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hersafehaven_'s review
3.0
Such a cute stories. Plus i love a bit of extra dynamic so the switches in perspectives is just *chefs kiss*. Need to reread soon.
demonsreadtoo's review
3.0
Roomies was fun—something I’d devoured within a day, but it didn’t hit me in the way a certain other new contemporary did. I wasn’t bored, but it’s not going to go down as one of my favourites. Switching back and forth each chapter between the two girls, we quickly get to know their family situations and their blossoming love lives. The romances didn’t do a lot for me, I was more interested in the drama going on between the girls and their back and forth passive-to-actually-aggressive emails throughout the book.
Read the full review at my blog, Demons Read Too
Read the full review at my blog, Demons Read Too
pearcactus3's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
msethna's review
4.0
A thank you goes out to Net Galley for this ARC. I finally had a moment to read it.
One summer... two strangers... sixty five days until they meet.
Each chapter of Roomies is told from the perspective of Lauren or Elizabeth, future roommates at Berkeley, as they get to know each another through emails during the summer leading up to their freshman year.
I really enjoyed the realistic voices in the story. Each character had their own story to tell, their own issues they were dealing with as they prepare to leave home for the first time. It brought me back to the summer before I began college and I was able to reminisce on how different it was for me (pre-Internet).
I highly recommend this for any senior girl who is planning to go away to college (or anyone who wants to revisit that summer before freshman year) and wants to read a fun and very realistic story.
One summer... two strangers... sixty five days until they meet.
Each chapter of Roomies is told from the perspective of Lauren or Elizabeth, future roommates at Berkeley, as they get to know each another through emails during the summer leading up to their freshman year.
I really enjoyed the realistic voices in the story. Each character had their own story to tell, their own issues they were dealing with as they prepare to leave home for the first time. It brought me back to the summer before I began college and I was able to reminisce on how different it was for me (pre-Internet).
I highly recommend this for any senior girl who is planning to go away to college (or anyone who wants to revisit that summer before freshman year) and wants to read a fun and very realistic story.
missprint_'s review
4.0
Elizabeth is counting the days until her freshman year of college starts. She is more than ready to leave her small life in New Jersey behind and start fresh and new in California even if her friends don't quite understand her need for distance. After years and years as an only child with a single mother, Elizabeth is thrilled at the prospect of meeting--or more accurately emailing--her new roommate Lauren.
San Francisco native Lauren is much less excited to be sharing yet another room after years and years of sharing a room and a too-small house with her too many siblings. She wanted a single and she is counting days for a very different reason as she tries to imagine life when she is no longer a daily fixture in her own family.
What starts as an innocuous email about whether to buy a microwave or a mini-fridge turns into a series of emails that might lead to friendship and a few other insights during a summer filled with possibility in Roomies (2013) by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando.
Altebrando and Zarr wrote this novel together, emailing each other chapters without any discussion of an overarching plot. Altebrando wrote Elizabeth's chapters while Zarr wrote Lauren's.
I commuted through college and I've never had a roommate. This book was very low on my radar despite the high profile authors. I hate to admit but I wouldn't have even read it except Nicole needed a wingman for a signing. Then it become our second Synchronized Read. And I kind of loved it.
Roomies is a very alien world me--a story of people with siblings and plans to move away and lots of other things I did not do as a high school senior looking toward college. That said, it's still totally evocative with a perfect balance of fun and depth.
Lauren and Elizabeth are two very different girls with different priorities yet their friendship that evolves through a series of emails is organic and ultimately completely believable. Although much of the novel involves emails it is also worth noting that this is not an epistolary novel. Each girl narrates a chapter where they happen to write an email (and read an email at some point).
The plot here isn't action-packed or overly shocking. Roomies is very much grounded in the themes you would expect: moving forward, end-of-something-nostalgia, family. Happily instead of moving into the territory of melodrama or superficiality, Roomies remains a very down to earth read and a story with heart.
What really sets Roomies apart is the writing. Altebrando and Zarr's styles mesh perfectly to create a seamless narrative with two unique but complementary stories. Both Elizabeth and Lauren are refreshingly frank and honest with themselves as much as with each other. While Lauren and Elizabeth aren't always certain they want to be friends (or even roommates), they are definitely two heroines that readers are sure to love.
Possible Pairings: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley, Just One Day by Gayle Forman, The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson, The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy, The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell, The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith, Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee
San Francisco native Lauren is much less excited to be sharing yet another room after years and years of sharing a room and a too-small house with her too many siblings. She wanted a single and she is counting days for a very different reason as she tries to imagine life when she is no longer a daily fixture in her own family.
What starts as an innocuous email about whether to buy a microwave or a mini-fridge turns into a series of emails that might lead to friendship and a few other insights during a summer filled with possibility in Roomies (2013) by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando.
Altebrando and Zarr wrote this novel together, emailing each other chapters without any discussion of an overarching plot. Altebrando wrote Elizabeth's chapters while Zarr wrote Lauren's.
I commuted through college and I've never had a roommate. This book was very low on my radar despite the high profile authors. I hate to admit but I wouldn't have even read it except Nicole needed a wingman for a signing. Then it become our second Synchronized Read. And I kind of loved it.
Roomies is a very alien world me--a story of people with siblings and plans to move away and lots of other things I did not do as a high school senior looking toward college. That said, it's still totally evocative with a perfect balance of fun and depth.
Lauren and Elizabeth are two very different girls with different priorities yet their friendship that evolves through a series of emails is organic and ultimately completely believable. Although much of the novel involves emails it is also worth noting that this is not an epistolary novel. Each girl narrates a chapter where they happen to write an email (and read an email at some point).
The plot here isn't action-packed or overly shocking. Roomies is very much grounded in the themes you would expect: moving forward, end-of-something-nostalgia, family. Happily instead of moving into the territory of melodrama or superficiality, Roomies remains a very down to earth read and a story with heart.
What really sets Roomies apart is the writing. Altebrando and Zarr's styles mesh perfectly to create a seamless narrative with two unique but complementary stories. Both Elizabeth and Lauren are refreshingly frank and honest with themselves as much as with each other. While Lauren and Elizabeth aren't always certain they want to be friends (or even roommates), they are definitely two heroines that readers are sure to love.
Possible Pairings: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley, Just One Day by Gayle Forman, The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson, The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy, The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell, The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith, Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee
janna710's review
4.0
This was a fun read. The concept of 2 roommates emailing each other over the summer before they meet was unique and interesting without seeming too outside the realm of possibility. I liked that the girls struggled with the same issues even though they led very different lives. Zarr did a good job developing each character to have her own personality and interests, which helped avoid common cliches that I usually find in YA novels
alexblackreads's review
4.0
Honestly, I didn't love this book quite as much upon reread. I did still quite enjoy it (four stars isn't a nothing rating), but it wasn't one I fell in love with.
I did still quite enjoy the characters. Lauren and EB have such distinctive personalities and voices. I love when you read a book with two narrators who sound like different people. I'm pretty sure I could turn to any random page in this book and know immediately who was speaking just from their tone. In my mind, that's one of the strongest aspects of this book and one of the reasons I'd highly recommend it.
It also captures the pre-college life so well. Both characters are in a transitional period, trying to figure out if they should keep up friendships and relationships and dealing with leaving their family. It's a period of ending before college has a chance to begin. But it's so well done. It's one of those books that feels so real in that way.
As for the negatives, it does feel a little melodramatic at times. It has such a real, down to earth vibe (like a lot of Sara Zarr's books), but then the characters just have down and out fights or there are secret affairs or a million other things. I think it could have been toned down just a little bit without losing any of the story.
I also don't think it handles race very well. One of the main characters dates a black boy and I found a lot of the discussion on that very cringey. Like I definitely think it needs to be discussed and I'm glad they at least tried, but at one point she even says she thinks black babies are cuter. (I'm writing this way later so I can't think of any other examples, but I just remember kind of cringing every time they tried to discuss race.)
Overall I do think it's a good book. It's definitely worth the read, especially if you're looking for something college focused. Sara Zarr is a great writer and while I don't love Altebrando as much, I did still enjoy both sections and I'd recommend giving it a go.
I did still quite enjoy the characters. Lauren and EB have such distinctive personalities and voices. I love when you read a book with two narrators who sound like different people. I'm pretty sure I could turn to any random page in this book and know immediately who was speaking just from their tone. In my mind, that's one of the strongest aspects of this book and one of the reasons I'd highly recommend it.
It also captures the pre-college life so well. Both characters are in a transitional period, trying to figure out if they should keep up friendships and relationships and dealing with leaving their family. It's a period of ending before college has a chance to begin. But it's so well done. It's one of those books that feels so real in that way.
As for the negatives, it does feel a little melodramatic at times. It has such a real, down to earth vibe (like a lot of Sara Zarr's books), but then the characters just have down and out fights or there are secret affairs or a million other things. I think it could have been toned down just a little bit without losing any of the story.
I also don't think it handles race very well. One of the main characters dates a black boy and I found a lot of the discussion on that very cringey. Like I definitely think it needs to be discussed and I'm glad they at least tried, but at one point she even says she thinks black babies are cuter. (I'm writing this way later so I can't think of any other examples, but I just remember kind of cringing every time they tried to discuss race.)
Overall I do think it's a good book. It's definitely worth the read, especially if you're looking for something college focused. Sara Zarr is a great writer and while I don't love Altebrando as much, I did still enjoy both sections and I'd recommend giving it a go.
cassie_gutman's review
4.0
Normally, I'm not a fan of books done in letter or e-mail format, but this one sounded really intriguing, so I gave it a shot — definitely glad I did so.
First, the book was not entirely in letter format like I assumed it would be. Rather, the story follows each girl's life that summer before they move to college, with an occasional update to the other about what's going on.
This was one of those books that was really funny — and I mean really funny. Every once in a while, there were just superb one-liners like:
"Even so, Catholic must be in my blood because I feel sort of judge-y about the whole thing and a tiny bit of vicarious from merely knowing."
(And this is coming from a born-and-raised Catholic.)
But even with the comedic bits, it still tackled a really important point in a lot of people's lives. Leaving for college is a big deal, whether you are going really far away or not at all, and the reader gets both perspectives. One lives across the country. The other will be 20 minutes from home.
Even more, the authors also brought up issues like race — one character starts to like a guy who is black, and she doesn't know how her family will feel, react, or act around the guy she wants to get involved with. I mean, I obviously don't want to spoil it, but I was so impressed at how honest and poignant the characters handled this situation, as well as just the whole going to college and dealing with leaving home issues.
I really only didn't like one thing — one of the main characters. Elizabeth, or Ebb, as Lauren liked to call her, really really bothered me. She was whiny and annoying, and she got angry if Lauren took more than six hours to respond to her emails. Really? Lauren let her know her life was in chaos and she was working all the time. Calm down, girl.
But all in all, I really enjoyed it. It seemed like just a fun read when I started, but some of the things it did and covered surprised me, and it covered more than a lot of books manage to, and it was done with such truth.
Read When: You are getting ready to make a big change and need some advice, someone to talk to, an inanimate object to confide in.
Other favorite quotes:
"Everything you haven't had time to worry about in the chaos of the day comes at you, whoosh. If you don't move on to the next task, ASAP, it can undo you."
"Is that the destiny of all friendships, no matter how good they are? To die out or fade away? To end?"
"Race. It's so tricky, even though we're all supposedly enlightened and color-blind. I don't want it to be a Thing. But it kind of is a Thing, isn't it?"
First, the book was not entirely in letter format like I assumed it would be. Rather, the story follows each girl's life that summer before they move to college, with an occasional update to the other about what's going on.
This was one of those books that was really funny — and I mean really funny. Every once in a while, there were just superb one-liners like:
"Even so, Catholic must be in my blood because I feel sort of judge-y about the whole thing and a tiny bit of vicarious from merely knowing."
(And this is coming from a born-and-raised Catholic.)
But even with the comedic bits, it still tackled a really important point in a lot of people's lives. Leaving for college is a big deal, whether you are going really far away or not at all, and the reader gets both perspectives. One lives across the country. The other will be 20 minutes from home.
Even more, the authors also brought up issues like race — one character starts to like a guy who is black, and she doesn't know how her family will feel, react, or act around the guy she wants to get involved with. I mean, I obviously don't want to spoil it, but I was so impressed at how honest and poignant the characters handled this situation, as well as just the whole going to college and dealing with leaving home issues.
I really only didn't like one thing — one of the main characters. Elizabeth, or Ebb, as Lauren liked to call her, really really bothered me. She was whiny and annoying, and she got angry if Lauren took more than six hours to respond to her emails. Really? Lauren let her know her life was in chaos and she was working all the time. Calm down, girl.
But all in all, I really enjoyed it. It seemed like just a fun read when I started, but some of the things it did and covered surprised me, and it covered more than a lot of books manage to, and it was done with such truth.
Read When: You are getting ready to make a big change and need some advice, someone to talk to, an inanimate object to confide in.
Other favorite quotes:
"Everything you haven't had time to worry about in the chaos of the day comes at you, whoosh. If you don't move on to the next task, ASAP, it can undo you."
"Is that the destiny of all friendships, no matter how good they are? To die out or fade away? To end?"
"Race. It's so tricky, even though we're all supposedly enlightened and color-blind. I don't want it to be a Thing. But it kind of is a Thing, isn't it?"