Landline

My second book by Rainbow Rowell, and I loved it just as much.

What would you do if you got a second chance to make things right? Georgie and Neal have a tenured marriage. Tense, with typical troubles, Georgie makes the decision to stay home for Christmas to work. Neal, understandably, gets mad and takes the girls to Omaha as planned. Georgie finds a way to communicate with Neal, but it's Neal from 15 years ago. This helps her to reevaluate her life, her marriage, and the choices she made in the past.

I was prepared to hate both Georgie and Neal from the beginning. Georgie suffered from a lack of confidence, and Neal struck me as a bully. However, as the story unfolded I began to understand their relationship, and it was really sweet. And messy. And complicated, just like real life. It made me appreciate my marriage and reminded me how fortunate I am.

It's not what I expected, but it was still really good. Just read it. Rainbow Rowell hasn't disappointed me yet.

Landline is a story about growing apart and the compromises of marriage. It’s easy to relate to the characters, although which such a large YA audience, I wonder if all her fans will feel the same. It is a much older feeling book. It’s about an established relationship with its wobbles and balancing work life and home life. And if there’s one thing Rainbow does well, it’s realistic relationships.

The time travel landline was perhaps a bit gimmicky; it’s a bit hard to believe Neal didn’t ask more questions. Unlike Eleanor & Park and Attachments, there wasn’t a sense of nostalgia connected to the past. Instead the past represents a time without baggage, a chance for Georgie to remember the good times and maybe fix what’s gone wrong since.

I felt a bit sorry for Seth. He seems like such an amazing friend and Neal gives him a hard time, not to mention Georgie starting to flake out on him workwise. They had such a huge opportunity and I understand her choices. They’ll have loads of Christmases together in future, there’s just one where she needs to work, to make a difference. I though Neal was a tad selfish but there is clearly a whole load of backstory there and I became a little more accepting of his decision later on.

Review copy provided by publisher.