Fangirl

Have you ever read a book that just makes you smile over and over again? One that leaves you at the end with a smile on your face and a super content sigh leaving your lips? That is what Rainbow Rowell's books do for me every single time. I always leave happy and content, and for that reason she has risen to be probably my favorite contemporary writer of the past few years. Her romances are subtle. She doesn't rely on gimmicks to move her readers. She trusts her characters to move me ... and they do each and every time. Have you been looking for a book that captures the angst and adventure of new college students who are heading out to forge their own paths in the world? A book that relies on great story telling, not graphic and sometimes even violent sex scenes? Well, finally that book has arrived. This captures one example of the college experience that most people will be able to relate to. Why can't more New Adult writers write this way? Fangirl continues the streak of five-star amazing books from this talented writer. Like Attachments and Eleanor & Park, Fangirl has a REAL person as the lead character -- not real as in an actual person, but real as in someone with flaws and quirks and things that make them seem incredibly average ... the type of person that you might meet every day at work or school or in your family. Cath is the lead for this story, and more than any of Rainbow's other characters I found her to be the most like me. That was both wonderful and horrifying at the same time for me as I read. Cath is a megafan of a series of fictional books that seem to be the equivalent of the Harry Potter books. Cath doesn't just love the books ... she worships them. And she has been writing fan fiction about the two lead characters of those books for a few years. She's an amazing fan fic writer and has a devoted following of thousands of people. If you are not familiar with the world of fan fiction, this entire scenario will seem a bit odd, so you might familiarize yourself with the phenomenon before you begin. It will give you an appreciation for what Cath's life revolves around. I really loved Cath ... a lot. But she is not perfect. She enters her freshman year of college and she has really poor social skills in so many ways. She avoids the cafeteria and decides that she will subsist on a diet of protein bars for the duration of her time in college simply because she is concerned that she doesn't understand how the cafeteria works. Sadly, I could see myself in that same situation. Cath would rather avoid almost all social interaction and simply live alone in her room, content to live her life through the lives of her fan fic characters. It is almost disturbing to see that in some ways. Luckily Cath has a roommate who isn't exactly the friendliest girl on the planet, but she does decide that Cath needs some social intervention to get her out of the room. And along with that comes Levi, her roommate's maybe boyfriend. Levi was just amazing. He is not a flashy hero for this book. He is just an average nice guy. But he is able to see the wonder inside of Cath. Frankly, I don't know how he can. Cath is so closed off and sometimes even rude at the beginning of the story. But Levi sticks around. This romance is just perfectly subtle. There is no insta-love. There is not this mad rush of hormones. It is gradual and sweet. There shouldn't be a thousand fans of this books who say, "I wish there were actually guys out there like Levi." There actually are. He is just so normal and flawed, but kind and perceptive. The scenes between Levi and Cath could be so sweet and heart warming, but they never got into syrupy sweet territory. It never got too hokey. I know I keep saying it, but it's true ... it seems real. There are excellent issues explored in this book regarding divorce, mental health, college alcoholism, and the changes in sibling relationships that occur when they begin a new life in college. All of these are handled wonderfully within the context of the story so that they flow naturally throughout the book. They don't seem like plot devices. They are just part of Cath's life and experiences, things that make her who she is. There are snippets of this fake book series that Cath loves so much found throughout the book along with Cath's fan fiction excerpts. They were almost as fun to read as the actual book. I really did want to know how Cath would write Simon and Baz's next scenes. I could believe that thousands of people would follow her stories. They almost seemed better than the original. It was enough to make me want to go out and explore the world of fan fic that is out there. AMAZING characters, wonderful writing, and a story that feels true to life combine to create another Rainbow Rowell book that will join my favorites list. I will read this one again and again. Five huge stars!

For the second time in as many months, Rainbow Rowell has kept me up way too late, totally sucked into and thoroughy transported by one of her books (the last one was Eleanor & Park). And for the second time, I have been totally in love with the story ... until I got to the end, at which point I thought, "Really? I stayed up until 3:00 AM for this?" With Eleanor & Park, I dismissed my disappointment as shallowness and decided I'd conditioned myself to expect a Happy Ever After in everything, even though some stories don't end happily. Eleanor & Park's ending wasn't happy, but it fit the story, and though I can't say I liked it, I respected what I think Ms. Rowell was trying to do. This time, I'm not as sanguine. This time, I feel a little cheated. But more on the ending later. I don't want to give the impression that I didn't like Fangirl, because I did. Up until the last 40 pages, I really, really did. It started a little slowly for me. For the first 70 pages or so, I felt like an outsider looking in, not really hooked yet -- probably because I'm almost twenty years past my own college freshman experience, and because the fanfic phenomenon didn't really exist when I came of age, or at least not on the scale it exists now. (Fangirl's protagonist, Cather Avery, is a painfully shy young woman who writes a tremendously popular Harry Potter-esque fan fiction.) I know that that fan fiction is a big thing, but I've always been very skeptical of it, probably because my experience has been limited to Fifty Shades of Grey, which everyone knows started as fan fic of Twilight (and which, in my opinion, took something that was bad to begin with and made it about a zillion times more horrifying). At any rate, I approached Cath's hobby (and thus, this book) with trepidation, because my first instinct was (and is) that writing fan fic is kinda weird. -And you know what? It's totally okay that I think that. Cath knows it's kinda weird. Almost everyone in the story--from her snarky roommate, to her judgey creative writing professor, to her seeking-individuality-at-the-bottom-of-a-tequila-bottle identical twin sister--also thinks it's kinda weird. The narrative is scattered with excerpts from Cath's fan fic, as well as excerpts from Simon Snow, the Harry Potter-like series upon which it is based, and to be honest, even as I got over my skepticism about Cath's writing I still found myself skimming these sections. They are critical to the structure of the story, so it's not as if Rowell could have left them out, but I found them distracting because we only know enough about Simon Snow to know it's like Harry Potter (boy wizard at magic school fighting epic evil), but different, and not enough to actually follow the Simon Snow mythology or care much about the characters (who the hell is Penelope?). Once again, I have veered off into what I didn't like about this book, and I really don't mean to keep doing that. (I blame the 2.5 hours of sleep I got after staying up most of the night reading.) Here's what I love: all of the characters are so real and so perfectly... imperfect. I am so tired of the special snowflake female protagonists that populate New Adult fiction, these falsely-modest beautiful girls who effortlessly win over these equally one-dimensional, paragon-of-perfection type guys, and every single other character is just wallpaper as the couple fall in love and go about their business. Cath isn't like that: she's skirting the fine line between social anxiety and mental illness. She is introverted and painfully shy, and she knows (because her father is bipolar) that it wouldn't take much to push her over the line into crazytown. I love that she is both terrified of becoming crazy and sometimes unwilling or unable to make choices to move herself off that path, at least not without help from others (her sister, her dad, her roommate, her writing professor, her boyfriend). I love that she gets help from others, and not just from her boyfriend. Levi, the boyfriend, isn't a paragon of perfection either. He has a receding hairline and a soft chin. He doesn't wash his hair as often as he ought. He can't read. He very nearly dooms their relationship right out of the starting gate by making a boneheaded, but totally normal, *boy* mistake. He is such a nice guy, a really lovely human being, but he isn't a Gary Stu because his good manners and sunny disposition are balanced out by real, human, imperfections. I love Cath and Levi together. As an introvert myself, I totally understood Cath's befuddlement at the way Levi goes around smiling and being nice to people "as if it doesn't cost him anything," and his corresponding bafflement that *of course* it doesn't cost him anything. At one point, Cath describes Levi as a golden retriever, and I laughed out loud, because one of my best friends is an extrovert and describes herself the same way. In addition to this good friend, my mother and my sister are both extroverts, and when I am in social situations with them, I totally feel as if we are from alternate universes, as if we have nothing in common, as if it makes no sense that we could be friends or share the same DNA. Cath's sense of otherness, of incompatibility, totally resonates with me. I love that the supporting characters are not just background. Cath's relationships with her family -- her twin sister, her mentally-ill father, her mostly-absent mother -- are fully developed and full of dramatic conflict and resolution even as they are secondary to the developing romance between Cath and Levi. Cath's roommate is snarky and sharp tongued, and a lesser writer could easily have turned her into a stock character whose sole purpose is comic relief, but Reagan, too, is a fully drawn person with her own history and feelings and motivations. She's not solely there to draw Cath out of her introverted shell (though she does an admirable job of it). Rowell has an amazing gift for dialogue. Her characters are funny and sharp and snarky and poignant and honest, and their conversations move the story along and make the reader feel All The Feelz, and yet the dialogue is always believable, sounding like things real people would actually say in similar situations. But the ending! *Mournful sigh.* I'm not even sure I can articulate what I found so disappointing. It's not that it leaves loose ends hanging: it doesn't. It's not that it isn't "happy": it is, at least happy for now, which is totally appropriate in a YA/NA romance -- how many of us settle down with our first loves, after all? It just felt really abrupt, and out of sync with the pace of the rest of the book. Fangirl is 436 "pages" long on my Kindle (not including Acknowledgments, etc.). The dramatic conflict is still building up until page 422, which leaves approximately 14 pages to wrap everything up. Roughly half of those fourteen pages are excerpts which, as I mentioned above, I found distracting even as I recognize the point of including them in the story. So, yes, the ending felt sudden, underdeveloped, and too neat and orderly. I subtracted a whole star from my rating just because of that let down. Harsh? Maybe, but is there anything worse than an extremely disappointing ending to a book you love as much as I loved this one?

Cath(er) is not thrilled about starting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Ever since her twin sister, Wren, decided she wanted them to meet new people instead of being a package-deal and roommates, Cath has been panicking about rooming with a complete stranger and who she'll eat with at dinner and how long she'll be able to live off of snack bars. For another, she doesn't feel great about leaving their single-dad behind to look after himself and hope he doesn't let his creative-genius get the better of him and buy all of his meals at the gas station. For another, Cath isn't so sure about the fiction writing course she's taking. Sure, she writes - fanfiction. Simon Snow fanfiction, Simon and Baz slash fanfiction, to be more precise. But does she have it in her to create entire characters and worlds that don't belong to Gemma T. Leslie? Cath isn't so sure, and she's not so sure about how she'll get creative writing assignments finished when she's also trying to finish her epic `Carry On, Simon' fanficiton before GMT's eighth and final Simon Snow book is released. But it turns out Cath is going to have a lot more to worry about than just her dad, sister and the awaiting Baz/Simon fans. Cath tentatively befriends her prickly roommate, Reagan, but also falls for her boyfriend Levi, as much as socially-awkward, hermit Cath can fall for anyone. Then there's the creative fiction study-buddy she's mildly crushing on, and the old family wounds Wren has decided to re-open against Cath's wishes. As her first year at UNL progresses, Cath is forced to live more outside of her own slash-fic and confront some bad guys not of Gemma T. Leslie's creation. `Fangirl' is the new novel from Rainbow Rowell (probably marketed in that hot `New Adult' market, but likewise appealing for young adults and regular adults too). You guys. YOU GUYS! This book is the cherry on top, the cream in the middle and the caramel drizzle all rolled into one. This book is probably my absolute favourite from 2013 so far, and that's a darn big call. I'm sure there are many, many readers out there like me who have been excited for this book ever since the synopsis came out and struck that particular nerdy-nerve in all of us. fan*girl [fan-gurl] Often Disparaging. An obsessive female fan, especially of something technological or from popular culture. Because I am a fangirl about many things, and I used to write fanfiction myself. fan*fic [fan-fik] 1. fiction written by fans of a TV series, movie, etc., using existing characters and situations to develop new plots. 2. a work of fiction in this genre. I especially loved the idea of an author writing about this sub-culture in an affectionate way. Especially because authors haven't always been terribly kind to the realm of fanfiction - whether it be blasting EL James for outselling the fandom she adapted her erotica from, or likening fanfiction writing to `rape' (this one kills me, because it was said by one of my FAVOURITE authors and I disagree, wholeheartedly). But the moment Rainbow Rowell announced this as her next project, I knew it would be something very balanced, respectful and bring something interesting to the fanfiction world - and I was right. At first I thought Rainbow Rowell wrote Cath as quite the stereotypical fanfiction nerd - a girl who enjoys being cooped up in her room, spinning stories around her favourite stories and particularly favouring a homosexual-bent between characters who are heterosexual in the canon. That's fine though - because Wren used to write fanfiction and she's the `cool' twin, and while at University Cath inadvertently meets other people invested in Simon Snow fanfiction (even her own) who she'd never suspect because they don't fit the stereotype. But in the meantime I loved how truthfully Rowell portrayed Cath as this girl with hundreds of thousands of online followers who are hanging on her every word, but in the real world she tries to keep her geeky double-life on the down-low. There's plenty of comedic fodder around fanfiction and fangirling, and Rowell explores them brilliantly. I laughed out loud while reading this, and even though lots of people will come to this book and know exactly what Rowell and Cath are talking about with the underground fanfiction world, I also think `Fangirl' will be really accessible, funny and a great introduction for people who are totally clueless about fandoms. Cath really is the draw-card of this book though. Rowell just writes Cath to perfection, and with utter tenderness. I think lots of people who are introverted and don't like people/crowds are instantly labelled as hopelessly shy, but that's not always the case. I know plenty of quiet people who just hate social situations, but get them one-on-one and they're a laugh-riot and massive show-offs. That's Cath. Yes, she's panicked by the thought of not knowing where the dining hall is and doing that awkward standing-with-a-tray-of-food thing (so avoids the dining hall for one whole month) but she's wicked smart, has a quick wit and feisty personality that she starts to show off to those around her. But that part of her that panics at the thought of new routines and meeting strangers en masse is so relatable to the less extroverted of us, and Rowell writes that pitch-perfectly. While reading `Fangirl' I also thought there was a lot of Rowell shining through, and her own experiences. Because a big part of the book is Cath being comfortable with her own voice (not just Gemma T. Leslie's) and sharing her writing with the world, even becoming confident in her craft and calling herself a writer. At one point, her fiction-writing lecturer tells Cath that her characters practically `quiver on the page' and that sounded so much like the sort of praise I can imagine Rowell receiving. This book will also speak to a lot of people about art and creating, writing especially, and how much showing your writing to people and believing in your work takes practice, patience and confidence. There are lots of threads in `Fangirl' and this is just one of them, but it's beautifully plotted. And, of course, there's also the romantic element. Look, I am in the minority for people who did not adore Rowell's `Eleanor and Park' (and I mean the minority - just looking at the back cover of `Fangirl' with all the praise for `Eleanor and Park' is pretty impressive. But I'm still not swayed). But I love, love, loved her debut `Attachments'. That book was funny and romantic and totally unique in its romance. `Fangirl' has romantic links closer to `Attachments' than `Eleanor and Park', and for that I was very grateful. The romance in this book is superb. It's a slow-unfolding, but a worthwhile one - especially because Rowell even throws a red-herring love interest into the mix early on to keep things especially interesting. But I loved the romance in `Fangirl' mostly because (as with `Attachments') it's all about these two people falling in love with each other's personalities over more superficial things. I doubt Rowell would ever be so inclined to write love-at-first-sight, because her slow-boiling romances are just so darn good with big helpings of believability mixed with utter sweetness. I also have to give big kudos to this book for exploring mental illness. And not in a prescribed, easy-to-remedy, after school special kind of way but with a lot of grittiness, heartache, anxiety and reality. There are a lot of threads to this book. There's also a storyline to do with Cath and Wren's returned mother, but it's used more for character exploration than as a plot-crutch and I even admired that (again, more reality, and no neatly-tied conclusions to messy situations). I just loved `Fangirl'; I can't even begin to tell you how much. I laughed, I cried . . . yadda, yadda, yadda. More importantly I immediately knew this was my book of 2013 - the one that has just made my (already phenomenal) reading year just that extra bit special. Bring on `Landline' for 2014!

Rainbow Rowell `s writing captures life and people with such pinpoint accuracy, breathing life into mundane everyday moments and to voicing the thoughts in our head that make us feel alone. So many times while reading, if felt as though she was writing to me; not me, the reader; but me, Whitley. And I know I'm not alone in falling under the spell of her words. It's not just that they're powerful (they are); they're familiar, as though she knew you and you knew the characters before ever stepping into the first page. I love Cath. She's torch bearer of every awkward turtle introvert flailing their way through the social life they don't understand (and won't admit that they don't always want). She's frustrating, yes, but every frustration I had with her was one that I've experienced with myself. Her anxiety and overthinking and self-deprecation are so realistic that the reader feels reflected in Cath's struggles and grows with her throughout the story. There's been a lot of attention lately to the traits and strengths of an introvert in the extrovert world, but its rare to see a main character remain an introvert... and to see her and her supporting cast accept and embrace that instead of joining the author in a quest to change her. I love YA, but it can be frustrating to see the truth of yourself belittled instead of embraced, and as a reader, a fictional story I can fall into is a much more powerful source of acceptance and empowerment and feeling not-so-alone than a buzzfeed article. And man oh man do I love Cath's supporting cast. Her relationship with her twin sister, Wren, personifies the person we introverts think we should (and struggle to) be... independent from our the close friends we made as kids, happily active in the social scene. Cath struggles through the book with this sudden differentiation between herself and Wren when they enter into college, and a major part of her growth as a character is through her acceptance that it's OK to be different from her sister and to chose to say "no" to parties instead of "yes". Reagan, perfectly described as Adele, "if Adele had a harder, somewhat sharper twin sister", is just about as boisterous as they come. She's also is the best thing that could have happened to Cath because she doesn't take any of Cath's excuses, but she also knows not to push Cath. Her friendship and guidance was exactly what Cath needed at this time in her life, and I loved her character. While the fact that she previously dated Levy is a major complication in the story, it is also a perfect opportunity for Cath to stop comparing herself to others, and for that reason, I love the ground rules that Reagan imposes when Cath begins to show interest in Levy. Ahh, Levy. We've come to my favorite part of the story (and my literary crush). What isn't there to love about Levy? He's cute (but not too cute); he's goofy; he's flawed (and have I mentioned how much I love, love, LOVE flawed characters?). What makes Levy so perfect in his imperfections is that he nudges without being pushy, he genuinely cares about Cath without claiming she's perfect (because really, who is?), and he seems to understand Cath enough to allow her to take things in her own time. Not to mention the fact that he actively takes interest in her interests, helping her to boost her confidence, rather than laughing at them... and I mean, really, slash Harry Potter-esque fanfiction is a little hard not to balk at. Yes, the romance was formulaic once it took off, but it was also completely swoon worthy and the whole reason I couldn't put the book down. I couldn't find anything to dislike about FANGIRL, but if I could have changed one thing, it would have been the ending. It's not that I didn't like how it ended (because I did). It's just that the ending was so embedded in Cath's fanfiction and the final book of the Simon Snow series that real final moment felt lost. I think I understand why Rowell chose to end the book the way she did... Cath's attachment to the series and the fandom is all based around the idea that as a reader, we don't want the story to end. So Rowell didn't end it. Instead, she let both Cath and Levy and the reader slip further into the story. Even so, there were so many questions left unanswered and issues, unresolved, that when I "turned" the page to find nothing more, I was disappointed. More than anything, I didn't want the story to end... I wanted more. I can't recommend this book enough. If you've ever been part of a fandom (or even a lurker on FF.net), were the socially "awkward turtle" at some point in your life, or liked Eleanor & Park or Sarah Dessen's coming-of-age stories with the perfect mix of romance, then you'll love Rainbow Rowell's FANGIRL. Of course, there will be readers who will roll their eyes at the idea of a fandom and Cath's introversion and nerdiness, but to everyone else, I highly recommend this book. {Review originally posted at whitleyabell.wordpress.com}

Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl is not the type of book I would've picked up on my own to read, mostly because the book's target audience is the younger generation and I'm clearly outside the age range now. I'm not opposed to reading YA books as an adult and admittedly I've read my fair share of them over the years (though I base the decision to read mostly on the summary rather than the genre) – however they are usually lower priority for me unless they get picked for book club, which was the case here. I went into this book with much lower than usual expectations, even thinking at some point that I would for sure dislike it given that I've been reading a lot of "adult" books over the past few months and this was too much of a departure from what I usually read, both in style and content. I tried to keep an open mind however and it paid off, as I ended up enjoying this book more than I thought I would (though it also helped that I dusted off my figurative "YA hat" and put it on prior to reading, lol). In glancing through the reviews for this book, it seems like majority of readers fell into one of two camps – either they LOVED the book or they HATED it. I think I fall somewhere in the middle in that I didn't "like" the book enough to give it 4 or 5 stars but also didn't feel it deserved a low rating either, so in the end I settled for 3 stars. This is the first Rainbow Rowell book that I've read so I can't speak to her style or how this book stacks up compared to her other ones. One of the things I appreciated about this book was the character development – the characters were well-written, realistic, believable, and, despite their many flaws, were quite endearing. There were a few characters I liked throughout the story, such as Levi, Wren, the dad, and even Reagan at certain points. With the main character Cath, I can't really say I "liked" her, as I often found her frustrating, especially when she would stubbornly overthink things (which seemed to be all the time), but I definitely empathized with her. In fact, out of all the characters, I'm able to relate to Cath the most, as I was very similar to her back in my college days. I was also an insecure, socially inept book nerd whose greatest fear was having to interact with people I didn't know in public settings. I disliked going to parties, disliked group projects (because had to work closely with other classmates for extended amounts of time), and basically disliked anything that had a remotely social element to it (except being in class because that was a structured environment). My favorite place to "hang out" was always the library, where I would sit in a corner and read or work on a paper for hours on end. I was also "quirky" and "weird" in that I would take copious notes in class and then spend most of the down time between classes reviewing and re-copying my notes into new notebooks, sometimes even copying the same notes several times! So yea, I can totally understand where Cath was coming from and why she reacted the way she did in certain situations. The parts of the book that I did not care for at all were all the Simon Snow-related sections. I'm sure there is a reason why Rowell opened each chapter with excerpts from the fictitious Simon Snow books as well as Cath's fanfiction version of the story, but the significance was lost on me. I honestly was not interested one bit in Simon's story or his relationship with Baz (perhaps because I'm not into the whole magic / fantasy / vampire story thing) – to me, it was boring and an unnecessary distraction from the actual story about Cath and her college life. I skimmed most of the Simon Snow sections in the beginning and by the second half of the book, I was skipping those sections altogether. Even though I wasn't able to appreciate the "story-within-a-story" sections involving Simon Snow, I do applaud Rowell for addressing the whole concept of fanfiction itself and incorporating the debate over fanfiction versus "real fiction" via Cath's struggles in her Fiction Writing class. I've never written fanfiction myself but I have friends who do (and are phenomenal at it), plus I'm relatively active in those discussion forums for the subjects they write about, so from that perspective, the "controversy" over fanfiction is a pretty familiar topic for me. In that regard, it was interesting to see how the debate over fanfiction is applied outside of the context of the forums. And so that leads me to the ending of the book. When I got to the last page of the book and realized it was over, my first reaction was: HUH??? Did I miss something or is my copy of the book actually short a few pages? I'm not sure if the reason why I didn't "understand" the ending was because I skipped over most of the Simon Snow stuff thinking it wasn't relevant? Or did Rowell deliberately write the ending that way to send a particular message? Writing this review now after having some time to think about it, I think the problem with the ending goes back to the fact that there was not much of a story in this book to begin with so there was nothing really to "end" per se. I don't know, but up until the ending, I was actually considering giving 3.5 stars – the ending pushed it back down to 3 stars. Overall, despite its flaws, this was an enjoyable read – a nice brief escape from the "seriousness" of all the "adult" books that I've been reading lately. Yes, there were some things in this book that were typical YA and most of the "heavy" issues that this book touched on were done mostly surface-level, but I honestly didn't have a huge problem with it considering I wasn't expecting an in-depth exploration of those issues in the first place. I also felt that the book was way longer than it needed to be (especially for a book that has very little to offer in terms of actual story and plot), but at least it was a relatively quick read!

I finished re-reading Fangirl a few days ago, and found it just as amazing and intriguing as the first time I read it! I absolutely love that story! This was my first Rainbow Rowell read, and I'd have to say that it didn't disappoint me at all. It was definitely worth a re-read. The story revolves around a teenage girl, Cath, who is starting college at the University of Nebraska. She's introvert and socially awkward, and would much rather prefer to stay in her dorm room writing fanfiction than get drunk at parties. She's always depended on her twin sister, Wren, for her social life. But, Wren wants to have a great college experience -- which includes socializing and going to parties -- and has refused to room with Cath. So Cath gets stuck with Reagan, a grumpy character slightly older than her. Cath has a hard time staying with her in the beginning, but, things do get better later in the story. Cath is a such a wonderful and relatable character. She is both confident in her writing, yet shy in real life. She is happy with her life, her fanfiction writing, and her sister; and doesn't want any changes in life. She also doesn't go out of the way for anyone, unlike Levi, her roommate's "so called" boyfriend. Such things made me relate to her a lot. Even I'm one of those girls who'd rather spend her time reading at home, than go out and socialize. She was a really strong character, and I saw a lot of character development in her throughout the entire story. She went from a really shy girl who didn't want to try new things and face different experiences to a lovable girl who cared for others, even if she had to miss her finals for that. I really liked that in her. Levi was such a swoon worthy character! Aah! His character description was so well done. He's been added to my book boyfriends' list. After all, who doesn't like a all-time-smiling guy?! I shared a couple of laughters whenever both of them had a conversation. Those moments were really cute. I absolutely adored them as a couple! They were made for each other. The other characters were realistic, too. Though, I felt like Wren's character development could have been better in a few ways. I didn't like how she treated Cath in the beginning of the story. Overall, most of the characters were compassionate and totally believable, and I loved them. This book is written in such a captivating way that it got me hooked from the beginning. I love Rowell's writing style. It's so compelling. It didn't feel like I was just reading a pointless, fluffy contemporary novel. It captured a range of emotions in light sentences, which made me appreciate her writing even more. It’s impossible not to smile and want to share snippets with friends while reading this novel. The romance in this book is very sweet and beautiful, with characters who are a good fit for each other. It isn't love at first sight, and doesn't feel forced. It takes you on a journey of all of the emotions that come with falling in love for the first time. There are other kinds of relations depicted in this novel that has made it one of the best books I've read in 2015 so far. Cath's attachment to her father, her love for Wren, and even her relation with her roommate, Reagan, makes this book touch every single part of your soul. Overall, it's a fun and coming of age story of an experience I have never seen fictionalized before. I'd recommend it to anyone out there who has been socially awkward in school/college, or sees that in the near future.

Cath and her twin sister Wren go off to the same college. And while Cath thought they would room together, Wren has other plans. Both Simon Snow fans, Wren is ready to explore the world in college, while Cath still loves to write fan fiction of Simon Snow. But as college, and new experiences, are around every corner, will Cath be able to change and explore her new world, and herself? Well, Ms. Rowell, you've done it again. I loved Eleanor & Park so I did have high expectations for this new book of yours Fangirl. And it did not disappoint. The story takes place during freshman year at college. Wren and Cath are so used to being together that Cath is totally shocked when Wren doesn't want to room with her and wants to explore new friends and new experiences. Cath rooms with Reagan, a harsh yet loyal friend who gently coaxes Cath out of her shell. Throw in her is he or isn't he semi-boyfriend Levi, and Cath can't get away from college life, and all of the new things thrust at her. I loved Cath. I loved her nerdy personality, her shy and socially awkward behavior, and her love of Simon Snow. I love that the book is YA and New Adult, taking place during that time when everything is happening and it can sometimes just be too much. A lot of New Adult out there are big, heavy, complicated romance stories with a lot of sex, which is all well and fine. But I really liked how gentle and sweet this story is, the slow unfolding of an awkward teenager and her first love. It's a best friend story, an identity story, a fan/nerd story. Cath has this wonderfully organic journey through the book and explores new things, but never does she compromise herself. Levi is a funny guy. It was really easy to picture him, with his hands running through his hair. (Though, yes, I get it. He runs his hands through his hair. A lot. The one thing that irked me was how many times it was described.) His patience and sense of humor make him shine and he's not without fault. Reagan is a great roommate and friend. I liked her personality in compared to Cath's. She's blunt, honest and opinionated without being a bully or mean. I love how different they are but how they become friends. It's reminds me of my college experiences. And Wren, the twin, who is dealing with everything the best way she knows how. I'm not going to spoil anything but I liked Wren's journey through the book too. I also really loved their relationship with their Dad. Dad can be a little off balance sometimes, and there are some really warm and beautiful moments between Cath and her Dad that stand out in the book. While their mom is no longer in the picture, at least as far as Cath is concerned, it's really refreshing to see a loving relationship between parent and child. Overall, Fangirl is a wonderfully tender tale of finding yourself in college and the first experiences along the way. Find more reviews at TheWindyPages dot com

There are some authors who write in such a way that I'm mentally swept off my feet, in love from the first words. Rainbow Rowell officially joins this short list, now that I've loved both of her books that I've read. Her books speak to me in a way that very few do, to a degree it's a rare to find. Rowell's books make me feel a little bit less alone, a little bit more understand, and point out truths I've often thought or even discussed with friends but not seen in fiction. I can tell you right now that I will be sitting on Attachments (not literally) for as long as I can hold out, because then I know that there won't be ANY MORE Rowell for who knows how long. That's how much I love her writing. Fangirl took me about half a month to read, which, if you know how much I read, is sort of insane, especially for a book I love so much. However, I was determined to read this sooner, but my review schedule is not forgiving of dalliances with books not on the schedule, so I read a chapter here and a chapter there as I was able. This can be a bit of an onus for a book to bear, though, because it gives me time to forget everything, and can make connection emotionally more difficult since you're not as thoroughly immersed. With Fangirl, though, the moment I started reading, even if it had been days since I got to read any, I was immediately back in Cath's world. Within a paragraph or two, the world around me dissipated and I was completely absorbed and dialed in. Because this is such a highly anticipated title, a lot of bloggers have been getting early starts. Thus, though I avoid actual reviews until I've read the book, I've seen some tweets and statuses. Though Fangirl is nigh perfection for me, personally, I know other sorts of readers (as in those that do not have a brain that functions like mine) have had trouble relating to Cath. Certainly, Cath is a very different sort of heroine from the norm. She's introverted to the point of being almost a hermit, preferring to live her life almost entirely in a fictional world. Social anxiety plague her to the degree that she actively avoids making friends and refuses to go to the dining hall because she's afraid of embarrassing her self by doing something wrong. When things get heavy, Cath will just shut down and make really bad choices, like not turning in a final project because she couldn't figure out what to do. Cath is also angry, at her mom, at Wren, and at herself. I can definitely see where her decisions wouldn't register with more socially competent readers. While I am not precisely like Cath, I'm close enough that I get her. I could have been very much like her, minus the fan fiction stardom. See, in some ways, Cath's downfall was her happy high school experience: built-in best friend in her twin sister Wren, popularity that comes with hanging out with Wren, and comfortable boyfriend Abel. On arriving at the University of Nebraska for her freshman year of college, Wren's safe, familiar little world falls apart. Wren, who refused to room with Cath, wants little to nothing to do with her twin sister, desperate to forge her own identity. Abel dumps her for a girl who a) actually likes him in a romantic way and b) got a higher score on the ACT. Her grumpy roommate Reagan, with omnipresent boyfriend Levi, stress her out further. Wren parties for all she's worth to make new friends; Cath avoids people more than ever. With Cath's personality, suddenly losing your safety net in a new experience like this would result in such a response in a lot of cases. For me, I was so unhappy and friendless for most of high school that I started college fired with determination to become an extrovert; it didn't work, but it did get me through the first weeks. What Cath fears more than anything is being bad at something, and here is where I understand this girl so much it hurts. She resists new experiences because she doesn't want to make a fool out of herself. This is behind her trepidation to go eat in the dining hall, where she could go the wrong way in line or sit at the wrong table. This is also why she just doesn't do her final fiction writing project: she fears she doesn't have the talent to write her own world, and prefers the safety of her fan fiction. With romance, too, she goes very slow on the physical side of the relationship for fear of doing the wrong thing. With all of these, the more time that passes, the more difficult that goal becomes to accomplish. The romance is important, and I'll talk about that later, but I love that falling in love isn't the only thing to help bring her out of her shell. Forging a relationship with her roommate, Reagan, is her first true step out of her comfort zone. Sick of watching Cath subsist on protein bars, Reagan forces her to go to the dining hall, and this becomes a routine. There, they bond by people-watching other students, making up ridiculous stories about them. Though Reagan and Cath have little in common, they're able to find ways to connect, and, if Cath can handle the intimidating Reagan, that's a big step. Plus, bonding through stories and jokes like this is exactly what Cath does with her family; the way to get through Cath's heart is through fiction of one kind or another. Family issues are key here, too, though they are not tied up in a tidy little bow. Cath and Wren have a loving father, who's raised them as a single parent since their mom walked out when they were kids. Though their father, Art, takes good care of them, he has manic depression, and needs a lot of looking after himself, as he will not take his meds, since they interfere with his creativity, necessary to his job in advertising. Art always gave them pretty free rein, trusting them to be responsible and to keep him in check. The twins going to college changes the family dynamics, which is painful, but ultimately better for everyone. On top of that, their mother wants to talk to them, but Cath wants no part of the woman who abandoned her. Then there's the romance, and, my goodness is it swoony. I won't tell you who the guy is, because it's better to let things evolve in front of your eyes. However, I will say that Rowell gets the speed of emotions just right in Fangirl, both friendship and relationships. Once something starts, it moves with the speed of a man-eating hare. Relationships of all sorts build so quickly in college. Since you're with everyone from morning until night, there's so much more time for feelings to build, because you're all crammed together in dorms. As a kid, you lack transportation or have a curfew in the summer, and other times half your day is school. As an adult, most of your time is spent at work, so there's less time for socialization. College is friendship in romance in hyperdrive. The romance in Fangirl is a slow burn that comes almost out of nowhere oh so perfectly. Rowell hurt my heart a few times along the way, but she made it all work so well. In a lot of ways, this guy is not my ideal love interest, and I wouldn't want him for myself (several of his qualities are dealbreakers for me personally), but I love him SO HARD for Cath. Who knows if they'll last forever, but he's just what she needs right now. Much as my heart wants to give Fangirl every single star in the heavens, there was one thing I didn't completely love. While I did love the fan fiction angle, I also found one element puzzling. Cath is writing an immensely popular slash fan fiction about Simon Snow, a wizard, and his nemesis, Baz. The Simon Snow series is an obvious stand-in for Harry Potter, which I'm totally cool with. What threw me for a real loop was a casual reference to HP within Fangirl. Why would both exist? This really does not make sense to me. If HP exists in this world, why draw up an imitation to reference? I suspect it has something to do with the amount of fan fiction included and copyright, but why not just leave HP out entirely? In this world, Simon Snow probably wouldn't be that popular if Harry already existed, because it had been done. If Simon came first, then what sort of commentary is that on Rowling? Logic fail aside, I also was not nearly engaged in Cath's fan fiction, so I was generally just waiting for those bits to be over. I do really like the role it played and her life, and the discussions of fan fiction versus original fiction, but the story itself was of somewhat limited interest. I will read absolutely anything Rainbow Rowell writes. Though I've only read two of her books, she's near the top of my favorite authors list. Fangirl has realistic characters and is jam-packed with feels. Also, if you've been searching for books authentically about what it feels like to be in college, you want this book. I recommend Fangirl as highly as I possibly can.

After reading Eleanor & Park, I knew I had to get my hands on another Rainbow Rowell book. Fangirl had just came out and I'd seen so many people raving about it. And then I was recommended this book by someone who has similar tastes to me, and I just knew that I had to get it asap. As soon as I started this book I was hooked. I loved that it was about this girl called Cath who was obsessed with a book series that was coming to an end (it brought back all my HP feels), and I could just totally relate to her. I knew exactly how she was feeling and I loved how easy it was to connect with her. Cath was a brilliant character. She really shy and going to University really scares her. It's made even worse by the fact that her twin Wren doesn't want to room with her, so Cath is on her own. I loved seeing Cath develop throughout the novel and start to become a little less shy. She starts to make friends and experience the real world for once instead of the world she writes in her fan fiction. Oh, Levi. Levi makes my heart melt. He's so charming and adorable! Levi manages to wriggle his way into Cath's life and he helps her a lot. He helps her come out of her shell and encourages her to live in the real world. I just adored Levi so much. Even though he did make a really stupid mistake that caused a lot of trouble for him and Cath, I still loved him. Reagan was such an amazing character! Seriously, I love this girl. She was so hilarious and irritable, but I freaking loved her. Reagan worked really hard to get Cath to live in the real world and experience life, and she succeeded. Cath and Reagan became really close friends and I just adored their friendship. Reagan has some hilarious lines that had be laughing so hard. I was unsure of how I felt about Wren for most of this book. She'd completely changed when she went to University, but I understood that. She wanted to experience new things and make her own friends instead of always relying on Cath. She wanted to make her own life. I understood all of that, but I didn't like the way she did it. Wren got herself into a lot of trouble and caused a lot of people to worry about her. There was something deeper going on though and that's why Wren was acting out the way she was. I adored every single part of this story. I loved seeing Cath adjusting to University life; learning about Levi and Reagan; Cath's family problems; Cath's obsession with Simon Snow and of course, Cath's fan fiction. By the end of the book I'd grown to love Simon and Baz. The one thing I was slightly disappointed about with it was that I never got to find out what happened at the end of the last Simon Snow book! After all the build up with the snippets from the books and Cath's fan fiction, I was slightly disappointed that I didn't get to know what happened. But, oh well. It wasn't anything major, but I would have liked to have found out. Fangirl has been one of the best contemporaries I've read this year. Rainbow Rowell has now earned a place on my auto-buy list. I'll buy anything written by her now! If you haven't read Fangirl or you haven't read a Rainbow Rowell book yet, I seriously recommend that you do. She's such a fantastic author.

Good

Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they’re off to university and Wren’s decided she doesn’t want to be one half of a pair any more – she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It’s not so easy for Cath. She’s horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she’s experienced in real life. Without Wren Cath is completely on her own and totally outside her comfort zone. She’s got a surly room-mate 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. Now Cath has to decide whether she’s ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she’s realizing that there’s more to learn about love than she ever thought possible … - (c) Waterstones Nachdem ich bereits von “Eleanor & Park” begeistert war und ich auf Twitter genauso begeisterte Meinungen zu “Fangirl” gelesen hatte, wurde auch dieser Young-Adult-Roman von Rainbow Rowell gleich vorbestellt – und was hat mich dieses Buch begeistert! “Fangirl” erzählt eine sehr authentische und realitätsnahe Geschichte über Cath, die sich sehr von ihrer Zwillingsschwester unterscheidet, die das neue Studentenleben in vollen Zügen genießt. Cath dagegen ist eher ruhiger, zurückhaltend, ängstlicher und vertraut nicht sofort – aber wenn sie jemandem verfällt oder jemanden mag, dann mit Leib und Seele. Kurzum: sie ist ein wahres “Nerdmädchen”, welches es sich am allerliebsten mit ihrem Laptop auf dem Bett gemütlich macht und Fanfiction verfasst oder liest. Mir war Cath insofern sofort wahnsinnig sympathisch, vor allem weil man teilweise sich selbst in ihr wiederfindet. Auch Levi ist so unglaublich sympathisch – immer am Lächeln, positiv gestimmt und der perfekte beste Freund, das sich jedes Mädchen nur wünschen kann. Neben der sowieso schon interessanten und total unterhaltsamen Handlung um Cath, hat die Autorin eine zweite Handlung mit verstrickt: die von Cath geschriebene Fanfiction von Baz und Simon über die (eigens erfundene und leider fiktive) Buchserie um Simon Snow. Für mich war diese zweite Handlung nochmal ein zusätzliches Highlight zum sowieso schon tollen Leseerlebnis. Meiner Meinung eine fantastische Idee der Autorin, ihre Handlung auf der Basis einer fiktiven Erfolgsserie aufzubauen – kannte ich bisher noch nicht und so hat es mich nicht nur begeistert, aber auch überrascht. Bei so vielen Neuerscheinungen in diesem (und anderen) Genre finde ich es sehr bemerkenswert, dass man nun doch mal wieder etwas gänzlich Neues zu lesen bekommt und überhaupt noch etwas Neues kreieren kann. Nach nun zwei gelesenen Büchern der Autorin kann ich behaupten, dass mich der Schreibstil von Rainbow Rowell sehr begeistert! Ihre Geschichten sind mit vielen 0815-(Liebes-)Geschichten nicht zu vergleichen – ihre Geschichten und Handlungen sind sehr realitätsnah, wo Beziehungen oder auch Freundschaften nicht nach dem typischen Schema verlaufen, sondern immer ein wenig aus der Reihe tanzen. So findet sich bestimmt der ein oder andere Leser darin wieder und auch die Charaktere, die sie erschaffen hat, sind zumindest mir bisher immer auf Anhieb supersympathisch. Ich möchte Cath und Levi bitte als beste Freunde! ;-) “Fangirl” ist eine wunderbar authentische, liebevolle und unterhaltsame Geschichte über das Erwachsenwerden, familiäre Schwierigkeiten, Freundschaft und das Überwinden der eigenen Ängste. Rainbow Rowell lässt ihre Leser schmunzeln, lachen und mitfühlen. Definitiv eines meiner bisherigen Lieblingsbücher – kann ich absolut jedem empfehlen, ob jung oder alt, Leserin oder Leser.

4.5 Relutei por muito tempo achando q esse livro não era pra mim. Ainda bem que fui convencida pelos amigos, a dar uma chance para Fangirl. Porque eu adorei!!! Eu acho q mtas pessoas não gostam desse livro por não se identificarem com a personagem. Bem, eu não me identifiquei tbm, mas eu tive empatia. Eu não me vi na Cath, mas foi bacana ver o mundo através de alguém que tem as dificuldades que ela tem. Diferente do que algumas pessoas interpretaram, a Cath não é acomodada e não gosta de mudanças. A Cath sofre de ansiedade e outras dificuldades que prejudicam o convívio social com outras pessoas. Então não adianta ficar frustrado com ela, pq ela não vai agir como vc. A questão da ficção é toda essa, se colocar no lugar de outra pessoa... Enfim, voltando ao livro, até a parte q achei q não seria a minha praia - Fanfic do Simon - eu gostei. Gostei de ver oq a Cath tinha a dizer sobre esse mundo. Só não foi 5 estrelas pra mim pois achei o final um pouco abrupto, esperava q a Reagan tivesse um papel maior na vida dela, e a própria descoberta dela como escritora esperava q fosse algo um pouco mais catártico. Talvez tenha sido só a minha expectativa. Terminei querendo mais.

When I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I had to have it. Nerdy, loner girl who is obsessed with fanfiction? YES PLEASE. While I am no writer of fan-fiction, I do enjoy reading it, and I was especially obsessed with it back in my pre-teens and early teen years. I know how addicting it can be. Another thing that drew me to this book was the fact that Cather "Cath" has a freshman experience with many similarities to mine: no drinking, no parties, no sex...no wild anything. Some people think I'm "repressed," well to them I say that for some reason, I have just never had even a glimmer of desire to "go wild" or "let loose," etc. I'm boring, okay? Deal with it. Well, that made this book and Cath just all that more awesome for me. Cath is not your typical heroine: she is socially awkward, has social anxiety, is a complete nerd, has no desire to drink or go to parties or hook up with boys, she is romantically inexperienced...but she is also incredibly creative, fiercely loyal, good-hearted, and has a great sarcastic, dry humour. She is an avid writer of Simon Snow fan-fiction, and is completely dedicated to it. Sometimes she annoyed me but mostly I loved her because I understood her completely. Cath is not the only great character in this book: I also loved Reagan and Levi. Reagan takes a little while to warm up to but Levi is AWESOMENESS. He does unintentionally hurt Cath sometimes but he's such a total sweetie (and so obviously into her) that you end up forgiving him. Who wouldn't want a boyfriend like Levi? Not only is he such a sweet guy, but he absolutely NEVER pressures Cath into kissing him or having sex with him (where is my Levi?!!!!!!!!) They make a really great couple. They are so obviously made for each other. Wren, on the other hand, is near impossible to like. I hated the way she treated Cath and she did some really stupid things in her freshman year. But I don't think Rainbow Rowell intended for us to like her. Fangirl is hands down one of the best New Adult books I have ever read (actually one of the few I have ever read, but still.) I will definitely read it again and again and again. When I have a daughter and send her off the college, she is reading this book!!! I highly recommend Fangirl to Rainbow Rowell fans, fans of the New Adult genre, and even teenagers 16+ because aside from Wren's drinking (and she is a minor character,) this book does not stray into bad territory. I'm so glad that I gave Fangirl a chance. I wish all New Adult books were this great.