Crossing Over: Contemporary Reads

It's been awhile since I've done a Crossing Over, I'm trying to make it a monthly thing where I base it on that month's theme on the blog but that hasn't really worked out for the past two months. But probably the easiest crossover books are contemporary romances and with this month's theme being contemp plus two recent YA reads reminded me a lot of some favorite adult reads that I think have crossover appeal so you get a two for one deal this month!

Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 
Read My Review / Add to Goodreads

One of my favorite books of 2015 and an absolutely brilliant debut. It perfectly walks the line between funny, sweet, and serious and has a tone that will have you both laughing and crying. The characters are brilliant and so realistic including the main character Simon who is geeky and quirky in such an endearing way. But the best part is the romance that takes place over email and despite the characters not meeting until almost the end of the book you ship the crap out of them!

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Read My Review / Add to Goodreads

One of my favorite books of 2014 and an absolutely brilliant debut (although it debuted in 2013). It perfectly walks the line between funny, sweet, and serious and has a tone that will have you both laughing and crying. The characters are brilliant and so realistic including the main character Lincoln who is geeky and quirky in such an charming way. But the best part is the romance that takes place as the MC reads email from the other character. And despite the characters not officially meeting until almost the end of the book you want them to get together.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Avile Saenz 
Read My Review / Add to Goodreads

I don't like sad books, I don't like books that are sad on purpose and yet I absolutely loved this book. But it was a fantastic coming of age story about characters you couldn't help but love and root for. The heart of this book is about friendship and loneliness and finding that one person you can connect with, the one person who truly understands you the way that you are. Plus it's beautifully written with prose that is both tragic and poetic.

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers 
Read My Review / Add to Goodreads

This is not really a contemporary novel, it's a "modern classic" but it's also one of my all-time favorite books. I don't like sad books, I don't like books that are sad on purpose and yet I absolutely loved this book. But it was a fantastic coming of age story about characters you couldn't help but love and root for. The heart of this book is about friendship and loneliness and finding that one person you can connect with, the one person who truly understands you the way that you are. Plus it's beautifully written with prose that is both tragic and poetic.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What are some of your favorite contemporary novels with crossover appeal? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Book Review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Attachments Author: Rainbow Rowell Published: Penguin Group, 2011 Amazon Goodreads Synopsis:"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . " Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives. Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke. When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories. By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself. What would he say . . . ?

*I won a copy of this book as a part of Goodreads First Reads program and received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review. My opinion has not been swayed by this fact*

You know when you finish a book and you loved it so much that there are no words that will appropriately describe your love of that book? That is Attachments for me.  I am just completely and inexplicitly in love with this book. 

The first reason why I loved this book is Rainbow Rowell's writing style. Every book I read by her is better than the previous book. She is a phenomenal writer of Contemporary novels and has this brilliant way of balancing romance, humor, and heavy concepts like loss and identity. There are definitely some heavy and emotional plot points in Attachments, but I never sunk into a deep depression. The book was full of humor and laugh out loud moments that released any tension before it began. This book to me illustrates that there is so much crossover between Adult and YA books and why I started a feature to recommend similar books. Attachments is an adult book and may not be suitable for some younger teens but to me it reads just like Rowell's YA books Fangirl and Eleanor & Park. The characters are in their late twenties but they are dealing with similar issues as the teens. They are trying to find their identity and a place where they belong. They are faced with adversity such as difficult breakups, family drama, and loss of innocence. It's an adult coming-of-age story and as a person in their late twenties still dealing with a lot of these same issues I felt very connected to the story.

 

But besides being able to write a brilliant story, what Rainbow Rowell does so well is write amazing and relatable characters. Our main character is arguably Lincoln, an IT Security officer at a newspaper whose job it is to read emails flagged as inappropriate and send them warnings. He's having a bit of a quarter-life crisis. He's living at home with his mom, single, and hating his job. I can so relate to Lincoln and his feelings of stagnancy and displeasure with the way your life has ended up. In addition to feel like we are similar I also felt the swoony vibes for Lincoln. He is the kind of guy that I would be attracted to in real life. Then there were Jennifer and Beth, two best friends and colleagues. Their interactions are completely fabulous and hilarious. The way they talk with one another is so much like how I talk to my best friends that I couldn't help but connect with them on a personal level. I wanted to be their friend. I wanted to go to brunch with them and talk about babies, and boyfriends, and bridesmaids dresses. So many of their conversations were conversations that I have had with my friends. At one point I took a picture of the book and sent it to my best friend to inform her "this book is basically about us." But those are the characters that Rainbow Rowell writes. They are so realistic and relatable that you can't help but love them.

What I found truly unique about this book and the story was the way that it was written. We are introduced to Beth and Jennifer through their emails and that is really our only interaction with the two characters. We learn about them and their story through this series of emails that they are writing back and forth and despite the fact that we get such a superficial look at them and their lives you can help but feel connected with them and their struggles. These chapters alternate between Lincoln's story as he tries to figure out what he wants to do with his life and we are kind of seeing Jennifer and Beth through his eyes and as he feels connected with them, so do we as the reader. It's such an interesting and unique way to tell a story. As the book goes on and their stories intertwine the plot and romance gets more exciting. Everything built to a satisfying conclusion and when the book was all said and done I was feeling the warm fuzzies. 

This book solidified my love and devotion for the fabulous Rainbow Rowell and everything she writes. I want to have brunch with her so that I can breathe the same air as her and so that we can become best friends and have email chains just like Jennifer and Beth. I feel like I am not adequately describing my love of Rainbow Rowell and this book. I can say one thing for sure, this is my favorite book of the year and made its way onto my list of favorite books. It's that fantastic.

I give Attachments a 10 out of 10



I would recommend this book looking for a really good contemporary novel. If you liked Eleanor & Park or Fangirl then check out Attachments. If you've read it leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and of course... HAPPY READING!