Just like any other insecure girl with an unhealthy love for boys who are really into bands, I loved Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor and Park. Rowell’s fantastic when it comes to capturing that essence of hope and romance and awkwardness that is young love. (Or that is adult love, if you’re me.) I had high hopes for her follow-up, Landline, which is meant for adults, not teenagers. I liked the book, but I didn’t love it as much as her other work. Her adult characters just didn’t seem as heartbreakingly authentic to me. That, and the magic telephone kind of tripped me up … as magic telephones are wont to do, I suppose.
I’ve included a bit of my review of Landline (the book comes out July 8) here, and you can read my whole review of Landline over at BookPage. Or, judge for yourself: Landline is an NPR First Read this week, so you can listen to or read an excerpt here. If you like it, preorder the ebook through Church Street, and you’ll be among the first to read it when it comes out in July. Behold, my review (well, part of it):
“First love, young love, unexpected love—any kind of love with a deep vein of naiveté and innocence—this is Rainbow Rowell’s wheelhouse. She manages to capture raw emotion with a wave of nostalgia that captivates not only her primary audience of young adult readers, but also those of us who, at least in theory, have moved past the age of soaring crushes and crushing heartbreak.” Read the full review of Rainbow Rowell’s Landline at BookPage.