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A review by katykelly
Roomies by Tara Altebrando, Sara Zarr
4.0
With thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.
In America there's a great system that allows students selected to be roommates to contact each other the summer before they move to college and share a room. And these days of course, that means sharing email addresses.
Roomies follows Elizabeth and Lauren, about to start courses in San Francisco, destined to share living space for their first year. Mostly this is a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening (for those in a similar position) portrait of two eighteen year olds about to leave home for the first time, both with family issues and love life problems. They begin to communicate, and we see their own relationship growing through their emails and see their lives in the weeks before they begin college.
It's not all enjoyable. Or it wasn't for me. For some reason I had to keep re-reading to remind myself who the minor characters were. I also found the girls a little too self-obsessed at times but maybe that's just me forgetting a little what it's like being 18 and about to leave home.
The portrayal of Lauren's large and happy family I found quite moving, as well as Elizabeth's strained one with her divorced parents. The love life part I could take or leave. The emails were great, the changing dynamics between the girls well-written and developed, and a spot-on ending that hit the mark.
Would be a great book to give children/friends about to head off to Uni for the first time.
In America there's a great system that allows students selected to be roommates to contact each other the summer before they move to college and share a room. And these days of course, that means sharing email addresses.
Roomies follows Elizabeth and Lauren, about to start courses in San Francisco, destined to share living space for their first year. Mostly this is a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening (for those in a similar position) portrait of two eighteen year olds about to leave home for the first time, both with family issues and love life problems. They begin to communicate, and we see their own relationship growing through their emails and see their lives in the weeks before they begin college.
It's not all enjoyable. Or it wasn't for me. For some reason I had to keep re-reading to remind myself who the minor characters were. I also found the girls a little too self-obsessed at times but maybe that's just me forgetting a little what it's like being 18 and about to leave home.
The portrayal of Lauren's large and happy family I found quite moving, as well as Elizabeth's strained one with her divorced parents. The love life part I could take or leave. The emails were great, the changing dynamics between the girls well-written and developed, and a spot-on ending that hit the mark.
Would be a great book to give children/friends about to head off to Uni for the first time.