The Line Awakens

For World Book Day, Rainbow Rowell wrote this charming short story about a high school senior, Elena, and her experience waiting in line for the newest Star Wars theatrical release.
My dad introduced the original Star Wars trilogy to my sister & me when we were young; I saw Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones in theaters when I was in middle school before my interest fizzled out. My husband, however, is a huge nerd who loves Star Wars whose excitement is contagious- we ended up watching all six movies in the week before The Force Awakens premier. Unlike Elena, we didn’t sit outside the movie theater in anticipation of the newest Star Wars but we did see it opening weekend and again the following week.

‘Everybody likes everything these days. The whole world is a nerd.’
‘Are you mad because other people like Star Wars? Are you mad because people like me like Star Wars?’

A short story was the perfect format for Kindred Spirits and Rowell does her best to capture the magic of Star Wars and the infectious hysteria that goes along with it. The ending was a little dumb and made me wonder if it was a combination of “no spoilers” and finishing the first few drafts prior to December 18th.