ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

In this YA romance, a Christmas wish has life-changing consequences.

Graham Wallace wants two things: to get out of Christmas, Virginia, and Sarah Clarke. The former is his holiday-obsessed small town, which the high school junior finds cozy but stifling; the latter is his childhood pal and next-door neighbor, a dedicated ballerina who happens to be dating Graham’s best friend, Jeremy Davis. Time is running out before the school’s winter formal. Graham has just asked the new girl in town, Piper Hudson, who also happens to frequent the bookstore where he works, when he makes a private, late-night Christmas wish. The next morning, Graham has what he desired. In this alternate reality, Graham and Sarah have been dating for two years and are planning to move to New York City after graduation. Jeremy has transformed from skinny gamer to buff wrestler and is interested in Piper, still the new girl in town and now Graham’s co-worker at the bookstore. But as the holiday draws closer in Christmas, Virginia, Graham realizes he and Sarah may not be the perfect match he once fantasized about. Despite their long-term relationship, the couple struggle to connect, and her parents aren’t exactly crazy about him. In the meantime, Graham can’t get Piper off his mind—is she truly the one he’s meant to be with? Bobulski creates a Hallmark movie–esque setting in Christmas, with special traditions and quirky townsfolk, like bookstore owner Aunt Bee and Graham’s parents, who have a long-term love story of their own. Graham is a winning narrator, devoted to Sarah in a way that’s realistic for a teenage boy but without ever becoming obsessive or entitled about his dream girl. Sarah herself has realistic inner conflicts about the future she thinks she wants with Graham and her actual dreams; and Piper shines as a well-developed love interest—a cheerleader with a passion for reading to match Graham’s—who is always straightforward about her feelings in a way that’s truly refreshing.

A gloriously sweet holiday read about expectations and reality.