Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Published: St. Martin's Press, 2013
433 pages
Goodreads synopsis:
From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park.
A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.
Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .
But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?
Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
I love the presentation of this book. The font and the colours of the book are eye catching and the cartoon picture is extremely adorable. At the beginning of every chapter there is a little excerpt from the Simon Snow novels or Cath's fan fiction which is a really nice added detail.
I have never had a book feel more real to me. The struggles and challenges that Cath faces are so believable and I'm sure have happened to lots of people. College and family are issues that people have issues with all the time and I think this book could really help people know that they are not alone. It is a bit of a long book, but it is so fast paced that it doesn't take long to read at all.
The originality of this book is so fresh and was so needed, it was nice to meet new characters that I know will stay with me.
As main characters we have:
Cather and Wren Avery: 18 year old twins who are in their first year of college. Both are major Simon Snow fans, though Wren is slowly drifting away from it.
Art Avery: The girls dad.
Reagan: Cath's roommate who loves to go out and party and loves being mean to Cath, even though they are great friends.
Levi: One of Reagan's best guy friends, who is always over at Reagan and Cath's room. 21 years old and works at Starbucks. Happiest and nicest boy in the world.
After reading this book, I feel like these characters are my friends, as if they actually exist and I am just waiting to receive a text from them. The thing I loved most was that all the characters had imperfections, their lives were nowhere near perfect. They all had challenges to overcome and fought their way through. Which brings to character development. Every one of our characters showed development by the end of the book which was very surprising, and so very nice. I really wish there was more to the book to see what happens to all of them. Levi was hands down my favourite character. He was so compassionate and caring, and an amazing friend who was always there when needed. He was so cheery and smiled so much, I kept catching myself smiling because of him.
Rowell's writing style is impeccable, flawless. When I read Eleanor & Park, while I did not like Eleanor, I could not deny the fabulous writing. Everything flows and falls perfectly into place. I didn't write down any of my favourite quotes, but if I had I'm sure it would have been about 3/4 of the book.
I rated this book an easy 5/5. A new favorite of mine for sure. I would easily recommend this book to everyone, I think everyone could get enjoyment out of it.
Now I cannot wait to read Attachments, which is her adult novel. And I plan to read anything that Rowell writes in the future.
Let me know what you thought if you have read this book.
