Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): A coming-of-age tale of fanfiction, 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 fanfiction, 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 fanfiction 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? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

MY OPINION: *****

This book had so much information that I wanted to include in this post that I literally had to make a list on a Post-It while reading!

LOVED IT LOVED IT

Definitely one of my favorite books now!

OK, I'm going to try to cover everything and not make this too long, but I can't make any promises.

First, Cath's introduction to Fiction-Writing in college is definitely something I want to do! For those of you who don't know, I want to be a writer and major in English, and this class that Cath took is definitely something I would want to take! It was also cool that she got into the class before she was even old enough!

Second, there are so many references to The Outsiders in all of these books lately! I had never even heard of The Outsiders until I read it for class, and now it's literally everywhere!

Third, I've never read a book where the character is set in college. It's always high school, middle school, or no school for me. This book was definitely fun and it sort of prepared me for college in a way.

Fourth, Simon Snow was a really interesting story. Rainbow Rowell wrote a book called Carry On, which was really an important part of this story. It is the fanfiction that Cath was working on in the whole book, and I really want to read Carry On.

Fifth, I love how much fanfiction there is! For those of you who don't know, I just started writing fanfiction, so this book really resonated with me in that way. It was cool to hear how popular Cath was in the fanfiction world.

SPOILER ALERT

I HATED NICK. Did anyone else? I must admit, my feelings about Nick changed a lot in the book. In the beginning, I wasn't worried about Nick as much; he was a great writing partner and he seemed smart. He was kind of a potential lover, but I never thought about it, because I knew it would always be Levi. Towards the middle, when Nick betrayed Cath for his own future, I hated Nick even more! I had always hated Nick since the start without ever knowing why and now I just had some evidence to back me up. At the end, I couldn't help but laugh when Cath told Nick to do it himself and got back on him, but I did feel a little bit sorry for him.

Levi. I have mixed feelings about Levi. I understand that Cath and him are meant for each other, but I felt like Levi wasn't the most understandable character. He wasn't as well drawn as some of the other characters were. But I do like him, just for the sake of the story. He is so friendly to everyone.

Wren was a complete opposite of Cath. I think that that shows something: twins aren't exactly the same. Just because you may look the same doesn't mean you are the same. Wren was a normal college freshman, partying, drinking, and Cath was the person who stayed in her room writing while everyone else was out partying. I think that this shows that not everyone is the same. Also, I hated the times when Wren and Cath were fighting; it made me so angry because sisters aren't supposed to do that to each other.

Eleanor and Park was nothing compared to this story. This book wasn't as confusing, I could relate more to it, and nothing in this story was too inappropriate. There was a few minor things, like drinking or smoking, and mild inappropriate behavior, but nothing was actually written down. It was cut off.

Professor Piper and her thoughts on fanfiction kind of made me angry, but I can understand her feelings and whys and the hows. She made a lot of sense, but she still made me feel angry. But she is definitely one of my favorite characters in the book.

I was a little bit confused about their dad's instability, but as that was not drawn on too much, I slightly disregarded it.

I think that this book has a solid five stars. I wouldn't give it more if I could, but I definitely wouldn't give it less. It's one-of-a-kind.

I would recommend this book for YA readers and fans of realistic fiction.

Main Character: Cath
Sidekick(s): Wren, Levi, Dad, Reagan, Simon and Baz, etc
Villain(s): Nick (in a way), college, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this could happen in real life, though it does not mean that it actually will.