Review : Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Pages : 445
Genre : YA, Contemporary fiction
Stand alone
My Rating : 4.5/5
About the Book :
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?
My Thoughts :
So last year all I heard about was how great Rainbow Rowell’s books were. YA blogs, lit blogs, even some non-book blogs were throwing flowers at her characters, insisting she was a must-read. So I picked Eleanor & Park and… I couldn’t really get into it.
I know, I know. Don’t throw eggs at me yet!
Honestly, I didn’t really give it my best effort; it was mostly a case of not the right time.
Then I picked up Fangirl, and it was a match made it heaven. It was adorable and fun and light, but still with a lot of heart. This is one of the truest college experiences I have read, easy to relate to. Even if you have never had anxiety like Cath’s, what she experiences feels like something any young woman starting college could feel, on a bigger or smaller scale. The nervousness of living in a new space, among new people, on a new schedule. Her whole world is thrown upside down, and Simon Snow is where she finds solace many times, even though college takes away a lot of her time.
One of the other things I loved was how the story had multiple aspects. It’s a college story; it’s a love story; it’s a family story. It’s a human story, basically. Cath isn’t one or the other of these things, but the sum of it. I felt it through her love for her sister, her worrying about her dad, her attempts at friendship, her passion for writing, her uncertainties for the future.
I was also fascinated by Rainbow Rowell’s writing. It’s short and to the point. There’s no long winded descriptions, but little details thrown here and there that tell you who that person is. Some of them aren’t really relevant, while others don’t appear to be until you get to know the characters better.
If I had one thing negative to say about the book it would be, ironically, about the fanfiction aspect. One thing is that I didn’t really “get into” the excerpts of Cath’s writing or the books she so loved. Even though they sometimes related to her own life, I didn’t find them necessary. But I would also have loved to hear more about her part in the fan community. Other than being loved and popular in it, I mean. This felt like a side of her world we never truly explored.
All in all though, I adored it. Reading Fangirl was the book equivalent of a slightly toasted slice of bread covered in thick, melting nutella; excessively yummy, and creating a spiraling need for more more more. I will definitely have to give Eleanor & Park another try now!
I loved this book and Eleanor and Park both!
Oh, I am glad to hear it! Can’t wait to try Eleanor & Park again!
I loooooved Fangirl so much! It was my first book by her, just a few weeks ago. And then I went straight to E&P, which I also loved, but it is so different I can definitely see how you might not have liked it at the time. It’s one you really have to be in the mood for.
I’m glad to read you liked them both even though they felt different. I will follow your advice and wait to be in the mood for it!
I’ve heard so many great things about Fangirl and I still haven’t taken the plunge yet. I’ definitely have to soon since I love how the story has so many layers and is a story that’s relatable.
I hope you’ll love it too! I was a bit sceptical with all the great reviews, but it turned out to be really fun to read 🙂
I purchase Fan Girl awhile back, but didn’t complete it. I think the timing for me was off. Great review! Thanks.
I get that, that’s what happened for me with Eleanor. Are you planning on giving it another try, with a better timing?
That Rainbow, she’s pretty awesome.
I can now say I agree! 😀
This was my first read of the year almost. I loved it! It worked very well for my ‘nerdy’ qualities. 🙂
Yes! I connected with the nerdy side very well, too. One of my favorites so far in 2014 for sure.
I never thought E&P sounded interesting at all, but I liked the premise of this one, and am listening to it right now. It’s fun so far. Light reading, but I’m enjoying it. I wasn’t sure at first, because the excerpts from Simon Snow are so blatantly Harry-Potter-Ripoff (which I think she MEANT to do) that I was a little thrown off. Those still aren’t my favorite parts, but I can live with them.
It’s definitely light, but I enjoyed it too. Sometimes that’s what you need, right?
Now I am curious to know how you liked it overall after finishing it!
Oh, I can’t wait to read this one — though honestly, I’ve been saving it as a “slump-buster” book for when I just can’t get into anything else (it does happen!). So glad you liked it!
I save similar books for slumps too! In fact it is exactly why I didn’t jump right into Eleanor after finishing this one 🙂