Landline

Another day, another Rainbow Rowell review...

I am so happy to report that I have finally found a Rainbow Rowell book that I really liked! I still don't totally get the hype over this writer, but I am at least happy to learn that she can in fact create a plot and finish a story!

So, Landline is the story of a marriage in crisis. Georgie and Neal have been married for nearly 15 years and I think it's safe to say that Neal's pretty much over being the one to make all the sacrifices in the relationship. When Georgie decides that she has to work over Christmas, Neal takes their two daughters and flies home to Omaha without her. Georgie is left behind to figure out what's really important and to decide if she is willing to do what it takes to save her marriage.

Pretty straightforward, grown-up stuff, right? Well, the twist is that Georgie discovers that she has a magic phone that can somehow call 15-years-ago Neal and, using this phone over the course of a week, learns a lot about her husband, her marriage and herself. I don't know how to make that sentence not sound silly and insane, but trust me when I tell you that, somehow, it works.

Rowell does a great job with this book. I would love to see her apply this level of story-telling to her Young Adult novels as well. If she could do that, I could easily see her becoming a favorite.