Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern (AKA Where Rainbows End) | Book Review

(Stand-Alone)

Published: February 1st 2005

Synopsis:

 Sometimes you have to look at life in a whole new way…

From the bestselling author of PS, I Love You comes a delightfully enchanting novel about what happens when two people who are meant to be together just can’t seem to get it right.

Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S.

She gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: She’s pregnant by a boy she’d gone out with while on the rebound from Alex.

Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn’t done with them yet.

From the gifted author of PS, I Love You comes this charming, romantic, addictively page-turning novel that will keep readers laughing and guessing until the very last page.

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My Rating:  4.5/5 (Amazing)

Book Information

Publisher: Hyperion

Genre(s): Young-adult fiction, romance

Format: e-book

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Hi there! Like all my pending reviews, this is way overdue, but oh well. At least it’s here now. Anyway, I absolutely loved this book! There’s nothing more to say. It was amazing. (The featured image is the book cover for Where Rainbows End, before it was renamed Love, Rosie. I just thought the cover looked prettier.) 🙂

Quick summary

Rosie & Alex have been best friends since forever, and when they got older they start to see eachother in a more romantic light. But when a mistake causes Rosie to become pregnant with a rebound guy, Rosie’s hopes and dreams are crushed as she becomes a single mother. On the other hand, Alex is on his way to a successful future and a new love. But fate has something different planned for the two best friends…

Plot

This was just such a sweet, stupid-smile kind of book with those kind of cute plots that you can’t stop reading about! It was a unique, beautiful and touching story, ranging for around 5o years, all written through emails, letters, instant messages, the like. There are so many things we see throughout this book: teenage pregnancy, friendship, family, divorce, marriages, growing up, and it’s such a realistic version of life that you can imagine something like that happening. (Which made it so much better to read about.) My emotions were all over the place, sometimes I felt like screaming because I was so happy, other times I felt like crying because of something bad that happened. The plot, is simply an amazing depiction of life with Cecelia Ahern’s touch of romance, relationships, and humour.

Characters

Ah, the characters. Even though most of the book passes with Rosie in her 30s and up, I still connected with her. She was just such a fun and vibrant character, that I couldn’t help but getting attached to her. And it was not only her—it was with all the characters. (Except for the ones that deserve to be punched. Multiple times. Namely Whatshisname.) I also loved the interactions between the characters, the way we got so many characters that matter and found a place in our hearts. And can I just say I loved Rosie’s best friend Ruby (she was just hilarious!) and Rosie’s daughter? Not to mention Alex? And, oh, all the other wonderful characters that to not involve Whatshisname and Brian. (Although Brian isn’t that bad… at least not as bad as Whatshisname.) 😉

Writing Style

Like I mentioned before, this book was written solely in letters, emails, texts, etc. This was another unique feature of the book that sets it apart, and the writing style definitely worked! I loved reading through different types of correspondence between the characters, and there was such a variety it was never dull. Not to mention it was not only reserved for Rosie; we got to see messages from Rosie’s daughter Katie to her friend Toby, from Katie to Alex, from Rosie’s sister to Rosie, you get the idea. There were many sides to the writing and the messages, without being crowded and annoying. Instead, it was very loose, and quite enjoyable. All in all, it was a very unique format, and instead of detracting from the overall quality of the writing, it helped in making it interesting and fluent.

Movie 

A movie adaptation of this book has been released in 2014 starring Lily Collins and Sam Claflin. It was actually how I found out about this book! Haven’t watched the movie yet, but I’m hoping to watch it soon! Check out the trailer below:

Overall…

Go read this book! If you like romance, with humour, and a realistic portrayal of life, not to mention a unique, touching story, than this is the book for you. This book will bring out your emotional side, and it will take you on a sweet ride that you will not want to let go of. Definitely recommend!

Let’s eat where the rainbows end! (Pun intended)

-A