From naughty children to rebellious teenagers, Rosie and Alex have stuck by each other through thick and thin. But just as as they’re discovering the joys of teenage nights on the town and dating disasters, they’re separated. Alex’s family move from Dublin to America – and Alex goes with them. For good.

Rosie’s lost without him. But on the eve of her departure to join Alex in Boston, Rosie gets news that will change her life forever – and keep her at home in Ireland.

Their magical connection sees them through the ups and downs of each others lives, but neither of them knows whether their friendship can survive the years and miles – or new relationships. And at the back of Rosie’s mind is whether they were meant to be more than just good friends all along. Misunderstandings, circumstances and sheer bad luck have kept them apart, but when presented with the ultimate opportunity, will they gamble everything for true love?

When I paused for the first time on page 118, I was a little flabbergasted. I thought I was getting old, mature, more grown up (as in outgrowing YA and suddenly really enjoying chick lit). Why? Well, this wasn’t the first time I picked up Where Rainbows End. I tried to read it when I was 17 or 18. Tried, because I trudged through the first 80 pages and then gave up. I was bored to death. This time, however, I flew through those 118 pages and actually really enjoyed myself. Who would have thought!

Turns out, I’m still not the Cecelia Ahern chick lit type. About halfway through, I had to put some more theine into me to stay awake. It started to drag. And drag. And drag. There was one point when everything could have been resolved and wrapped up nicely. I would have liked the novel, had it ended there. But hey, why not introduce some more drama, another missed opportunity instead?

I got quite annoyed although I was still interested in the story itself. And yet, I just fail to understand how one can thoroughly and completely enjoy this novel. It’s so depressing! The hardship. The missed opportunities. The struggle. Poor Rosie’s life is all but fun. Of course not all dreams can come true. But do I want to read about a dream that seems utterly out of reach? Do I want to read about a person struggling so hard at happiness? The possibility that she might somehow fulfil her dreams in the very end is just not enough to keep at it. The message underlying this situation is also not enough to make me like it. Maybe I’m not in a position to see this as a silver lining. There are probably people out there who can draw strength from this.

I am, however, really looking forward to watching the movie. It’s the reason I gave this novel a second chance and judging by the trailer, this might be one of the rare cases when the movie is actually better than the book. It just looks so sweet and fun!