Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Publish date: July 8, 2014

So Landline. I love Rainbow Rowell and her writing, and ever since Landline has been released, I’ve heard tons of glowing reviews and everyone was loving it. It’s fair to say I had sort of high expectations because of the reviews from others and because of my experience with her other books, but throughout the book, I just felt like it was… okay.

The plot took awhile to really kick off which was a slight problem because Rainbow’s books aren’t the longest. The plot was also just… weird to me. I knew ahead of time what was the source for all the weirdness in the plot, but even then, it was still just weird to me. I’m not entirely sure how to explain it. The weirdness of the plot made it hard for me to really get into the story like I had with Rainbow’s other books.

She still does a fantastic job of establishing relationships and characters quickly and deeply, so that department was still A+. For me, however, that wasn’t enough. I was fond of Georgie and her quirkiness and of her relationship with Seth (and how that conflicted with her and Neal’s relationship), but I didn’t have the same Attachment(s) to her that I have with Cath, Beth, and Eleanor.

Overall, this book was okay. It wasn’t bad, but if you asked me to list Rainbow’s books in order from favorite to least favorite, Landline would definitely be at the bottom of the list. If you were looking for a Rainbow book to get you started in her writing, I’d definitely go with one of her other three books first and work your way to this one last.

(3 out of 5)

MY HEART

 

Heartbreak Graphics

All of our favorite books seem to have one thing in common: they have heartwrenching moments. No matter what, there always seems to be one of those moments that make you want to scream, cry, and curl up into a little ball. And as much as those moments break our hearts, we can’t help but love them. Here are my top five heartbreaking moments. (Spoilers ahead for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, Fang by James Patterson, Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins)

1. Augustus Waters from The Fault In Our Stars

“I lit up like a Christmas tree, Hazel Grace.”

2. Fang’s letter in Fang

Man oh man, that letter. That letter was one of the most heartbreaking things to read after reading five books and seeing Fang and Max’s relationship blossom. If you know Fang, you know he’s the strong and silent type but with Max, he lets a softer side show and he does everything in his power to be with her and by her side. To see that he is willing to leave her, despite how happy she makes him and vice versa, just to make sure they survive, well that’s heartwrenching. Not to mention his promise to meet her on the cliff where they learned to fly with the hawks is one of the sweetest things ever.

3. Snape’s love woes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Everyone can agree that Rowling’s surprise in Deathly Hallows of Snape having loved Lily for his entire life was completely unexpected. Harry Potter fans everywhere had spent nearly seven entire books hating the Potions Master, thinking he was out to make Harry’s life miserable and eventually kill him. But when I got to the point where Snape’s love for Harry’s deceased mother was revealed, all I could say was, “Oh.” The literal undying love that man had for her was something that some would call almost obsessive but others would find it to be something completely and utterly admirable and adorable. And to find this out right as he died was something that made me want to put down the book for a moment and let what I just read sink in (except I didn’t put down the book because I wanted to finish the book.)

4. Patch’s “death” in Finale

Becca Fitzpatrick’s series, Hush, Hush, had brought us the love story of fallen angel Patch and human Nora. Their relationship was something that at many times caused me great joy and immense pain. But towards the end of Finale, when all the fallen angels were banished to hell and Nora realized that meant Patch was lost to her forever, my heart broke. And when she found his motorcycle crashed on the side of the road, tears welled up in my eyes. The idea of these two being separated was horrible because of how much they loved each other and everything they struggled through to be together; they didn’t deserve to end like this.

5. Finnick’s death in Mockingjay

When Finnick was first introduced in Catching Fire, I didn’t think much of him. When I found out he was aiding the rebels, I thought, “All right, he’s just gonna help Katniss out, won’t be that important.” But when he began to take a more prominent role in Mockingjay, revealing everything about his complicated relationship with Annie and, most importantly, helping Katniss hold herself together when she was falling apart, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the guy. I thought for sure he would make it through until the end of Mockingjay, being able to finally enjoy a peaceful life with Annie. But no. Suzanne Collins decides to take your heart and rip it to shreds when Finnick himself gets ripped to shreds by some Capitol mutts to protect Katniss not long after having gotten married to Annie. I literally wanted to throw my book and then pick it up to find out I had misread it. But alas, Finnick Odair was indeed dead and left me beginning to metaphorically sob (which only worsened as I finished Mockingjay.)

So there you have it! Those are my top five heartbreaking moments in the books I’ve read. Of course there are plenty more but these are some of my favorites. We’d love to hear some of your guys’ favorites so leave a comment and share your tears with us!

~ Yajaira