[Audiobook Review] Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell
Rainbow Rowell has won fans all over the world by writing about love and life in a way that feels true.
In her first collection, she gives us nine beautifully crafted love stories. Girl meets boy camping outside a movie theater. Best friends debate the merits of high school dances. A prince romances a troll. A girl romances an imaginary boy. And Simon Snow himself returns for a holiday adventure.
It’s a feast of irresistible characters, hilarious dialogue, and masterful storytelling—in short, everything you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell book.
My thoughts: There's just something about Rainbow Rowell's writing - a universal something - that makes it feel like so many of these stories were written just for me. From nerdy to meta, so many of these stories gave me a feeling like Rowell knows me, and gets me, and wanted to give me a comforting collection of stories to keep me company.
I definitely had some favorites among these nine short stories. "Midnights" started things off strong, and I loved watching Mags and Noel slowly fall in love during a series of New Year's Eves together. As a huge Star Wars fan growing up, "Kindred Spirits" just got me; I was that sole girl surrounded by guys waiting for the prequels so it was like this story was pulled from my childhood. I loved the way "Winter Songs for Summer" spoke to the power of music. I loved seeing how Baz and Simon handled the holidays together in "Snow for Christmas." And I thought this collection ended so beautifully with the super meta "In Waiting," in which two characters - presumably from Rowell's own mind - wait for the author to finally create the right story for them.
Despite having a title that makes me think spring, most of these stories specifically take place around the winter holiday season. We get plenty of scenes involving characters from some of my favorite Rowell books: Fangirl, Attachments, and, of course, Carry On.
Euan Morton reprises his narration for the Baz and Simon Snow story, and I loved that bridge between the novels and the "Snow for Christmas" story. Rebecca Lowman, who is no stranger to narrating other Rowell novels, handles the other short stories effortlessly. These two - especially Lowman - made these stories so entertaining to listen to that I found myself looking for any excuse to resume my audiobook. These two narrators took some highly relatable short stories and made them come alive.
Overall, I loved each and every one of these short stories, and loved the added entertainment brought on by two fabulous narrators. Rowell started strong and ended by making me wish for a longer version of "In Waiting." An excellent collection from start to finish, this was a great read.
**A huge thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing an ALC of this title!**
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Release date: 11/8/22
Format: ALC
ALC provided via: Macmillan Audio Influencer Program
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