Landline

Landline
by Rainbow Rowell
★★★★

Georgie and Neal are married with two daughters, Alice and Noomi. For years they’ve stretch themselves to the edge of what their relationship can handle. The bulk of the child-rearing has fallen on to Neal with very little contribution from the work-focused Georgie. 

When she backs out of an out-of-town Christmas trip with her family at the last minute to write for a new sitcom, her relationship with her husband hits a wall. When she tries to call her husband later she realizes she's reached him back in 1998, before they were even engaged. She finds herself reevaluating both her marriage and her priorities as she talks with the man she fell in love with so many years ago. 

Most of Rowell's books are about the sweet beginnings of relationships. She writes about infatuation, first love, flirtations and fumbling kisses. Landline is a departure from that. We do see the start of Georgie and Neal's relationship, but it's in flashbacks, not as it's happening, so there's no wondering "will they or won't they?" 

I love that she dove into the messiness of a real marriage in this book. No, I don't think it's quite as charming or lovable as her other work, but I also think that's okay. I trust Rowell enough as an author at this point that I'm along for the ride no matter what she writes. I had lower expectations for this one because of the reviews I'd already read, but I liked it. Either you can embrace the fact that a phone is letting Georgie talk to her 1998 husband or you can't. For me it worked and I liked it because it was less about the phone than it was about the conversations it allowed Georgie and Neal to have. 

BOTTOM LINE: If you love Rowell definitely read this one. Eleanor & Park is still my favorite, but this novel gave her readers a glimpse into how difficult real marriages can be, although we don't all have a magic phone that might let us fix things.

Fangirl

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell
★★★★

Rowell has made a name for herself with her sweet stories and realistic characters. So far I’ve read and loved Attachments and Eleanor and Park, so I had high expectations going into this one.

The plot centers on twin sisters, Cath and Wren, who are heading off to college for their freshman year. Wren can’t wait for the parties and new experiences, while Cath is having a hard time leaving her dorm room. She’s a devoted writer of fan fiction for the Simon Snow series (Harry Potteresque books.) Her new roommate Reagan is intimidating, her Dad's home alone and struggling with mental illness and Cath is having a hard time finding her way.

The beginning of the book is slow moving as Cath meanders through her classes and we depend more heavily on bits from the Simon Snow books and from her fan fiction chapters. As the novel progresses we get to know Cath a bit more and can understand why she’s hesitant to leave home and welcome change.
The second half of the book really clicked for me. I remember feeling nervous and self-conscious my freshman year in college. It can be such a tough time, especially if you aren’t a party girl, which I was not. You’re away from your high school friends and your home and I think it takes everyone a bit of time to find their equilibrium.

I read a few reviews that bashed Cath, calling her whiny or annoying. For me the crucial thing to remember is that she’s an 18-year-old girl who is struggling to adjust. I think just about all 18-year-old girls would fall into the whiny category at times, so her voice rang true for me. Cath’s struggle becomes clearer as we learn her character’s history and her apprehension begins to make more sense. The book also relies less on the Simon Snow gimmick as we become attached to Cath.

One of the most interesting aspects of the story, in my opinion, was the twin’s relationship. I have a sister who is a very different personality from me and I can’t imagine if we’d gone to college at the same time. Having a twin means you have a built in best friend who looks out for you, but it also means it can be hard to make your own friends or start a new phase in life.

**SPOILERS**
Much of the second half of the book focuses on Cath's relationship with her new boyfriend, Levi. Some of their scenes made me grin like a kid. I kept thinking of my boyfriend during my freshman year in college; the infatuation, the thrill of just being near that person. That stage in a relationship is so sweet and innocent. I loved that the book didn’t end as soon as they got together. Instead it explored some of the other complicated waters of an early relationship. The ending was a bit abrupt, but overall it worked.
**SPOILERS OVER**

BOTTOM LINE: I’m continually surprised by Rowell’s ability to make me connect with characters. Eleanor and Park is still my favorite, but this was a sweet walk down memory lane. We were all vulnerable, insecure college freshman once!

Eleanor and Park

Eleanor and Park

by Rainbow Rowell

★★★★★

Young love, high school sweethearts and any other cheesy label I can think of just doesn’t fit this bittersweet story. Eleanor is the new girl at school and she’s an easy target for others to pick on. She doesn’t wear the right clothes and is never quite able to tame her curly red hair. Despite this she becomes friends with Park, a quiet but popular Korean-American boy she meets on the bus. The two form an unlikely bond over a shared love of music and comic books. As sweet as their relationship is, there’s a much bigger story that Rowell is telling.

She touches on so many issues; popularity, school bullies, first love, growing up, gender identity, culture clash and so much more. As an added bonus, the book is set in 1986 in Omaha, Nebraska and is full of pop culture ‘80s references.

Eleanor’s personal life is rocky to say the least. Her secrets slowly unfold throughout the book and you can’t help but love the prickly teen.  She is so raw and vulnerable and of course because of that she’s hard and defensive on the outside. As her past is revealed it’s painful to see what she’s been through.

These beautiful characters feel so real.  They aren’t simple, they don’t fit into a box, they’re wonderfully complex. Even their parents aren’t generic pictures of good or bad, they make mistakes and selfish decisions like any real parents do. I particularly loved getting to know Park's parents. Their relationship and the very different way they interact with their children felt like a real family.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s fitting that Rowell’s next book is titled “Fangirl” because I think I’m officially a fangirl for her work. Between this book and her first one, Attachments I feel like I’ve found an author who creates some memorable characters and tells wonderful stories. I can’t wait to read more from her.

“He made her feel like more than the sum of her parts.” 

Attachments

Attachments
by Rainbow Rowell
★★★★☆

Sometimes you just need a quick summer read and this one was perfect! A man named Lincoln takes a night job doing internet security and reviewing flagged emails. After seeing quite a few between two friends, Jennifer and Beth, he begins to feel like he knows them but he isn’t sure how he would ever introduce himself. That’s not a great summary, but trust me it’s better than it sounds. I didn’t want to put it down.

The chapters rotate back and forth between Lincoln’s life and email exchanges between Jennifer and Beth. This style helped the story move forward quickly. I really liked that it’s not a regular romantic comedy/chick lit kind of book. It’s all from the guy’s point of view. We only saw what Jennifer and Beth were thinking through their emails. Lincoln may have been romantically interested in Beth, but I loved that Jennifer’s story mattered too. She wasn’t just a throw away character.

The author did a great job building up the supporting characters. The two leads are obviously important, but their other relationships: Lincoln’s with his mother, friends and Doris were all essential to the story. His back story was really good too. It showed how unhealthy relationship can really skew your world view. It was really more about figuring out who you are as a person, with or without love in your life, than it was just about finding love and that fixing everything else.
 
BOTTOM LINE: The perfect summer read. Pick up a copy if you’re in the mood for something sweet and light.
 
“‘I pictured a girl who was that alive… A girl who never got tired of her favorite movies,’ he said softly. ‘Who saved dresses like ticket stubs. Who could get high on the weather… I pictured a girl who made every moment, everything she touched, and everyone around her feel lighter and sweeter.’”

I saw this one recommended by Wallace at Unputdownables and reviewed at Giraffe Days