Fall Reading 2013 Roomies

The story of Elizabeth and Lauren is told from their viewpoints in alternating chapters. To make it easier to keep straight, the chapters are labeled with the date and location - New Jersey for Elizabeth and San Francisco for Lauren. The girls have been assigned as roommates together for their freshman year of college and Elizabeth e-mails Lauren to ask her what she plans to bring for their dorm room. They exchange e-mails all summer as they finish out their last months at home before moving to campus. It is interesting to watch as their relationship develops, especially because they seem so different. Elizabeth is an only child of a single mother and is excited about having a roommate for company. Lauren has five younger brothers and sisters and had requested a single room, but now finds out that she will have to share the dorm room. They gradually move from the basics of "Are you bringing a fridge or microwave?" types of messages to actually telling each other secrets that they haven't shared with anyone at home. While they are getting acquainted in cyberspace, they are also dealing with summer jobs, boyfriends, friends who are going off to different colleges, and their families. The book paints a very realistic picture of what the summer after high school graduation can be like.

If you enjoy realistic fiction, this would probably be a good choice for you. The girls and their actions and reactions are an accurate depiction of what life for girls that age can be like. Since these are college freshman, there are some mature topics they discuss, so I would not recommend it for readers younger than middle school-age. An interesting tidbit about the book is that it was written by two authors, Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando, which mirrors the two girls writing to each other in the story.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley. The publisher has also set up a webpage for the book and the author has a trailer for it, too. Publication date is set for December 24, 2013.