A review by wanderaven
Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell
4.0
I'm not the best source for recommending this short story, primarily because this is my first Rowell!
Rainbow Rowell is a young adult writer and although I've always been interested in reading her, I didn't take the opportunity to do so until I picked up this (what used to be a) Independent Bookstore Day Exclusive this last spring in Seattle. With adrenaline and caffeine coursing through me after waiting in line for one of my favourite bookstores to open, I snatched up anything and everything to do with the day.
If you've read this short story (or do), you'll find this amusing, as this is the same thing the characters in Kindred do - wait in line for something exciting - in this case, The Force Awakens in 2015. Elena joins the queue not because she has to to get into the movie (as everyone keeps reminding her, she can buy the tickets online - and already has) but rather for a prime seat and, more importantly, with hopes of celebrating with all the other Star Wars fans also waiting in line.
There's two of them.
I admit, I had some difficulty with the notion of Elena sleeping out in the cold for four nights (and her two companions for a week) when she didn't have to, particularly given that I am old enough to have actually done the same thing (though never for four nights) in my youth but because I had to in order to get the tickets. Rowell, however, admittedly does an excellent job of justifying the increasingly silly vigil. My favourite character was Elena's mother, constantly circling the block to check up on her daughter.
Yep, Rowell is what I expected, which is why I've been interested in reading her, and will do so again. Fun and lighthearted and the perfect touch of romance and fandom.
Oh, and also - Kindred is now available in the U.S. via Kindle (links on the image and title above) or in an illustrated short story collection (only two stories, however, which I guess technically qualifies it as a collection...), Almost Midnight which in the States you'll need to source from Book Depository. It looks to me like if you're a significant Rowell fan and haven't read either story yet, it might be worth it!
Rainbow Rowell is a young adult writer and although I've always been interested in reading her, I didn't take the opportunity to do so until I picked up this (what used to be a) Independent Bookstore Day Exclusive this last spring in Seattle. With adrenaline and caffeine coursing through me after waiting in line for one of my favourite bookstores to open, I snatched up anything and everything to do with the day.
If you've read this short story (or do), you'll find this amusing, as this is the same thing the characters in Kindred do - wait in line for something exciting - in this case, The Force Awakens in 2015. Elena joins the queue not because she has to to get into the movie (as everyone keeps reminding her, she can buy the tickets online - and already has) but rather for a prime seat and, more importantly, with hopes of celebrating with all the other Star Wars fans also waiting in line.
There's two of them.
I admit, I had some difficulty with the notion of Elena sleeping out in the cold for four nights (and her two companions for a week) when she didn't have to, particularly given that I am old enough to have actually done the same thing (though never for four nights) in my youth but because I had to in order to get the tickets. Rowell, however, admittedly does an excellent job of justifying the increasingly silly vigil. My favourite character was Elena's mother, constantly circling the block to check up on her daughter.
Yep, Rowell is what I expected, which is why I've been interested in reading her, and will do so again. Fun and lighthearted and the perfect touch of romance and fandom.
Oh, and also - Kindred is now available in the U.S. via Kindle (links on the image and title above) or in an illustrated short story collection (only two stories, however, which I guess technically qualifies it as a collection...), Almost Midnight which in the States you'll need to source from Book Depository. It looks to me like if you're a significant Rowell fan and haven't read either story yet, it might be worth it!