Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Publication Date: April 14th 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
My Goodreads Rating: 3/5
Source: Own Copy

I finished reading "Attachments" by Rainbow Rowell last month, and although I wasn't quite sure if I should review it, I've decided to do so now. I don't have many reviews where I present negative views, but they might help some of you make your decision about trying out the book. After all, what I don't enjoy may be exactly what you do. So let's get to it, shall we? (we shall...)

  Lincoln works as an Internet Security Officer at the "Courier" news office. When he signed up for the job, he thought it meant building firewalls and preventing hackers. What it really meant was working night shifts answering the Help line and reading other people's email to make sure they were being "ethically correct". Not the best job ever. His situation at home wasn't much better, because he was living with his mom. His sister Eve, was really worried.
 Beth works as a film critic at the Courier. She's dating the lead singer and guitarist in a band called "Sacajawea", and has been in a relationship with him for the past 8 years. She's funny, eccentric, and writes quite honestly.
 Jennifer is married to the love of her life, but is worried when he suddenly wants kids. A copy editor at the same newspaper, she is fast friends with Beth, and they correspond almost daily via email. Lincoln finds himself reading their mails regularly, and uses it as entertainment to get him through the night.
 So far so good, right? You're probably wondering what it is exactly about the book that I didn't enjoy. The characters were great! But the ending was a little too coincidental, and there were parts of the book where nothing seemed to be happening. Nothing, at all. The plot was interesting, and Jennifer and Beth's emails were often hilarious. The brutal truth is- I just didn't enjoy the novel as much as I enjoyed Fangirl. Or even as much as I enjoyed Eleanor and Park. I don't think I've read any Rowell novel other than Eleanor and Park that's come close to the greatness that was Fangirl.

If you're looking for a break from the heavy fiction and depressing novels you might be reading, you could try this one out. It's not something you'll finish in a snap and it's not something you want to hang onto for more than a week either. It just... is. It's the right book if you're trying to get out of a reading swamp!

Oh and a Shoutout to Cheriee Wiechel, who agrees with me that Fangirl is the best Rowell book there is!