Spoilers Ahead!
Of the Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell, Anyway the Wind Blows felt the weakest. The two romantic leads are together and working out their relationship without having good tools or models. This is a common theme throughout the series. How do I vampire? How do I adult? How do I be gay? I like how Rowell wrestles with these issues all through the series. As Simon and Baz's relationship levels up, their issue is intimacy expressed through the sexual piece of their relationship. It didn't feel credible. These two isolated, damaged young men who lost their mothers at a young age need more than good sex to heal emotionally and mentally. For a modern novel aimed at young adults, I think it needed more emphasis on self-acceptance, not as a homosexual or vampire or non-magical, but as authentic, worthy of honor and love as a person, not a category.
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I was on a plane this week trying to sleep, and that's why I was listening to Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Not because it's boring, but because it is so familiar and comforting. The main characters grow up and take responsibility for their actions. Hubba, hubba! Austen has a plot line with insurmountable roadblocks: the guy who is interested in me is secretly engaged, we have no income, and people are silly and selfish. Her storyline isn't Save the Universe, but in Elinor and Marianne (teenagers!), who, even though they're treated less than honorablily by their male love interests, respond with resilience and tenacity. It feels genuine. The snarky observations by Elinor crack me up. A remark over a hundred years old that makes me snort is a witty remark. Elinor is a sharp observer of life around her and navigates adversity in drawing rooms and ballrooms with aplomb. I get caught up in the story and wonder will Marianee grow up? Will Elinor rise above the pettiness of her brother and sister-in-law? I'm captivated till the end once again.
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