For the Rest of Us / Dahlia Adler, Editor / Book Review

FOR THE REST OF US: 13 FESTIVE HOLIDAY STORIES TO CELEBRATE ALL SEASONS

Lunar New Year to Winter Solstice, Juneteenth to Hannukah: not every American holiday is about Christmas cheer.

This collection of thirteen festive stories weaves through a calendar brimming with all kinds of festivals and holy days, bringing family (and family conflict) together again and again. Joy and holiday warmth from a diverse array of authors help to bring these celebrations alive.

THOUGHTS

I really loved this anthology! I always go into an anthology with high hopes, but it can be so hard to find a collection by so many different authors where all of the stories work. And here they did! I loved every one of these stories so much.

PROS

Really Diverse	This is an incredibly diverse selection of stories, of holidays, of authors and backgrounds. I loved learning about all kinds of holiday traditions, some familiar and some not so much. This anthology feels very festive and fun because it isn't just the same old holiday story regurgitated again and again.
Really Cozy	I don't know how to describe this anthology other than "cozy." Even when some really difficult topics are brought up--topics like racism, colorism, parental death, mental illness--it is full of such hope and joy that it reads like a soft blanket and a roaring fire on a chilly winter's night. Everything comes back around to the bright side--or what we can do to reach something better--and I adore that.
Each and Every	I can really, truly say that every single one of these stories was enjoyable to me. I find that really hard to capture in an anthology, because inevitably some writer's style or plotline just won't resonate. But here, every story felt different and entertaining and exciting and just right for me. Overall, I just loved this collection!

CONS

This critique is hard, because on the one hand, I do love it.. I loved to see so many diverse experiences captured in this collection. We're not just exploring cultural and ethnic groups here either. A lot of the stories feature LGBTQ+ main characters and supporting casts. A lot of them. And I love that on a personal level, but having so many queer leads actually made this collection feel less diverse. There's a lot of focus on coming out at the holidays. And those narratives are important, but it was the same bit of ground we retread in a new font a few times in this collection.	Diverse Diversity?
There are a lot of stories set in cities in this collection. Which makes sense. Rural places in the U.S. aren't exactly known for their diversity. But especially at the beginning of the anthology, it's back to back urban landscapes which just isn't my favorite setting for a story. There are a lot of stories, in literature and in media, set in cities, and this can feel alienating for all of us who don't live in, you know, NYC (and don't want to). I find this especially difficult in YA spaces, because kids don't choose where they're growing up. And kids shouldn't have to only read city-based stories.	Limitations
There are a handful of stories in this collection that just didn't seem to focus on their chosen holiday at all. I still loved the stories, but in an anthology like this, I'd like to really get to know the holiday traditions in question, too. The Juneteenth story uses that holiday as more of a backdrop than anything else, and the Valentine's story is fun but doesn't add much to the conversation. It made me wonder if there weren't other stories featuring these (or other) holidays that would have used them as more than a backdrop. I liked these stories, as I've said. But as part of this collection, they didn't quite work for me.	Not-So-Holiday

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8/10

Fans of Eds. Ashley Herring Blake & Rebecca Podos's anthology Fools in Love will love falling in love at the holidays in this collection. Those who loved the anthology Mermaids Never Drown from Eds. Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker will love these diverse, fun holiday tales.

Details Publisher: Quill Tree Books Date: September 2, 2025 Series: N/A Add to Goodreads Buy it HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.