   Rainbow Stevie
2007-03-03 . chapter 10I've had this one tagged in my favorites for weeks, shying away from its length but certain, from the chapters I glanced at, that once I made time to sit down and read it in full it would turn out to be an exemplary story for a pairing I love but can never find well-written stories for. I was not disappointed.
Honestly, you deserve a detailed review on every chapter, but I hate to flood the inbox like that, plus I would be here half the day trying to catalogue all the specific things I enjoyed. So we’ll have to settle for one very long (600+ words?) if somewhat generalized summary of my reaction:
Centering each chapter around an attribute is nice, because it almost allows each part to stand alone – obviously, you need them all to make up the story, but I like that you can come to a resting point at the end of each chapter. But what really keeps it fresh and unique is the comparison of that attribute to how it resided in three previous boyfriends before Danny. I tend to be uninterested in OCs, even as part of backstory, but you painted the three men in enough detail right from the start that I found myself getting lost in the past. You could see why Lindsay had fallen in love, but just as easily applaud every time a breakup is referenced (the one specific thing I want to pick out of this section...Colt's idea of romance *was* fantastic, for high school). And back to format, I like how each chapter goes back to high school and moves through to the present; lather/rinse/repeat, what is it, 8 or 9 cycles in all? Each of them filling in a little more detail of the sweeping summary introduced in the prologue. It’s almost like four stories layered into one – I shouldn’t say almost; it IS. It’s a layer cake! No wonder I love it.
But of course, it’s that final tier of each chapter that I love – the Danny section. The dessert at the end of the meal, if you will (gah, see what your title's done?). The pranks described in the "Fun" chapter had me in stitches, especially the image of one **-off Flack, and an imitation of a Star Wars-obsessed Adam. I liked him giving in, with "I. Was. Wrong," and think it uncannily adorable that he liked "In Your Eyes." I loved the atmosphere for her birthday dinner, and the red tulip...and I am still picking up pieces of myself from where I exploded with glee at the whole movies-in-the-park story, and her head resting in his lap. As for the epilogue, after giggling over the discussion of her tattoo, I really like that she actually found her old list. I'm a sucker for long-lost items discovered in attics. Admittedly, use of the phrase "soul mates" tends to make me cringe, but you saved it with Danny pointing out its inherent corniness. Overall? Longest story in the category I’ve ever read, possibly the longest I’ll ever read, and definitely way up there near the top of the best.
Oh – and since this story is all about patterns, I love the string of chapters that end first with her steadfastly reminding herself that she was not going to even consider falling for Danny, and then progress to her silently cursing him for playing right into The List. Especially the one in which he saves her the last piece of cake. :)
And finally, perhaps belatedly, cheers for the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. When chosen well, I'm of the opinion that quotes add significant interest to multi-part works, and yours are an effective mixture of classic and off-the-cuff, of profound and humorous. (like the one about Danny's biceps...snicker) |
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