It’s obvious from the very beginning of Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park that the two of them are a couple of misfits. I couldn’t imagine how their worlds would overlap, much less merge, and I bet Eleanor and Park didn’t either. From being weird, misfitty friends, they gradually start to find each other attractive, though […]
I Never Met a Fiction I Didn’t Like: Characters Creeping into Reality, from the March Sisters to Simon Snow
August 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment
When @Call_Me_Gil started flirting with @AnneWith_An_E on Twitter, their followers took to calling them “Shirbert.” Yes, that’s two contemporary (fictional) young adults named Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe, no realer than the L. M. Montgomery characters who first appeared widely in 1908. In this modern-day webseries re-imagining, Anne (as played by Mandy Harmon) started a […]
Was Jo March a Ravenclaw? Authors, Fans, and Who Makes the Rules
May 3, 2016 by Leave a Comment
What are Harry Potter’s kids up to? Should Jo have married Professor Bhaer? Could Bella Swan have depended less on Edward? For many readers, part of being a fan is the desire to know more than what’s spelled out on the page. And when answers aren’t readily available, some readers are happy to create them […]
Eleanor and Park | Class #2, 2016
January 26, 2016 by 5 Comments
Rainbow Rowell’s nontraditional romance novel Eleanor and Park portrays a young love that is genuine in its intimacy and awkwardness, as well as the painful realities of life that are well beyond the control of the young protagonists. What are the universal themes of this book distinctly set in the 1980s, and what elements are […]
Review of Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow
January 5, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell High School St. Martin’s Griffin 522 pp. 10/15 978-1-250-04955-1 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4668-5054-5 $9.99 In Fangirl (rev. 11/13), protagonist Cath wrote fanfiction for the fictitious “Simon Snow” fantasy series. Now Rowell has written a novel set in Simon Snow’s universe and using many […]
Eleanor and Park
October 21, 2014 by 4 Comments
Rainbow Rowell’s nontraditional romance novel Eleanor and Park portrays a young love that is genuine in its intimacy and awkwardness, as well as the painful realities of life that are well beyond the control of the young protagonists. What are the entry points in the story for readers whose lives are very different from those […]
Reading Rainbow (Rowell)
July 14, 2014 by 6 Comments
Who knew Rainbow Rowell had a new book (for adults)? Not me! Until I snapped it up at the Cambridge Public Library yesterday. A TV-writer mom bags out on her husband and kids during Christmas vacation in order to stay home and prepare for a big pitch at work. Her marriage has been cooling for […]
Eleanor & Park: Author Rainbow Rowell’s 2013 BGHB Fiction Award Speech
December 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The second thing they tell you when you’ve won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award is that you’ll have to give a speech. They should tell you that first, and they should phrase it like so: “So, we’re gonna have you give a speech in front of a bunch of people and a video camera, and […]
Rainbow Rowell on Fangirl
November 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
In our November/December issue, reviewer Cynthia Ritter asked Rainbow Rowell about the creating the many narrative layers (real world + fictional world + fanfictional world!) of her new novel Fangirl. Read the full review of Fangirl here. Cynthia K. Ritter: How much of the eight Simon Snow (fictional series) books and fanfiction did you actually […]
Review of Fangirl
November 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell High School St. Martin’s Griffin 438 pp. 9/13 978-1-250-03095-5 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-03096-2 $9.99 College freshman Cather Avery is resistant to big life changes such as moving away from home and leaving her childhood behind. With identical twin sister Wren eager for more independence, Cath holes up in her dorm room, […]
