Seriously. When you run across a book entitled rob&sara.com you simply have to read it. i have to admit that it was a fairly arresting read — mostly because I’m a sucker for epistolary novels, and the names are cute (robYsarah!), but also because the world of cyberspace creates freefall situations in which people become less of who they are and more of who they wish they were. Mostly. Sometimes they just become more of who they are in a disturbing fashion, but that’s another novel…
Sara is just who she is – a poet, an enthusiastic, trusting, and friendly person who isn’t as careful (paranoid) as she could be, and takes a chance on exchanging emails with someone who liked a posted poem. Rob, on the other hand, creates multiple life stories for himself, and basically offers Sara the chance to choose one and make of him what she will. As they grow closer, the information they exchange becomes more real, but Sara pulls back time and again with “a case of the shivers” as she learns some hard truths. Rob lives where? And he did what? When they’re both grounded, their internet time is limited. Misunderstandings and misdirection create some character surprises but the happy ending is almost promised from the prologue (which is why I wish they hadn’t done that). Funny and involving, the book lets the reader in on a private conversation. For a short in-the-line-at-the-mall-after-Christmas-sales book, check it out.
e Happy Chriskwanzukkah.
