Book review: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Have you ever had to keep quiet about a book by an author you love? And when I say keep quiet, I mean you can't talk about its plot with anyone, or analyse the characters, or just gush about how amazing the author is.

It's difficult, let me tell you. In the weeks since I read Rainbow Rowell's Carry On, I've sent one email saying how fabulous it is (to the publicist, I didn't break an embargo) and that's it. But now, the time is finally here, and I can write to my heart's content about Rowell's first official foray into fantasy writing (she has written Harry Potter fanfiction before).

Simon Snow is a Mage. In fact, he's not just any Mage, he's the Mage who will save all other Mages, even if he can't control his magic all the time, and is a bit clumsy, and hates, hates, hates his roommate Baz. And Baz? Baz is a bit mysterious, and from an old magical family, and he hates, hates, hates his roommate Simon. When Baz doesn't return to school after the summer holidays for his final year, Simon becomes suspicious that he's planning something evil, and with the Insidious Humdrum to fight, and a headmaster who isn't really talking to and helping him, Simon is in a whole heap of trouble.

Book review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I'm not sure how she does it, but I don't think there's an author out there better at putting into words thoughts and feelings than Rainbow Rowell, and in Attachments she does it again.

It's 1999 and friends Beth and Jennifer, who work at a newspaper, exchange emails across the newsroom throughout the work day. Shy IT guy Lincoln, a few floors below in the same building, has the job of reading flagged emails, and as he goes through Beth and Jennifer's emails, he finds himself falling for one of them.

Attachments perfectly encapsulates the world when people first started using the internet. Just like in Landline, Rowell combines nostalgia with a fantastic story that somehow doesn't feel dated even though one of the central comedy points in Attachments is how the approaching millennium might muck up all computer systems (remember that?!). It's a book that I think feels relevant even if you have no concept of dial-up internet.

The way Attachments is written, we mostly only see Beth and Jennifer through their emails, while we actually spend time with Lincoln. Despite this, I still felt like I knew Beth and Jennifer really well - I laughed with them, cried with them, got frustrated with them. And because of that, you can understand why Lincoln feels like he knows the women too, and why he falls for the iteration of one of them that he sees. If Rowell can make us, the reader, feel like we know and can sympathise and empathise with Beth and Jennifer, it's not so far-fetched to think that Lincoln can feel strong emotions for the pair as well.

Perfect summer reads 2014

Summer - the sun is shining and you're looking for something to read on the beach/on the plane/in the park/in the garden. Here are my top summer reads, some out already, and some coming out in the next couple of months. Most importantly, all are perfect for the hot weather.

1. The Storms of War by Kate Williams
Billed as Downton Abbey meets Atonement, this First World War-set novel is the sweeping first book in a series that, if justice is to be served, will go on to do big things.
Out July 2.

2. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Rainbow Rowell's second adult novel, Landline, has a tinge of nostalgia perfect for a hazy summer day. Through its ups and downs it'll sweep you away like a warm breeze.
Out July 31.

3. The Secret Place by Tana French
Intrigue, murder, and the vagaries of teenage girls - Tana French brings those ingredients and more together in The Secret Place, the most perfect crime novel I've read for some time. 
Out on August 28.

4. Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little
If you like your news in short sharp snippets and you like you celebrity gossip with plenty of commentary, Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little is the perfect book. Its narrator is full of snark, and its premise will have you guessing to the surprising end, so get your sunglasses and paparazzi face on.
Out on August 14.

5. The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman
Forget everything you know, or don't, about boxing and delve into Anna Freeman's The Fair Fight, a swashbuckling novel about female fighters, feminism and standing up for yourself.
Out on August 28.

6. Her by Harriet Lane 
Chilling enough to help keep you cool through the hot summer months, Harriet Lane's Her is addictive and filled with tension that builds and builds to a horrifying climax.
Out now.

7. Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
Surprisingly, for a book with an 82-year-old protagonist, Emma Healey's Elizabeth is Missing will have you on the edge of your seat from the beginning.
Out now.

8. The Pink Suit by Nicole Mary Kelby
For fans of fashion, icons and history, The Pink Suit by Nicole Mary Kelby is a brilliant, easy-to-read novel about one of the most famous outfits in memory.
Out now.

Review: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell is the queen of nostalgia - her books are perfect at conjuring up feelings and thoughts and situations from the past.

I adored both Fangirl and Eleanor & Park (I haven't read Attachments) so it was with both excitement and trepidation that I approached Landline, Rowell's forthcoming novel. I wondered how I'd find her writing when the book was aimed at adults, and whether it would hold the magic of her YA books.

Georgie McCool's marriage is in trouble. Her husband has taken their two children to his mum's house for Christmas, while Georgie stays behind to write the sitcom that will make her career. Only, now that Neal and the kids are gone, Georgie knows things are beyond wrong. 

When she uses the old landline in her mum's home to try and call her husband, she finds herself communicating with a Neal from the past. Is this the perfect opportunity to fix her marriage before it breaks? Or is it a chance to never start what is now making her so sad?

Landline is full of great, flawed characters, like the previous Rowell books I've read. Georgie is likeable, but also clueless at times. Neal in the present time, who we barely see, comes across as a great dad, but also as closed off emotionally. Georgie's writing partner Seth is charming, but clearly lonely. Georgie's mum is hilarious, and her sister is sweet and supportive.

But that's just one way of looking at the characters. Rowell takes us back into the pasts of all those we encounter, giving us a glimpse into what made them the people they are in the present time. Georgie's memories show her as even more clueless when she was at university, while Seth is selfish. We see a closed off Neal in the past, who opens up emotionally to Georgie as he learns to love and trust her.

Landline isn't just a doom and gloom serious book though. It's full of lighter, genuinely happy moments (Georgie's sister's budding romance), and funny ones (Georgie's mums, the pugs). Rowell knows that to tug at the heartstrings you sometimes have to give a little reprieve as well. 

And being an adult novel, there is a lot more light and shade within the book, with characters coming to adult solutions about their problems. At times I did feel a little confused, as Rowell's style for her adult novel is similar to that for her YA ones, and I sometimes felt I needed more of an obvious difference. Still, I loved this book, which is as as beautifully written as Fangirl and Eleanor & Park, and will no doubt introduce her to a new audience who haven't yet had the pleasure of her writing.

•Landline is released on July 31.

How I got this book: From the publisher, Orion. This did not affect my review.

Top 10 Tuesday (#16) - best books I read in 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists. 

This week's topic is...top 10 books I read in 2013. This is a tough one, since I read a lot of great books, and this list will probably change right after I compile it!

Reviews:

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Siege, Three Days of Terror Inside the Taj by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Fortunately, the Milk... by Neil Gaiman
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Lean In - Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I'd love to do a honourable mentions list, but it would get ridiculously long, so I'll leave it with my top 10. What were your favourite reads of 2013?

Book review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

In these days of Tumblr and Twitter and all the rest, being a fan of something or someone is very different from what it was 20 years ago.

Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl explores fandom, using its central character Cath. Heading to college, Cath's twin Wren tells her she wants to share a room with someone else. Introvert Cath finds herself rooming with tough girl Reagan, whose boyfriend Levi is always around.

Feeling lonely, Cath continues to immerse herself in the world of Simon Snow, the central character in author Gemma T. Leslie's fantasy book series. Because in that world, Cath isn't a scared teenager, she's Magicath, awesome fanfiction writer with a following of thousands.

Cath is a wonderful character, who embodies so many of the things that many teenagers feel when they're heading away from home for the first time - unsure of their place at college, scared about making new friends, trying to find a balance between work and play. And while we don't see much of her, Wren embodies other characteristics of teenagers heading off to college - determined to throw themselves into the experience, shedding everything that's come before and reinventing yourself anew. Put them together, and Rowell has the college-bound teenager covered, the parents left behind when children leave home.

That's not to say Cath and Wren are half characters. Not at all. They're both relatable, although we see much more of Cath than we do of Wren, and when we do see the latter it's through Cath's eyes. Other characters are recognisable without being stereotypical - the professor who really helps you and inspires you (although maybe not both all the time), the dormmate you're unsure of, the people of the opposite sex you encounter and whose motives you're unsure of.

But for me, what I loved most about Fangirl was its examination of fandom and of fanfiction. The chapters are interspersed with extracts from Cath's Simon Snow fanfiction, or from the Simon Snow books themselves, which are hilarious versions of Harry Potter featuring vampires - Rowell isn't afraid to poke fun at aspects of massive selling novels.

Conversely, Rowell doesn't treat fandom or fanfiction with contempt, or look down on it, in Fangirl, and I think that's important, and brave. It's all too easy to dismiss fandom, but these communities of fans are full of creative, intelligent people whose outlet might be drawing or writing about their favourite things. Sure, some might take it too far, but for others it's a springboard into something else, or a way of finding themselves, and that's what Rowell makes it for Cath in Fangirl.

I really, really loved this book and could go on for ages about all the things I thought really worked. Just my discussion on fandom in relation to Fangirl would fill an essay, but I think it's better if you pick up the novel yourself and give it a read. Now I'm off to find a Tumblr group for fans of Fangirl...

How I got this book: Borrowed from a friend

Book review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

You never forget your first love, goes the tagline on Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park. I'm hoping I'll never forget Eleanor & Park, one of the sweetest, most powerful books I've read in a while.

Eleanor is the weird new girl at school, worried about her weight and her looks (which lead to bullying) and her family (abusive stepdad). Park is the quiet boy on the bus, from a not-so all-American family (and he's not quite sure where he fits in). Over the course of months, they bond over music and comic books, and fall in love.

And that's it really. Sure, there are difficulties in Eleanor and Park's lives, but this book is about falling in love for the first time when you're young, and the way it can be all-consuming, no matter what is happening around you.

Switching between sections focusing on both characters, it's only the reader who has full knowledge of Eleanor and Park's lives for much of the novel. In the privileged position of knowing it all, I felt like Rowell had told the perfect story - there wasn't a single moment where I went: "Oh, because I know that I think he/she should have reacted differently."

There are plenty of supporting characters, but we see them all through their interactions with the protagonists, and although some of them help the story move along, they're not as important as Eleanor and Park, what's important is the way they affect the characters' relationship.

Rowell's powerful storytelling had me in tears for much of the novel. I'm not sure if it's because I started reading it at 1am after a night out and I had flu and it was the end of a long week of work, or if it's because the story was genuinely weep-worthy. I have a feeling it's a little of both, and despite the fact I was wiping the water out of my eyes a lot, I did enjoy the book.

Eleanor & Park is a beautiful tale, made even more so by its simplicity. You never forget your first love, and I'll never forget the time I fell a little in love with Eleanor and Park.

How I got this book: Borrowed from the library