Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell

"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?"


The characters of Fangirl were so impressively lively, each with their own quirks and habits, that I can imagine myself meeting individuals like them in real life. I loved reading from Cath's perspective, as I could really relate to her at times. Her neurotic tendencies and social fears made me sympathetic of her, while her writing abilities and the importance she placed on family led me to admire her character. The struggles Cath faces as a Freshman in college seem very realistic to me, and were especially rewarding for me to read about because I am a Senior in high school, and that reality is imminent for me. Levi and Cath's father were other of my favorites; even Reagan and Wren came around, and I did love Nick at the beginning. Rainbow Rowell did it again, just as I knew she would.

Also, can I just emphasize just how well this book describes creativity and the act of writing fiction? I found myself nodding my head as I read the sections in which Cath sat in her fiction writing classes. It was pretty amazing.
This book made me want to curl up in bed with a book, or my laptop, alone with hot chocolate, and just appreciate the originality and creativity of things. This book described a nerd as being one who prefers fictional worlds to the real one, and I can't help but think that, at times, I do just that.


5/5 stars.