What song gets you in the holiday spirit? We think there’s a holiday song for everyone, from the traditionalist to the trendsetter, from the cheeriest and most holiday-obsessed to those who feel more like Scrooge during the festive season. Pick a song that matches your holiday mood, and we’ll tell you what book you should read or put at the top of your gift list for the holidays!
Your Song: “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey
Your Book: All I Want for Christmas by Wendy Loggia
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” is a song about someone whose Christmas list contains just one wish: a special someone to share the joy of the season. If you love the song, you should definitely read All I Want for Christmas. Bailey Briggs loves everything about Christmas. At the top of her Christmas wish list this year is someone to kiss under the mistletoe! This cute and charming book is perfect for those hopeless romantics who can never get enough holiday cheer!
Your Song: “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”
Your Book: New Year’s Kiss by Lee Matthews
“What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” is a holiday classic that has been sung by everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to the Carpenters to Kacey Musgraves. It’s a song about hoping your holiday crush might reciprocate your feelings and show up to share the first kiss of the New Year. New Year’s Kiss is about a girl who tries to get through her end-of-the-year bucket list with the help of a charming stranger. Will she make it through her list? Will she have someone to kiss as the ball drops? Grab a copy of this adorable holiday romance and find out!
Your Song: “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande
Your Book: American Royals II: Majesty by Katharine McGee
“Santa Tell Me” is about someone who asks Santa not to make her fall in love if things will only end in heartbreak. Majesty, book 2 in the American Royals series, features a trio of royal siblings who can certainly relate, as each of them is in love with someone they probably shouldn’t be. If holiday movies featuring royalty are your thing, you have to ask Santa to tuck this book into your stocking!
Your Song: “River” by Joni Mitchell
Your Book: Dear Martin by Nic Stone
“River” is a poignant song about longing for an escape from emotional turmoil during the holidays. If your mood is a little more pensive this holiday season, we recommend you try Dear Martin. It is the story of Justyce McCallister, who is trying to come to terms with the racism and police brutality he’s experienced. He dreams of a better world and hopes that writing to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. can offer him some much-needed wisdom and inspiration.
Your Song: “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Thurl Ravenscroft
Your Book: The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
We never get tired of watching the Grinch try to steal all the presents in Whoville right before Christmas. If you’d love some intrigue around the holidays, try The Cousins. The Story siblings and their children have been disinherited by the family matriarch for a reason no one talks about. When Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are invited to visit their mysterious grandmother, they decide to start digging into all the Story family secrets. Will they get to the bottom of their grandma’s Grinch-ness? Grab this book and find out!
Your Song: “Like It’s Christmas” by the Jonas Brothers
Your Book: Breathless by Jennifer Niven
“Like It’s Christmas” is a feel-good song that reminds us that being in love makes every day feel like Christmas. If you are ready for intense romantic feels, we recommend Breathless. Claude thinks she has her life all figured out, until a bombshell announcement by her parents changes everything. Over one summer on a remote island, she meets a boy and is overcome by the intensity and magic of first love.
Your Song: “Last Christmas” by Wham!
Your Book: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Maybe you’re wondering what a Christmas song has to do with murder, but just hear us out. “Last Christmas” is a song about someone who fell in love with the wrong person last year and is determined to make this holiday season a romantic do-over. In A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Pippa reinvestigates a notorious crime in her town. When she decides that the wrong person has been blamed for the murder, she puts herself in danger to prove it.
Your Song: “Every Year, Every Christmas” by Luther Vandross
Your Book: Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
“Every Year, Every Christmas” is a song about hope and faith in the face of disappointment. Spin the Dawn is the story of Maia, a girl whose family has faced hardship and loss. When her father’s failing health prevents him from competing to be the new imperial tailor, Maia disguises herself as a boy and enters the contest. If you love the optimistic spirit of the holidays, Maia’s perseverance and selflessness will inspire you.
Your Song: “Christmas Time Is Here” from A Charlie Brown Christmas
Your Book: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Charlie Brown, star of the Peanuts comic strips and movies, is a perpetual worrier, a kid struggling to make sense of the world and his place in it. The Magic Fish is a graphic novel about Tiến, a boy who draws on Vietnamese folktales in an attempt to explain to his immigrant parents that he’s gay. It is a celebration of love and the stories that connect us.
Did you enjoy this YA book list based on your favorite holiday songs? Get social with us at @getunderlined!
