A few months ago a coworker informed us that Rainbow Rowell was going to be at our local library and zero part of me hesitated when it came to signing up - there was even less hesitation when it came signing up for the Meet & Greet that took place prior to her talk.
Having only experienced the magic of Fangirl, I immediately read my copy of Eleanor & Park and asked for copies of Attachments and Landline for Christmas. So good.
Anyway, on to the event. The Meet & Greet started around 5:30 for those of us who felt no qualms about spending $25 for the privilege to spend an hour and a half in close proximity to Rainbow and special upfront seating to her 7:00 talk. My coworkers and I did not hate either of those perks - third row was pretty bad ass.
I don't remember how many tickets were available for the Meet & Greet but Rainbow handled it like a champ. She went around and signed everybody's books (regardless of how many they brought - and there was one gentleman who I'm pretty sure had every edition of each of her books), swag, chatted a bit, and took pictures.
And she is seriously the sweetest! Her smile never fell, her laughter was contagious, and bathe in her warmth. (Does that sound weird? That sounds weird.)
After the Meet & Greet, we headed to the auditorium for her Q&A session. We got to learn about Rainbow's feelings on her name (while growing up and now), which book was her favorite to write (Fangirl), how she became a novelist, finding time to write and have a life, having crushes on her own characters (she's in a bit of a love triangle with Levi and Baz), as well as many secrets! Okay, maybe not secrets, but an audience of 100-some people, Rainbow made it feel like an intimate conversation.
Overall, the whole night was amazing. I am so thrilled I got to meet one of my favorite authors and got her books signed - along with this amazing print from The Art of Young Adult.
Series: Genre: Publication.Date: February 26, 2013 Pages: 328 (hardcover) Published By: St. Martin's Press Website: Rainbow Rowell Eleanor & Park on Goodreads My review copy:
Where to get:
Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.
Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.
Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.
Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.
(Goodreads)
Eleanor & Park is a cute story. It's not always a happy story, but it's a cute story. Or at least a cute romance. There are a lot of heavy themes throughout the book (bullying, abuse, drinking, drugs), but it's a sweet and interesting read.
I was drawn to Eleanor as this misfit character. She's an outsider character and is picked on for being "fat," a redhead, bad dresser and anything else the popular kids can think of to pick on her. Park, on the other hand, is accept by his peers despite his differences. Biggest difference? Eleanor doesn't care. She's who she is and they can accept her of bugger off.
One of the cutest scenes takes place early in the book where Park notices that Eleanor is reading his comic book over his shoulder, which is where their barriers begin to slowly break down. As the novel goes on it's obvious that despite their physical differences, Eleanor and Park have enough similarities that it's easy to see how they were drawn to one another and believe the ease in which they slowly fell into their relationship.
Series: Genre: Publication.Date: April 14, 2011 Pages: 323 (paperback) Published By: Dutton Website: Rainbow Rowell Attachments on Goodreads My review copy:
Where to get:
"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.
What would he say . . . ?
(Goodreads)
My first foray into Rainbow Rowell's adult novels wasn't too bad. I wasn't crazy about Attachments, but I did really enjoy it. I'll admit that at first I didn't realize the story took place in 1999 so I didn't understand why these women were writing such personal things in email when they could have been texting, but then duh. Look at the dates on the email, Andrea. Once I caught on to that detail I was a lot more accepting of the plot.
I'll admit that Lincoln's job is a bit creepy - even he admits it - but there's something about him that doesn't make it creepy. He wants to stop reading Beth and Jennifer's email but finds himself drawn to them - and slowly falling in love with Beth.
Not only that, but we are hoping - and impatiently waiting - for the moment Beth and Lincoln will physically meet. Their relationship (of sorts) is completely one sided, but I was longing for them to run into one another. I mean, they work at the same company, how hard could it be?!
Attachments is told entirely from Lincoln's perspective. We're reading Beth and Jennifer's emails and he does and get to know these two women along with him. Rainbow writes her characters in such an amazing way that I actually care about Beth and Jennifer. We're not introduced to them and we care. We care so much about them!
While there were certain parts I felt the plot dragged a bit, Attachments is a rather cute and different love story that fans of Rainbow are sure to enjoy.
Series: Genre: Publication.Date: July 8, 2014 Pages: 356 (paperback) Published By: St. Martin's Press Website: Rainbow Rowell Landline on Goodreads My review copy:
Where to get:
Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.
Maybe that was always beside the point.
Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...
Is that what she’s supposed to do?
Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?
(Goodreads)
Fangirl : Lanline :: Eleanor & Park : Attachemnts. (At least for me.)
I absolutely LOVE Landline. I read this book in a day because I could not put it down. I was a little worried about the paranormal aspect of talking to her past-husband, but it worked beautifully and no part of me ever went "No way would this ever happen." Granted, it's there's a high possibility it never will, but this felt real. I fully believe that Georgie was talking to her husband (then boyfriend) who was 18 years in the past.
Seeped in reality, Georgie and Neal's marriage is falling apart. She's always choosing work over family and her current choice of choosing work over a family trip to Omaha, it might be the last straw.
Taking place over the course of a few days, Georgie attempts to keep herself together while denying her life is falling apart. Refusing to stay in her empty house, Georgie bunks with her mother, stepfather, and sister. It's here that she finds some time portal to the past through her mother's landline, connecting her to Neal 18 years ago. Throughout the course of a few days and a series of phone calls, she reconnects with younger Neal and begins to examine her life.
Additionally, Rainbow gives us a peek into the early days of Georgie and Neal, allowing us a full fledged understanding of their relationship. I love the back and forth of the narration (past and present) because we don't just get to see Georgie and Neal as they are now, but as they were then. Young, carefree, and in love. Plus, we get to see their pre-relationship days of easy flirting, which were easily some of the cutest scenes in the book. These flashbacks allow us to become more invested in their relationship and develop a deeper hope that they will pull through.
With amazing supporing characters and a romance you can't help but swoon over, Landline will easily be one of my top 2016 reads.
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