Attachments, by Rainbow Rowell

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 4:16pm by manz

After reading Rainbow Rowell’s Printz Honor winning teen novel Eleanor & Park and falling in love with it, I was very excited about what was next from her. I then ate up the next teen novel Fangirl, even though it didn’t taste quite the same as Eleanor & Park. While waiting for another teen book by her I went back and grabbed her adult novel, Attachments – and it was a delightful read.

In Attachments it’s 1999 and Lincoln’s job as “internet security officer” is to monitor company email, reading and flagging any inappropriate work emails being sent. He gets caught up in reading email conversations between Beth and Jennifer. They talk about life as best girlfriends should, sharing many intimate details. He knows he should flag the emails and turn them in, but he can’t – he has to continue reading their saga. Lincoln falls for Beth through reading these emails, which are just hilarious. (I want to hang out with Beth and Jennifer and laugh at their quips.) But how will Lincoln ever be able to meet Beth in person and not mention that he’s been reading about her life and that he feels like he knows her?

Oh, does Rowell write some funny dialog! I really enjoyed the alternating format of reading Beth and Jennifer’s email exchanges laced with chapters about Lincoln’s life – living with his mother, playing Dungeons & Dragons, joining a gym, and reconnecting with a college buddy in order to force social interactions on his awkward self. It's a great summer read, even for those not into love stories.

Next up from Rowell is Landline, and she’s also collaborating on writing two graphic novels, according to her wonderfully designed website.