Attachments

Cover retrieved from Goodreads

Attachments

Rainbow Rowell

Dutton: 2011, 323 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Set in Nebraska towards the end of 1999 (think Y2K paranoia), Lincoln's job title is "Internet Security Officer" and he was expecting it to be awesome, like he would be defending the company by building firewalls and catching hackers.  What he actually does is read the work emails and monitors them for any of the red flag notices: inappropriate jokes, words, etc.  He knows that he should tell Beth and Jennifer that their constant emails are in violation of company policy but he doesn't and just keeps letting it go on.  Even though he knows it's creepy, he likes reading about what's happening in their lives and the job's so boring that their emails are often the highlight of his night.  But then he realizes that he's falling for Beth, even though he's never met her.  He wants to talk to her but how?  What will he say?  This is Rowell's first novel and it's endearing but not in an overly sentimental way.  

Carry On

Cover retrieved from Goodreads

Carry On

Rainbow Rowell

St. Martin's Griffin: 2015, 522 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Rainbow Rowell first wrote about Simon Snow and Baz in her novel Fangirl.  In Carry On, Rowell has devoted a full novel to the characters that were only briefly mentioned in Fangirl.  Simon Snow is "the chosen one," the one who will stop the dark force that threatens the world of magic.  Except that he's pretty sure he's not really "the chosen one" since he's terrible at magic and is more focused on why his nemesis for the past seven years is missing from their last year at the Watford School of Magicks.  Baz has his own reasons for missing so much school but he won't share it with Simon.  After all, Baz likes seeing Simon squirm.  There is magic, teen angst, friendship, and relationship drama; after all, they are in high school, even if they have to deal with monsters on occasion.

Landline

Cover retrieved from Goodreads

Landline

Rainbow Rowell

St. Martin's Press: 2014, 310 pages

Reviewed by Tori Lyons

Georgie and Neal's relationship was never easy.  While they loved each other deeply, her career as a writer for television comedies was always at odds with Neal's more reclusive nature.  But when Georgie had to forgo the family's annual Christmas visit to Neal's parents in Nebraska to focus on a new pilot she was pitching, she was devastated when Neal packed up their two daughters and went without her.  While spending the holidays at her mom's house in her childhood bedroom, Georgie discovers an unexpected way to reflect on the Christmas many years ago when Neal had proposed to her, and she wonders if maybe Neal wouldn't have been better off if it had never happened.  Landline provides an honest and genuine look at how relationships (and the people in them) change while still remaining the same.