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 that 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?
UPDATED REVIEW:
MY OPINION: *****
I still loved this book the second time around, which is an amazing achievement!
Of course, there were things about it that I hadn't picked up on before or maybe hadn't thought about or fully understood. However, those weren't detrimental to the story itself and so I loved it all the same.
Cather and Wren are identical twins who are completely different people personality-wise. I personally identified right between them because I don't think of myself as beyond socially awkward or completely party-girl. Cath is more of an introverted, socially awkward, writer-nerd who loves to be alone, something that I can definitely relate to. Wren is more of a party-person who has a couple of alcohol scares and a lot of friends. She's easygoing and I relate to her ability to fake things and suck it up to make friends. I've had to deal with that for a long time of my life and I loved seeing that part of my personality coming alive in a character in a beautiful fictional world.
I was reading through my old review and I want to touch upon the points I mentioned there and see how it has changed this time around (by the way, I last read this at the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017 so a LONG time ago):
1. College. I just started high school and am already almost done with my first year and it's been going by so fast. I can only imagine how fast college is going to be. I'm honestly excited to go to college and become an independent person though it would be nice to have a twin and a Levi.
2. Simon Snow and the FanFiction. AHHH I LOVED THESE. I feel like the first time around I didn't love this so much but now, I honestly LOVED it and am definitely going to try to get my hands on a copy of Carry On ASAP. I used to be an AVID FF WRITER but lately, I haven't been posting or updating. I think it would be nice to get back into that and just have a little bit of fun amongst the schoolwork.
3. Nick. SO apparently I hated Nick the first time around but this time, at least for the beginning, I really did like him. He seemed like a genuinely nice and creative guy. However, after re-finding out what he did, I felt the same rush of anger as before but it was more of a gradual thing when before it was just all-at-once all-the-time.
4. LEVI. The first time I didn't love him but I did ship him with Cath for the sake of the story. However this time around, I felt like it was the exact opposite. I loved everything about him: his laugh, his smile, his optimism, his positivity. But I didn't ship him with Cath. I'm sorry but for me, the chemistry wasn't there anymore. There were times when it was like a slow-burn romance where the characters were both oblivious to each other's feelings but it almost felt like a generic Wattpad story at times when it comes to romance. However, I think it did add to the story's overall appeal so that definitely is a plus.
5. Eleanor and Park vs Fangirl. AHHHH now that I've read both of them twice, I can say confidently that I will always love Fangirl just a little bit more because of how much more I personally related to the characters. Fangirl is amazing and definitely Rainbow Rowell's best work in my opinion.
6. The dad. I definitely understood a lot more about what he was going through with his depression and alcohol addiction and stress after his two kids fly the coop at the same time (that must suck!). I felt really bad for him. Before, I think I honestly didn't really care about the role he played but this time I saw how much of a mentor he had to be for his kids and I admired that about him.
I would recommend this book for readers looking for a good realistic fiction novel!
Main Character: Cath
Sidekick(s): Wren, Levi, Dad, Reagan, Simon and Baz (technically), etc
Villain(s): Nick (technically), college, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this could happen in real life, though it does not mean that it actually will.
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