Attachments (4 of 5 reviews RR)

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell 
Published by Dutton on April 14th 2011
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction, Humor
Page: 323
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Review by: Tina

Synopsis

"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?

Review
How many different ways can I say I'm obsessed (okay maybe infatuated is a better word) with R.R.? Attachments is no exception.

The story starts off slow, it alternates between email format and dialogue exchanges. It begins with a heavyset dumpy IT guy named Lincoln who is smart and overqualified for the Tech Support desk for the evening to twilight shift. His job criteria is mainly monitoring ingoing and outgoing emails in the office. Any profane keywords are flagged and sent his way. He can issue warnings to the employees, delete the messages, or bring them up to his supervisor. His hours and isolation keep him dull and depressed.

One day, a few email exchanges caught his attention. They are between two young female employees. Once he started reading them, he became infatuated with their daily exchanges of boys, families, life. And before he knew it, he was reading them each night and now he can't stop. Soon, he was crushing on one of the females.

Rainbow Rowell does not disappoint in the humor department. Here are a couple of funny exchanges from the book:

Beth to Jennifer: Do you know that they don't make even wedding dresses with sleeves anymore? Everyone—regardless of weight, chest size, back acne, stretch marks, hunched shoulders, or over-prominent clavicle—is forced to wear one. Why? The whole point of clothing is to hide your shame. (Genesis 3:7) 
Jennifer to Beth: Did you seriously just consult a Bible?

Jennifer to Beth: How do you feel about "a" and "an"?
Beth to Jennifer: Indifferent.
Jennifer to Beth: So you're considering a life without articles?
Beth to Jennifer: And true love