Winter is a great time to cozy up with a warm drink and a good book. This list of winter-themed stories is perfect for a cold, snowy day.
Let It Snow
Compiled by:
Jen H.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Hand)
On Christmas Eve five years ago, 17-year-old Holly Chase 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 their latest Ghost of Christmas Past.
(Young Adult Fiction – Y Garrod)
Elle is a social media star with the #DreamLife...or so it seems. Determined to shake up her content and gain new followers, she's on a mission: find a British fan to swap houses with for the holidays. Holly, on the other hand, loves everything about Christmas. Can Holly save the season by leaving Britain to switch places with her favorite social media influencer?
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Zhao)
In the Cyrilian Empire, the gifts Affinites use to control the world are unnatural and dangerous. Anastacya Mikhailov, the crown princess, has a secret and deadly Affinity to blood—it is her curse, and the reason she has lived her life behind palace walls. When Ana's father, the emperor, is murdered, she is framed as his killer and must flee the palace to save her life. To clear her name, she must find her father's murderer on her own.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Zusak)
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel, a young German girl whose book stealing and storytelling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors. Includes reader's guide.
(Young Adult Fiction – Y Pattou)
A young woman journeys to a distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel enchantment.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Meyer)
When her father disappears, Echo Alkaev believes he is lost forever. Six months later, she finds him half-frozen in the winter forest, guarded by a talking wolf. The wolf presents Echo with an offer: come and live with him for a year. In his enchanted house beneath a mountain, Echo discovers centuries-old secrets, a magical library full of books-turned-mirrors, and a young man named Hal who is trapped inside of them. As the year ticks by, Echo must solve the mystery of the wolf's enchantment before her time is up.
(Young Adult Fiction – Y Smith)
When 15-year-old Peak Marcello is invited to participate in the International Peace Ascent in the Hindu Kush, most of the climbers in his group are either killed or kidnaped in an attack. Peak finds himself caught up in a struggle to survive—shadowed by the Shen, a mysterious snow leopard.
(Young Adult Fiction – Y Reynold)
Shira is on a mission to find the perfect boyfriend over Hanukkah, but after getting snowed in on Nantucket with her nemesis (and former crush), her plans begin to go off the rails.
(Young Adult Fiction – Y Fawcett)
Kamzin has always dreamed of becoming one of the Emperor’s royal explorers, the elite climbers tasked with mapping the wintry, mountainous Empire and spying on its enemies. But everything changes when the mysterious and eccentric River Shara, the greatest explorer ever known, arrives in her village.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Bashard)
At 16 years old, Mina's mother is dead, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone—has never beat at all, in fact, but she'd always thought that fact normal. When she moves to Whitespring Castle, Mina forms a plan: win the king's heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. 15-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother. But Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. Lynet must decide what to do—and who to be—to win back the only mother she's ever known...or else defeat her once and for all.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Marcelo)
Planning to enjoy her last snowy winter break of high school by working at a cozy local inn and moonlighting as an anonymous book blogger, Lily Santos' plans are upended when the boss's frustratingly cute nephew, Teddy Rivera, becomes her nemesis co-worker.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Arlow)
It all starts when Shani runs into May. Like, literally, with her mom's Subaru. But, attempted vehicular manslaughter was not part of Shani's plan; she was supposed to be focusing on her month-long paleoichthyology internship. But when a dog-walking gig puts her back in May's path, the fossils she's meant to be diligently studying are pushed to the side. Then, they're snowed in together on Christmas Eve. As things start to feel more serious, though, Shani's hurt over her ex-girlfriend's rejection comes rushing back. Is she ready to try a committed relationship again, or is she okay with this just being a winter fling?
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Konen)
Noah is a hopeless romantic. He’s traveling home for one last chance with his first love, and he needs a miracle to win her back. Ammy doesn’t believe in true love. That is, until one winter night when Noah and Ammy find themselves in the same Amtrak car heading to Upstate New York. The Amtrak train suddenly breaks down—in the middle of a snowstorm. Desperate to make it to their destinations, Noah and Ammy have no other option but to travel together.
(Young Adult Fiction – Y Petroff)
Charlotte “Charlie” Donovan knows exactly what she wants for Christmas: Teo Ortiz. The only problem? He barely knows she exists. But, Charlie has a plan.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y My)
12 holiday stories by best-selling young adult writers, edited by the international best-selling 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 12 reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Podos)
A mystery writer's daughter sets out to find her missing father and, along the way, begins to understand the loneliness that has gripped them both since her mother abandoned them years before.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Sones)
Right before winter break, 14-year-old Molly Rosenberg reluctantly volunteers to participate in Santa Monica's annual homeless count just to get her school's community service requirement out of the way. But, when she ends up meeting Red, a spirited girl experiencing homelessness who is only a few years older than she is, Molly makes it her mission to reunite her with her family in time for Christmas.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Bardugo)
Orphaned by the Border Wars, Alina Starkov is taken from obscurity and her only friend, Mal, to become the protegé of the mysterious Darkling, who trains her to join the magical elite in the belief that she is the Sun Summoner—the only one who can destroy the monsters of The Fold once and for all.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Stiefva)
In all the years she has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house, Grace has been particularly drawn to an unusual yellow-eyed wolf who, in his turn, has been watching her with increasing intensity.
(Science Fiction & Fantasy - SF Rossner)
A tale inspired by Jewish mythology is set in a woodland village on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, and follows the experiences of two sheltered sisters who uncover a secret magical heritage.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Tooley)
After losing everything to an undeserving rival, a 16-year-old musician sets out to expose that her rival's newfound musical abilities stem from an illegal use of magic. What she discovers will rock everything she knows about her family, music, and the girl she thought was her enemy.
(Young Adult Fiction – Y Urban)
Frankincense (Frankie) Wood tries to pull off the Christmas of her dreams as she juggles trying to keep in touch with her best friend, family dynamics at the family's Holiday shop, and recovering from world's worst first kiss.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Lacour)
After leaving her life behind to go to college in New York, Marin must face the truth about the tragedy that happened in the final weeks of summer when her friend Mabel comes to visit.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Clayton)
Atlanta is blanketed with snow just before Christmas, but the warmth of young love just might melt the ice in this novel of interwoven narratives, Black joy, and cozy, sparkling romance. No one is prepared for this whiteout. But then, we can’t always prepare for the magical moments that change everything.
(Young Adult Fiction – Y Emond)
Evan and Lucy, childhood best friends who grew apart, begin a romance at 17 years old. But, Evan's choice to mindlessly follow his father's plans for an Ivy League education rather than becoming the cartoonist he longs to be—Lucy's more destructive choices—pull them apart.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Dittemo)
On an island cursed by eternal winter, Sylvi agrees to run a late-season haul for a smuggler, but when they reach their destination, Sylvi must decide if she can abandon her cherished solitude and anonymity—and the favor of the icy spirit Winter—to join with the rebels.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Jaejone)
All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. Now 18 years old and helping to run her family's inn, Liesl can't help but feel that her dreams and fantasies are slipping away. But, when her sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl must journey to the Underground to save her. Drawn to the strange, captivating world she finds—and the mysterious man who rules it—she soon faces an impossible decision. And with time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Ernshaw)
Be careful of the dark, dark wood—especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical—haunted, even. Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it's this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he'd been missing.