Was it only a year ago I read Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park? All my reading records tell me that's the case, and yet Rowell already feels like a close friend. Some of this may be due to Fangirl which feels like it was written just for me. I can only imagine what I would have thought if I had read it as a teen. I'm still tickled by the Drarry parallels, maybe because that something I never would have even thought about talking about as a teen (But you best believe I was reading it. I'm not going to lie to you. ). Landline is Rowell's second novel for the adult demographic. I know Target wants to tell you it's her first, but we all know Target doesn't have a great track record with their book knowledge. And I trust we all know about Attachments, and how cute and fun it is. If not, now you do. 
 Georgie comes home to tell her husband Neal the good news, the pilot her and college friend have been dreaming of since their college days has been optioned. Only problem? She only has a few days to turn out scripts with her team, days she is supposed to be spending with her husband Neal and their two daughters at Neal's parents in Omaha. For Christmas. Georgie insists this is a can't be missed opportunity. Neal doesn't fight her on staying home, but he does continue with the Omaha plans, packing up the girls. And his silence speaks volumes. As their time away progresses, Georgie's ability to work declines as she is forced to reconcile what is most important in her life. Georgie keeps her constantly dead iPhone plugged in throughout work desperate for calls from her husband, but is unable to get through. She finds herself crashing at her mother's house to avoid going home to an empty house. She tries to make one more call from her old landline. She finally gets through to Neal, but it's not the Neal she just saw off to the airport. 
 I was very nervous going into this book. I'd read reviews from people I trust in which this one just didn't click for them. Part of it was the age. For instance, I am a twenty-something. Many twenty-somethings had trouble connecting to the failing marriage part of the plot. I must just be a weird twenty-something because I was definitely crying at the end of this book. Rowell got me. I was invested in this marriage, even if I wasn't always completely sure why. But Rowell slips in with the subtleties. She has a straight-forward, easy-to-read prose that can often mask the intricacies and wisdom until she punches you in the face with it. 
 One of the main things pointed out is that Georgie doesn't seem to be fighting very hard. But part of what I love about this book is shows how quickly things can become murky in a marriage, in life. Also I love that without ever really making it an issue the "traditional" gender roles are flopped in this house. Are we more likely to forgive a bread-winning distant father than mother? Today maybe not, but it subtly asks some really interesting questions. Rowell you crafty fox you. 
 Structurally this worked because of the balancing of the present and the past. Even if I wasn't always sure if George and Neal were still compatible in the present, juxtaposing it with the story of how they met totally got me. And as the past and present begin to blur, I was hooked. There was never a doubt I wanted to know what was going to happen. 
 Now, who doesn't want a magic phone? This is a quick-paced lovely read. And if a magic phone doesn't float your boat, there's a bizarre scene involving a dryer, a puppy birth, and a pizza delivery person. I hope you are suitably intrigued. In the meantime, I'm ready for another book now Ms. Rowell. Whenever you want to hit me with it, I'll be waiting.