Where did I get it? It was one of the books that my friend Laura lent to me. I've been trying to get to them so I picked this up. It's one of Rowell's adult fiction books, although I might categorise it as "New Adult" because there's nothing raunchy or violent in it. It took me ages to read because I picked something else up while I was away for the weekend.
What's it about? It's 1999, and Lincoln is 29 and lives with his mum in Nebraska. He went to college in California with his high school girlfriend Sam, who ended up breaking his heart. Lincoln dropped out and has spent the last decade studying and being quite unhappy. He gets a job at the local paper, working in the IT department. Email is a relatively new thing to use, and Lincoln is given the job of reviewing emails which get flagged for having certain terms in them. He's supposed to send warning emails when this happens, but then he starts reading Beth and Jennifer's emails and can't make himself send them a warning.
Beth and Jennifer have been close friends for several years. Beth is living with her boyfriend, musician Chris, while Jennifer is married to Mitch, who wants them to have a baby. The two email back and forth and Lincoln reads them all, and starts to fall in love with Beth, even though he's never met her.
What age range is it for? I'd say 19+, even though there's nothing sexual or violent in it, I feel like a lot of the subject matter is definitely geared towards adults. That said, if you're a teenager who loves Rainbow Rowell, you'd probably enjoy this too well enough.
Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No, it's not a diverse book
Are any main characters people of colour? Again no
Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Yet again, no.
Is there any sex stuff? There are vague mentions of it, but nothing too explicit
Are drugs mentioned or used? No
Is there any talk of death? Yes, somewhat.
Are there swear words? A few. They're self censored in places!
What criticisms do I have? At the beginning of the book I couldn't get into it. I couldn't get to grips with the email format and I felt like they were distancing me from getting to know Beth and Jennifer better. However, I got into the rhythm of them and really enjoyed both characters. I liked their friendship and how honest they were with each other, but it did take a bit to get into it.
As for Lincoln, he's a really sympathetic character. I liked his mum and his sister, too. However, I did find it quite creepy that he basically stalks these women's emails. It's something he struggles with too, so I do give it credit for that. I didn't know how it would end, and I was worried that it would be gross and inappropriate, but it really wasn't. I liked the ending a lot actually.
Would I recommend the book? Yeah, I think so
Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Mostly because I came across Laura's books again while looking for something else the other day!
What other books is it like? I don't know, it reminded me a lot of stuff like Cecelia Aherne, but also Rowell's other books, especially Fangirl.
How many stars? Three out of five.
Where is the book going now? I've posted it back to Laura so it'll be back with its rightful owner!
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