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jenikki 's review for:
The Rosie Effect
by Graeme Simsion
I enjoyed The Rosie Project a lot; for me, it wasn't the mind-blowing classic that some people made it out to be, but it was laugh-out-loud funny for a lot of it, and the character was very charming. I liked it enough that I picked up the sequel, which also has a lot of very funny moments. However, in this sequel — wherein Rosie becomes pregnant, and now Don must navigate the difficult world of impending fatherhood, which is difficult for any man, much moreso one with Asperger's — the story goes on a little too long, the obstacles border on farce, and I didn't think it worked well as a sequel. One thing that especially grated at me was the author's assumption that no person would pick up this book without first having read his bestseller. So he launches right in to this story, with references to the first book constantly — but no context for anyone who hasn't read it, or, like me, who read it a while ago and might have forgotten some of the details. Even JK Rowling constantly referred back to the other books in the Harry Potter series but contextualized every single reference as if attempting to make each book stand alone.
In the end, I thought Rosie's reactions became too rash, Don's problems moved beyond charming and into an annoying territory, and while we were supposed to be on his side throughout, there were times I was thinking, Nope, this just isn't going to work out. I know the author spent years on the first book, and when it became a bestseller he churned out the second one quickly, so here's hoping that if there's a third book to the series — and I would imagine that despite everything I've said here, Simsion could do a great job exploring the results of what happens at the end of the book — that he's allowed to take his time with it and craft a book as charming and quirky as the first one was.
In the end, I thought Rosie's reactions became too rash, Don's problems moved beyond charming and into an annoying territory, and while we were supposed to be on his side throughout, there were times I was thinking, Nope, this just isn't going to work out. I know the author spent years on the first book, and when it became a bestseller he churned out the second one quickly, so here's hoping that if there's a third book to the series — and I would imagine that despite everything I've said here, Simsion could do a great job exploring the results of what happens at the end of the book — that he's allowed to take his time with it and craft a book as charming and quirky as the first one was.