Review: Attachments

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Once again, I find myself in love with Rainbow Rowell. I think we could be best friends. I adore her books. It's rare that I find an author whose work resonates with me on so many levels. I don't typically read chick-lit, or sappy romances, or whatever classification you would call her books. But she gets me. The dialogue, the characters, they are are so realistic and I find myself thinking about the stories long after the book is finished. I'm not a crazy stalker, but I would like to have coffee with her sometime.

In this one, we get to play voyeur with Lincoln, the overnight IT guy who is tasked with monitoring the internal emails at the newspaper. It's a crappy job, but someone has to do it. I guess. Depends on which side you sit on for personal privacy in the workplace. Some really amusing exchanges between Beth, the movie reviewer, and Jennifer, the copy editor, get flagged, and Lincoln gets sucked into their lives. Me too. They both seem awesome. Anyway, that's how it starts. I will spare you the spoilers and just encourage you to read it.

The book gave me warm and fuzzies. What? I'm not a robot. Beep boop.



View all my reviews

Fangirl

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It's official; I love Rainbow Rowell. This is the third book I have read by her and I can safely say now that I love her work. She writes realistic, flawed characters and I always feel like I can relate. Her relationships have rung true for me in all three books. And while I don't write fan fiction, I can completely understand Cath's social anxiety and just plain being an introvert. When you find yourself nodding your head to scenes as you read, you know you have found the right author for you. Loved it. 4 stars.



View all my reviews

Landline

Landline: A Novel by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My second book by Rainbow Rowell, and I loved it just as much.

What would you do if you got a second chance to make things right? Georgie and Neal have a tenured marriage. Tense, with typical troubles, Georgie makes the decision to stay home for Christmas to work. Neal, understandably, gets mad and takes the girls to Omaha as planned. Georgie finds a way to communicate with Neal, but it's Neal from 15 years ago. This helps her to reevaluate her life, her marriage, and the choices she made in the past.

I was prepared to hate both Georgie and Neal from the beginning. Georgie suffered from a lack of confidence, and Neal struck me as a bully. However, as the story unfolded I began to understand their relationship, and it was really sweet. And messy. And complicated, just like real life. It made me appreciate my marriage and reminded me how fortunate I am.

It's not what I expected, but it was still really good. Just read it. Rainbow Rowell hasn't disappointed me yet.



View all my reviews

Eleanor and Park

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I adored this book. I picked it up at the library based on just the title, having heard it recommended as a fantastic read by someone on Reddit. I'm glad I didn't read any reviews or the synopsis before getting it, as it was a bit like unwrapping a present.

Eleanor is a misfit from a poor, dysfunctional family. Her stepfather is deplorable, and her mother is broken and weak. Park is the token Asian kid in this neighborhood of Omaha (half-Korean), and straddles between his popular friends and being himself. Thrown together on the bus, an odd friendship evolves into romance. Rowell did a great job of capturing first love and the awkwardness of high school / finding your place in the world. The dichotomy of Park's family (they were pretty fantastic, lucky boy) and Eleanor's awful home life (not only poor, but abusive and scary) was perfectly drawn for me. My heart ached for Eleanor, and for Park as he was introduced to a world that he never imagined from the safety of his home.

The ending wasn't what I expected, but still satisfying. To be honest, I'm a little emotionally wrecked by the last few chapters, and need a moment to collect myself. Definitely recommended--4 stars.




View all my reviews