip takes an unexpected detour when secrets and crushes are revealed.
From Aimee Friedman, a Hanukkah miracle may just happen when a Jewish girl working as a department store elf finds love.
From Melissa de la Cruz, Christmas Eve gets a plot twist when a high school couple exchange surprising presents.
From Nic Stone, a scavenger hunt amid the holiday crowds at an airport turns totally romantic.
So grab a mug of hot cocoa, snuggle up, and get ready to fall in love …
From beach-read favorite Rachel Hawthorne, author of Caribbean Cruising and Love on the Lifts, comes another winter romance perfect to get snowed-in with! Great for fans of Stephanie Perkins, Lauren Barnholdt and Susane Colasanti.
Seventeen-year-old Ashleigh is about to experience a lot of things for the first time. 1) Snow. She and her mom are moving from sunny Texas to an icy island in the middle of Lake Michigan, which is completely snowbound. As in, no cars, just sleighs. 2) Small-town life. The icy island? Yep, it’s tiny. Like, 30 people in the whole high school tiny. And scariest of all: 3) Boys. Of course they had boys in Texas. But none of them were as irresistible — or as hard to figure out — as Josh Wynter. And before the snow melts, Ashleigh might also be falling in love …
On Christmas Eve five years ago, Holly was visited by three ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she’d become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways.
She didn’t.
And then she died.
Now she’s stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge — as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past.
Every year, they save another miserly grouch. Every year, Holly stays frozen at seventeen while her family and friends go on living without her. So far, Holly’s afterlife has been miserable.
But this year, everything is about to change …
Ryn Gilbert’s life changed irrevocably a year ago when her best friend, Lottie, was behind the wheel of a T-boned car. Ryn has held onto many things ever since, including one text message that allows her to keep Lottie near — it has gotten to the point that she questions her own sanity, and even keeps her therapist from knowing that she still sees and speaks to her friend.
Now Ryn is stuck in the Denver Airport on the night before the anniversary of Lottie’s death due to a blizzard with Xander, a boy she meets when they accidentally swap phones. The airport setting allows Ryn to open up to Xander, who is connected to her by circumstance and weighed down by his own issues.
It also allows them to interact with other unique characters, including a child prodigy and the slightly older airport workers Siri and Harvey, who throw an illicit New Year’s Eve party, while helping Ryn work out problems that she has been unable to face in her own life.
Amazon
Lexi’s feeling a little holidazed this winter …
Lexi’s been going out with Cameron for way too long. Sure, he’s a nice guy, but there’s a spark missing between them. So she comes up with the perfect plan: get him to fall for another girl so she’ll be free — and guilt-free, too.
But when Lexi sees Cameron looking awfully cozy with Jaylene, her heart melts, especially when her budding psychologist best friend tells her that once a new couple has gone out a dozen times, their relationship is pretty much set. Cameron’s twelfth date with Jaylene — the Christmas Ball — is coming up. Can Lexi find a way to rekindle her relationship with Cameron in the (saint) nick of time?
What does it really mean to be kind … and why does it sometimes feel like the hardest thing in the world to do? High school senior Kendall, who just returned from a life-changing semester in Europe, and Max, who is drifting his way through a gap year before college, struggle with these questions when they witness a tragic accident in New York City during the holiday season. Racked with guilt, the two accept a dare to perform random acts of kindness to strangers. The challenge pulls these two teens, who have a history together from back home, closer and closer as they explore a vibrant city filled with other people’s stories and secrets.
Kendall and Max can’t deny their growing bond, even though they both have other romantic entanglements and uncertain futures. As the clock counts down on New Year’s Eve, will they find themselves together at midnight?
From Jay Asher, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Thirteen Reasons Why, comes a romance that will break your heart, but soon have you believing again …
Sierra’s family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon — it’s a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other.
Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.
By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb’s past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.
What Light is a love story that’s moving and life-affirming and completely unforgettable.
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What a great list! It included some of my favorites: The Afterlife of Holly Chase, My True Love Gave to Me, Dash & Lily, Kiss Me in New York, and Rainbow Rowell. And I added several more to my TBR! Thanks for sharing! <3
That’s amazing! So happy you liked the list and you added some new ones to your TBR! 💖 Happy reading!