Status
Available
Publication
Wednesday Books (2022), 288 pages
Description
Short Stories. Young Adult Fiction. HTML: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell comes her first short-story collection, Scattered Showers 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 audiobook. A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books.… (more)
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User reviews
LibraryThing member MickyFine
I've been looking forward to this short story collection since it was announced (and I'm not an avid short story person). I was not disappointed when I finally got my hands on it. First off, the book is just gorgeous as an object. Beautiful end papers, lovely illustrations by Jim Tierney, and a
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book ribbon all contribute to the joy of holding the physical book. The content is also great. I either liked or loved every story whether they were new to me or works I'd encountered elsewhere before. There's a few short stories that feature characters from Rowell's novels, which is an extra treat for fans (I was particularly delighted to check in with Beth and Jennifer from [Attachments]). Highly recommended for fans of Rainbow Rowell. Show Less
LibraryThing member foggidawn
A collection of short pieces by Rainbow Rowell. These are mostly what you'd expect from Rowell: feel-good pieces with quirky romantic plotlines. I enjoyed all of them to some extent, though I'll confess to skimming the Simon Snow story because I'm not caught up with that series, so I don't know all
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of the characters and their circumstances. The first story was one I'd read already, as it's included in another collection, but the rest were new to me, though I see several of them had previously come out as Amazon Originals. So, if you follow the author closely, you may have read about half of these -- but if you follow the author that closely, you will still want to get your hands on this book, as there's plenty of new material to delight you. Show Less
LibraryThing member framberg
While Rowell definitely has her favorite tropes, every character and every story remains delightful. I'm giving this collection 4.5 stars for the last few stories alone - more Simon and Baz (yay!), and a very creative story about imagination. I was also lucking enough to get Rosebud Boy, and AU
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Simon and Baz story, which was also charming and just right. Rowell is just always a pleasure to read, it's that simple, and I'll always race to pick up everything she writes. Show Less
LibraryThing member acargile
Scattered Showers are short stories by Rainbow Rowell. Every story was interesting, although my favorites were at the beginning. I listened to the stories, so I don't remember names. I figure that the stories I remember from a week ago means that those are the best ones. I also think that I was
My favorite story was the first one because of the possibilities and the reality of it. One girl and one boy are best friends, meeting at a New Year's Eve party. They go every year together after meeting. He's an extrovert, thoroughly enjoying everyone. He kisses whoever is closest and visits with everyone. She, the introvert, stays quietly to the side, always knowing who he's kissing. Does she like him and he doesn't like her? It's their first party after graduating. It's the real world--everyone moves away and they change. Life forces us to become people based on our experiences. Once they all see each other again and have some time, the party begins to follow old patterns. Our boy has been away while our girl has stayed. He returns--different. Is it all over?
I don't really remember how many stories there are, as I was listening. One story takes place in the dorm; the main female character drove me nuts! She feels her life very dramatically, playing her music over and over and over and over loudly. Finally, the downstairs neighbor can't take hearing the song one more time and comes to complain. I like him although I don't see why he seeks her out so much. Yes, every story is a love story. They're all romances, so get ready to have happy endings. In this story, the guy patiently helps the girl by visiting with her, making CDs of better music despite her rudeness and self-centered personality.
The last story wasn't my favorite, but it haunts me. I wonder if Rainbow reveals her nightmares. The characters have been created by the writer, but they aren't put in a book. Our main character has been on the back burner for years, meeting other characters who go on to be in books or disappear as the author no longer desires to further create. It's very existential. I liked it. I didn't like it.
I enjoyed most of the stories and recommend if you like Rainbow Rowell. You'll see characters from other novels, so if you're an expert on her works, welcome to another layer.
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affected by the same narrator. The female narrator often presented characters the same; so, by the time I made it to the later stories, I was tired of her performance. Don't get me wrong--she's very good, but I think characters would be more different.My favorite story was the first one because of the possibilities and the reality of it. One girl and one boy are best friends, meeting at a New Year's Eve party. They go every year together after meeting. He's an extrovert, thoroughly enjoying everyone. He kisses whoever is closest and visits with everyone. She, the introvert, stays quietly to the side, always knowing who he's kissing. Does she like him and he doesn't like her? It's their first party after graduating. It's the real world--everyone moves away and they change. Life forces us to become people based on our experiences. Once they all see each other again and have some time, the party begins to follow old patterns. Our boy has been away while our girl has stayed. He returns--different. Is it all over?
I don't really remember how many stories there are, as I was listening. One story takes place in the dorm; the main female character drove me nuts! She feels her life very dramatically, playing her music over and over and over and over loudly. Finally, the downstairs neighbor can't take hearing the song one more time and comes to complain. I like him although I don't see why he seeks her out so much. Yes, every story is a love story. They're all romances, so get ready to have happy endings. In this story, the guy patiently helps the girl by visiting with her, making CDs of better music despite her rudeness and self-centered personality.
The last story wasn't my favorite, but it haunts me. I wonder if Rainbow reveals her nightmares. The characters have been created by the writer, but they aren't put in a book. Our main character has been on the back burner for years, meeting other characters who go on to be in books or disappear as the author no longer desires to further create. It's very existential. I liked it. I didn't like it.
I enjoyed most of the stories and recommend if you like Rainbow Rowell. You'll see characters from other novels, so if you're an expert on her works, welcome to another layer.
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LibraryThing member Herenya
This short story collection is so delightful and heartwarming! I had read three of these stories before -- “Midnights”, “Kindred Spirits” and “If the Fates Allow” (which is about Reagan from Fangirl) and I really enjoyed rereading them. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed rereading
I liked all the other stories, including “Snow for Christmas”, which is about Simon and Baz after Any Way the Wind Blows, and “Mixed Messages”, which shows us Jennifer, Beth and Lincoln 21 years on from Attachments.
I particularly liked “In Waiting”, about Anna, a character who has spent years and years in an author’s waiting-room world, watching the people around her disappear once they’re used in a story, and wondering if that will ever happen to her. At first I found this story a bit odd, but then I began enjoying it as a commentary on imagination and storytelling (I have invented characters who have just lived in my head) and in the end it was a satisfying story on its own.
But my favourite was “Winter Songs for Summer”, about a college student who is grieving a breakup by listening to a Tori Amos song on repeat until the guy in the room below complains and makes her a CD -- “If I have to grieve with you, I need a little variety.”
The early noughties tech (Summer has a CD player, not an iPod or a smartphone, but she wonders if her neighbour is downloading music from the internet) made me nostalgic, and I enjoyed all the references to making mixtapes and to the songs themselves, especially when they were things I’m familiar with.
But I didn’t just like this story because I, personally, like melancholy music (although I’m not going to deny that was part of the appeal). Summer’s relationship to music was interesting, and so were her interactions with her downstairs neighbour.
“How did you know? I mean -- was that just a mix that you had left over from the last time you got dumped? Is that your go-to breakup mix?
He looked offended. “No. I made it for you.”
“But you don’t even know me!” Summer practically shouted.
“You’re right!” he practically shouted back. (He was so loud.) “But I know a lot about what kind of music you like.”
[...]
“So you just made me a breakup CD with songs you thought I’d like…”
“Because I’ve heard every song that you like a thousand times. Yeah.” He took a bite of chicken and raw spinach and cottage cheese… and were those almonds? “And it worked,” he said. “Now at least you’re listening to music that I like, too.”
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them. I liked all the other stories, including “Snow for Christmas”, which is about Simon and Baz after Any Way the Wind Blows, and “Mixed Messages”, which shows us Jennifer, Beth and Lincoln 21 years on from Attachments.
I particularly liked “In Waiting”, about Anna, a character who has spent years and years in an author’s waiting-room world, watching the people around her disappear once they’re used in a story, and wondering if that will ever happen to her. At first I found this story a bit odd, but then I began enjoying it as a commentary on imagination and storytelling (I have invented characters who have just lived in my head) and in the end it was a satisfying story on its own.
But my favourite was “Winter Songs for Summer”, about a college student who is grieving a breakup by listening to a Tori Amos song on repeat until the guy in the room below complains and makes her a CD -- “If I have to grieve with you, I need a little variety.”
The early noughties tech (Summer has a CD player, not an iPod or a smartphone, but she wonders if her neighbour is downloading music from the internet) made me nostalgic, and I enjoyed all the references to making mixtapes and to the songs themselves, especially when they were things I’m familiar with.
But I didn’t just like this story because I, personally, like melancholy music (although I’m not going to deny that was part of the appeal). Summer’s relationship to music was interesting, and so were her interactions with her downstairs neighbour.
“How did you know? I mean -- was that just a mix that you had left over from the last time you got dumped? Is that your go-to breakup mix?
He looked offended. “No. I made it for you.”
“But you don’t even know me!” Summer practically shouted.
“You’re right!” he practically shouted back. (He was so loud.) “But I know a lot about what kind of music you like.”
[...]
“So you just made me a breakup CD with songs you thought I’d like…”
“Because I’ve heard every song that you like a thousand times. Yeah.” He took a bite of chicken and raw spinach and cottage cheese… and were those almonds? “And it worked,” he said. “Now at least you’re listening to music that I like, too.”
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LibraryThing member hcnewton
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
He huffed out a laugh. “I thought you said no to prom because you didn’t want to ruin everything.”
“What’s everything?” She was still whispering.
“You and me. Friendship.”
“I don’t,” she said. “But I’d rather we ruin
WHAT'S SCATTERED SHOWERS ABOUT?
This is the first collection of short stories by Rainbow Rowell—nine stories, four of which had been previously published.
They are, at their core, love stories—the beginning of a relationship, the change of a relationship, the maintaining of one—and a couple that are harder to define. Rowell's signature style and sweetness fills these pages—her light humor and propensity for happy endings, too. (propensity, not universal practice)
CHECKING IN ON OLD FRIENDS
With three of these stories, Rowell revisits characters from previous novels. We get to see some of the primary characters from Attachments in "Mixed Messages," and a character from Fangirl in "If the Fates Allow," and some of the characters from the Simon Snow trilogy (and, I guess, from Fangirl, too?).
I didn't get into the Simon Snow stuff in Fangirl (and even skipped most of it) and didn't bother with those books—but I liked the fact that Rowell did revisit some of her previous work. (I do wish we'd gotten to see Eleanor and/or Park, but am pretty sure that I'd have been annoyed at whatever she told us about them, so I'm glad she didn't include anything about them).
Now, it's not essential that you're familiar with the characters in these stories to enjoy them. I don't honestly remember who Reagan was from Fangirl (hey, it was 9 years ago, cut me some slack), but I quite enjoyed this story featuring her. I did remember the characters from Attachments, but I don't think it enhanced my appreciation of that story—but it was nice to see a little about what's gone on with them.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS
Opposite the first page of each story is a full-page illustration, sort of a cover image. There are also some accent illustrations scattered throughout the stories. They were attractive and fitting to the stories. I'm not sure that they added much to the book, but I did think they were nice touches.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT SCATTERED SHOWERS?
I'm a sucker for Rowell's love stories, and had a lot of fun with these.* When she's not writing about teen wizards, I have a hard time resisting her work (and don't find much inclination to try).
* Okay, true to form, I skipped "Snow for Christmas" after the first page and a half didn't intrigue me at all.
Out of her norm were two stories: one that's a strange fairy-tale of sorts that I found strangely appealing, but I'm not sure how to talk about it. The closing story is about some characters who've taken up residence in an author's subconscious or imagination, while they wait for the author to put them into a story or novel. I thought this was a fantastic story—Pirandello-esque, but with a Rowell-twist.
All in all, this was a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.
---
He huffed out a laugh. “I thought you said no to prom because you didn’t want to ruin everything.”
“What’s everything?” She was still whispering.
“You and me. Friendship.”
“I don’t,” she said. “But I’d rather we ruin
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it together than you ruin it with somebody else.” WHAT'S SCATTERED SHOWERS ABOUT?
This is the first collection of short stories by Rainbow Rowell—nine stories, four of which had been previously published.
They are, at their core, love stories—the beginning of a relationship, the change of a relationship, the maintaining of one—and a couple that are harder to define. Rowell's signature style and sweetness fills these pages—her light humor and propensity for happy endings, too. (propensity, not universal practice)
CHECKING IN ON OLD FRIENDS
With three of these stories, Rowell revisits characters from previous novels. We get to see some of the primary characters from Attachments in "Mixed Messages," and a character from Fangirl in "If the Fates Allow," and some of the characters from the Simon Snow trilogy (and, I guess, from Fangirl, too?).
I didn't get into the Simon Snow stuff in Fangirl (and even skipped most of it) and didn't bother with those books—but I liked the fact that Rowell did revisit some of her previous work. (I do wish we'd gotten to see Eleanor and/or Park, but am pretty sure that I'd have been annoyed at whatever she told us about them, so I'm glad she didn't include anything about them).
Now, it's not essential that you're familiar with the characters in these stories to enjoy them. I don't honestly remember who Reagan was from Fangirl (hey, it was 9 years ago, cut me some slack), but I quite enjoyed this story featuring her. I did remember the characters from Attachments, but I don't think it enhanced my appreciation of that story—but it was nice to see a little about what's gone on with them.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS
Opposite the first page of each story is a full-page illustration, sort of a cover image. There are also some accent illustrations scattered throughout the stories. They were attractive and fitting to the stories. I'm not sure that they added much to the book, but I did think they were nice touches.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT SCATTERED SHOWERS?
I'm a sucker for Rowell's love stories, and had a lot of fun with these.* When she's not writing about teen wizards, I have a hard time resisting her work (and don't find much inclination to try).
* Okay, true to form, I skipped "Snow for Christmas" after the first page and a half didn't intrigue me at all.
Out of her norm were two stories: one that's a strange fairy-tale of sorts that I found strangely appealing, but I'm not sure how to talk about it. The closing story is about some characters who've taken up residence in an author's subconscious or imagination, while they wait for the author to put them into a story or novel. I thought this was a fantastic story—Pirandello-esque, but with a Rowell-twist.
All in all, this was a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.
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LibraryThing member Rekki
I enjoyed this collection! There were only a few that I found to be a little meh, and a few that I really liked, and the rest were still okay. As a writer I will say that the last story, 'In Waiting', was my favorite! I love the concept of how characters and stories take on lives of their own and
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take up residence in the author's head. I also really enjoyed the one with 'The Road' and the mysterious swamp character that loved Starbucks. =) Show Less
LibraryThing member bragan
YA author Rainbow Rowell's first collection of short stories mostly consists of love stories of some form or other, particularly love that develops out of friendship. Most (but not all) feature young adults or teenagers, frequently slightly prickly or oddball characters. Some are about characters
A lot of them, I must say, are not my usual sort of thing. It takes a very particular kind of touch to make me actually enjoy a teen romance, especially when the teens are behaving in typical, melodramatic teen ways (like the college student who spends five days listening to the same song on repeat in an attempt to get over a breakup that's just thoroughly undermined all her previous naive ideas about love and romance). Fortunately, Rowell has precisely that touch. She leaves me feeling sympathetic to her protagonists and appreciative of their realism, even in moments where I might possibly also be inclined to roll my eyes at them. She writes fantastic, fun, bantery dialog. She has a refreshingly clear idea of what real relationships look like as opposed to idealized fantasy ones (yes, even in the stories that are technically fantasy). And there's a lovely, warm sweetness to her writing that fortunately never crosses the line into sappiness.
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from her novels – including a new tale for the Simon Snow fans! – but I think almost all of them should work perfectly well whether you've read the relevant novels or not. A surprising number are Christmas or holiday themed. A lot of them, I must say, are not my usual sort of thing. It takes a very particular kind of touch to make me actually enjoy a teen romance, especially when the teens are behaving in typical, melodramatic teen ways (like the college student who spends five days listening to the same song on repeat in an attempt to get over a breakup that's just thoroughly undermined all her previous naive ideas about love and romance). Fortunately, Rowell has precisely that touch. She leaves me feeling sympathetic to her protagonists and appreciative of their realism, even in moments where I might possibly also be inclined to roll my eyes at them. She writes fantastic, fun, bantery dialog. She has a refreshingly clear idea of what real relationships look like as opposed to idealized fantasy ones (yes, even in the stories that are technically fantasy). And there's a lovely, warm sweetness to her writing that fortunately never crosses the line into sappiness.
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LibraryThing member theWallflower
I haven’t read any Rainbow Rowell since she’s been working on her faux-Harry/Draco fan fiction pastiches. Not interested in that. What I am interested in is short stories. Mostly trying to figure out how they’re made. And I don’t think I’ve ever read any short stories that weren’t
They could have titled this collection “Oops! All Meet-Cutes”. But they’re still fun. And, surprisingly, I was able to finish the book, unlike many other collections I’ve tried over the years. Maybe I can enjoy short stories if they’re not experimental. These are fun, light-hearted, and have a consistent tone throughout (unlike anthologies, which are so hit-and-miss you’d think a blind man was handling the gun). Nothing in here is as heartwarming as Fangirl or reaches the emotional level of Eleanor & Park. But it’s still a pleasant book to bring on vacation somewhere.
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science fiction/horror or the post-modern literary realism kind they force you to read in college courses like “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and “A Rose for Emily“. These are romantic short stories.They could have titled this collection “Oops! All Meet-Cutes”. But they’re still fun. And, surprisingly, I was able to finish the book, unlike many other collections I’ve tried over the years. Maybe I can enjoy short stories if they’re not experimental. These are fun, light-hearted, and have a consistent tone throughout (unlike anthologies, which are so hit-and-miss you’d think a blind man was handling the gun). Nothing in here is as heartwarming as Fangirl or reaches the emotional level of Eleanor & Park. But it’s still a pleasant book to bring on vacation somewhere.
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
I loved all these stories - they were varied and there were some familiar faces scattered here and there. Ms Rowell gets to the heart of relationships in such a lovely way.
LibraryThing member BarnesBookshelf
I think I prefer Rowell's longer works over these short stories. The stories are good, but the novels just hit different. I liked the stories with characters I knew the best, though "In Waiting" was definitely the most interesting one.
I was also a little surprised at how hetero most of the stories
Overall, the stories are cute and it's a pretty easy read. Good for YA Romance readers.
I was also a little surprised at how hetero most of the stories
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were. It shouldn't have been a surprise given most of Rowell's works, but it was still a little surprising that only the Simon Snow story had queer characters. Overall, the stories are cute and it's a pretty easy read. Good for YA Romance readers.
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Awards
Nebraska Book Award (Winner — Young Adult — 2023)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2022-11-08
Physical description
288 p.; 9.1 inches
ISBN
1250855411 / 9781250855411