Love, Rosie (Rosie Dunne)
by Cecelia Ahern
List Price: $13.95
Pages: 464
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0786890762
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S. She gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: She's pregnant by a boy she'd gone out with while on the rebound from Alex. Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn't done with them yet.
From the gifted author of PS, I Love You comes this charming, romantic, addictively page-turning novel that will keep readers laughing and guessing until the very last page.
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1. Rosie and Alex friends from childhood. How did your earliest friends affect your life? How does their friendship compare to yours? How does Rosie present herself to Alex, and he to her?
2. As Rosie and Alex get older, their friendship changes. What changes their friendship--age, love, distance, being of the opposite sex?
3. How does Cecelia Ahern tell this story? Why might an author choose this narrative style? What are some of the advantages of this type of narrative? What other type of narration could be used?
Explore whether or not this (these) would have been as effective, and why.
4. Do you have long distance friends? How hard/easy is this? How do you think the physical separation between Rosie and Alex affected their relationship?
5. Do you think the setting of the story makes an impact? Do you think Rosie's story would be different if she was born and raised in the United States?
6. Do you think the intimacy of Rosie and Alex's relationship with each other meant that they were emotionally cheating on their spouses? Do you think people need to explain these type of close friendships to others?
7. How does instant messaging affect the storytelling? What do these exchanges add to your understanding of the characters? How does this connection affect their otherwise long-distance relationship?
8. Think about Alex's love letter to Rosie that Rosie doesn't find til much later. What would have happened if Rosie found the letter immediately?
9. Looking at Chapter 20, share whether or not you agree with Phil when he tells Alex, "don't be the prick that tries to break up her marriage. She'll never forgive you for that."
10. Rosie and Alex love each other, but it takes them a long time to realize that the feeling is mutual. Can a man and a woman just be friends? Would you tell your best friend that you loved them? What risks are involved? And are they worth it?
11. How does family affect Rosie and Alex's life? How do her friends and acquaintances play a role? How did they, knowingly and unknowingly, change the course of her life? Is it fate or coincidence that brings people in and out of their lives?
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"Ahern's skill lies in her ability to pick simple stories and inject them with a fresh, sunny humous that's totally individual... This bittersweet story is a skillfully worked tale that relies on the warmth and appeal of its characters to draw you in rather than saccharine sentiment. A winner."
—Glamour UK
"Witty, smart and compulsively good fun, it's worth planning a cozy night i for this book. ******"
—Cosmopolitan UK
"This is chick lit at its best; Ahern proves she's on her way to gaining a following of Marian Keyes and Jane Green fans."
—Library Journal
