Young Adult Fiction: Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell

Beginning a new book by Rainbow Rowell is always exciting, even if the book is a collection of short stories and not a full-fledged novel. Scattered Showers is Rowell's first short-story collection, filled with new characters, as well as a few her readers will recognize from her previous books. 

Genre, Themes, History: This gathering of nine short stories includes a young girl hiding from her best friend on New Year's Eve in order to avoid a repeat of certain events; a couple of college kids who find commonality through break-up songs; two Star Wars super fans who camp out in front of a movie theater; a prince and a troll; and several of Rowell's characters from three of her previous novels (Fangirl, Attachments, and The Simon Snow Trilogy). The short and easy description for this collection would be 'love stories,' but the characters range in age and maturity, as well as situation and circumstance. Some are grounded in the reality we know, others are creatures from fantasy, and one guy is even imaginary.

My Verdict: As is the case with most short story collections, there are some I connected with much more than others. But the ones I did connect with were incredibly compelling. When looking for a book to read, a romantic storyline is not one of the elements I check for, so I did not expect to be too enthralled with a book of love stores. Even so, of the nine stories that Rowell offers up, two of them I found to be absolutely charming, one of them included characters from my favorite of all of her books, and one of them devastated me in a way I was not expecting. Habitual readers of love stories and romance books may be left wanting more after some of these, and really, they can find it in many of Rowell's other novels.

Favorite Story: I loved "Winter Songs for Summer." Not only is it a wonderful story, but I will always maintain that there are not enough books out there written about the college experience.

Favorite Quote: Mason: You get a lot of mail? I don't get any mail.

Reagan: I'm a homeowner with a retirement plan.

I felt this couplet of dialogue way more than I care to admit. It is just so true.

Recommended Reading: My favorite of all of Rowell's books remains to be Fangirl, though Pumpkinheads is a fantastic graphic novel, and Attachments is a great book for adults.