If you’re ready to celebrate all the holidays—big, small, and wonderfully diverse—this anthology is pure joy in a book! With stories from fourteen amazing authors, each tale shines a light on different celebrations throughout the year, from Lunar New Year to Día de Los Muertos, Juneteenth to Solstice, and so much more.

What I loved most is how this collection beautifully shows there’s no one way to experience the holidays. It’s vibrant, heartfelt, and packed with characters who feel like friends you’re celebrating alongside.

Whether you want to keep the festive spirit alive year-round or just learn about new traditions, this book is a cozy, uplifting read that makes you appreciate the colorful tapestry of holiday magic in all its forms. Perfect for anyone who loves stories that warm your heart and expand your world!

5 out of 5 stars

A collection of absolute bangers! Not only am I a sucker for books centering non-Christian holidays, but several authors I adore contributed to it. Sonora Reyes, Dahlia Adler, and Preeti Chhibber knocked it out the park as usual, and now I have a whole host of other authors I'm excited to explore. All of the stories were engaging and sweet with wonderful social commentaries, and the final story was a gut-punch in the best way possible. "P.S.: I (Don't) Love You" is a particular stand-out to me for its humor, emphasis on friendship, and aromantic rep. All in all, I can't recommend this book highly enough!

**HUGE thank you to Quill Tree Books for granting me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**

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
Diverse Diversity?: 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.

Limitations: 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.

Not-So-Holiday: 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.


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.

I really didn't care for this book. The short stories were too similar and I did not finish it. The first two or three were good, but then it felt like I was reading the same rom-com story over and over.

This is such a great collection of holidays that can tend to be overlooked.
There is the look at family and how different their relationships can be. But how those family relationships really affect how these characters grow up.
I really liked the LGBTQ representation too throughout the stories.
A great collection for any and every library.

If you've ever felt that holiday stories tend to revolve around the same tinsel-covered tree or turkey dinner, *For the Rest of Us* is the beautiful, generous antidote. Edited by Dahlia Adler, this anthology pulls together 14 heartfelt stories from acclaimed authors, each spotlighting a different cultural or religious celebration with sincerity, warmth, and emotional depth. From the bright burst of Holi to the quiet reverence of Winter Solstice, the book serves up a sensory-rich invitation into how different communities mark the passage of the year.

The collection as a whole is rich with meaning, generosity, and spirit. These aren’t holiday stories dressed up in costume; they’re grounded in lived experience, full of the small tensions, family contradictions, unexpected humor, and quiet personal victories that make celebrations feel so real. Together, they create a mosaic of what it truly means to belong—not to one tradition, but to the act of celebration itself.

Two stories in particular left a lasting impression. One, set during the Lunar New Year, captures the internal tug-of-war between tradition and selfhood with subtlety and power. The author weaves in family dynamics, festive detail, and quiet emotional stakes in a way that feels deeply personal and utterly universal. Another, centered around a cheeky Christmas/Hanukkah rivalry, turns enemies into allies through a hilarious and ultimately heartwarming tradition of “holiday judging.” It’s witty, warm, and surprisingly touching—reminding us how shared rituals can mend even the prickliest relationships.

In the editor’s note, Dahlia Adler writes about how holidays are about “feeling infused with the spirit of their joy.” That sentiment resonates throughout the book. For the Rest of Us is more than just a holiday read—it’s a reminder that every tradition, every story, every identity deserves space at the table.

Highly recommended—not just for teens, but for anyone who wants to read something warm, inclusive, and full of heart.

I read this because one of my favorite authors has a story in it but I was amazed at how excellent the stories all were and how much nail biting conflict there was in each story even though they’re each very short and more low-stakes.
Several of the stories are also queer in addition to them all being ethnically diverse.