Review | Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern

Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern
Alternative Name: Love, Rosie
Published By: Harper Collins
Published On: November 8, 2004
Genre: Chick Lit
Pages: 558
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★★

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From naughty children to rebellious teenagers, Rosie and Alex have stuck by each other through thick and thin. But just as as they're discovering the joys of teenage nights on the town and dating disasters, they're separated. Alex's family move from Dublin to America - and Alex goes with them. For good. 
Rosie's lost without him. But on the eve of her departure to join Alex in Boston, Rosie gets news that will change her life forever - and keep her at home in Ireland. 
Their magical connection sees them through the ups and downs of each others lives, but neither of them knows whether their friendship can survive the years and miles - or new relationships. And at the back of Rosie's mind is whether they were meant to be more than just good friends all along. Misunderstandings, circumstances and sheer bad luck have kept them apart, but when presented with the ultimate opportunity, will they gamble everything for true love?

Rosie and Alex have been best friends since childhood, inseparable and always causing trouble. When Alex is forced to move from Dublin to Boston with his family, everything changes for the friends; but no matter the distance between them, these two can never be separated.

This book is written entirely in letters, emails, instant messages and newspaper articles. It is such a unique format for a book, not like any I have read before. This format makes it a very quick and easy read and does not take too much concentration, which is good for me.

This is a very character driven story. The book takes Rosie and Alex from small children right through until their 50’s, making the development of the characters during this time very vital to the plot. As the plot is so character driven, I developed a strong connection to the main characters very quickly. I loved that as the book went on the new characters, such as Katie, and their development became just as important as the main characters.

The plot should be very frustrating, but it was somehow done perfectly. It was clear from near the beginning of the book that Rosie and Alex both had feelings for each other and, personally, I really wanted them to get together. Usually all of the ‘roadblocks’ put in place of the relationship in books are frustrating to me but this felt more realistic. The frustration was more disappointment for the characters than wishing they would just get together soon. In fact, I found myself beginning to panic at one point when I felt there were not enough pages left in the book for the two to get together.
There were some very powerful backstories to the plot. While it may seem that it is all about whether the two will or won’t get together, there were many other things going on. This book covers everything from teenage pregnancy, to cheating, to death, and more, and it was all done in a very fitting way.

Overall, I thought this book was a very uniquely formatted and uniquely character driven novel, which touched on some difficult topics while still making for a quick, light-hearted read. I loved the characters, the plot and this book in general and has made me want to read more of Cecilia Ahern’s works.