Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell ~ Impeccable Reviews

Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 438




In Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, 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? Open her heart to someone? Or will she just go on living inside somebody else’s fiction?

My Review

I have felt for a long time that I had to read this book sooner or later since almost everyone who has read one of Rainbow Rowell's books has loved it. Fangirl is probably one of her books that has gotten the most hype in the book blogging and booktube world. Now that I have read it I am very happy that I did because I really enjoyed it. 

Cather is the main character who has an identical twin sister named Wren. Get it? Cather, Wren.....like Catherine. Yeah I laughed pretty hard when I noticed this. Cath is a new freshman in college and she is really just trying to get by because she is quite socially awkward. Wren on the other hand is a party animal. Cather is also a very talented and popular fanfiction writer for her favorite books, The Simon Snow Series (which if you don't already know is very similar to Harry Potter). After Wren refuses to room with Cath in the college dorms, Cath gets paired up with a very blunt and a seemingly unfriendly roomate named Reagan. Then from there, Cath meets one of Reagan best friends Levi who is very social and all smiles. Cath and Wren were not really my favorite characters in the beginning because I felt Cath was a little to antisocial and Wren was a little to adventurous, but by the end I really loved both of them. I found Reagan to be a very interesting and entertaining character, and let's just say I liked Levi from the very beginning.

This book is definitely very modern. There are many reference to popular culture which makes the story relatable. The romance in this book was wonderful. There were a few lines that I found a bit cheesy, but nevertheless they were great as well. At the end of almost every chapter there are excerpts from either the Simon Snow books or the fanfictions Cather has written. Also in between there is a story going on between the Simon Snow and Baz from the series as Cath reads the fanfiction she has written to Levi. I did find that at some points I was so eager to move on with the main plot that I just wanted to move quickly through the Simon and Baz story and continue on with the real story. The ending was nice, but I was wishing for a little more. I was hoping for some at partial resolutions to Cath and Wren's family issues, and also I  kind of hoped there would be some cute scene to finalize Cath's relationship. That being said, the ending was still pretty good which actually consisted on Cath reading out loud another Simon Snow and Baz scene.

My Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

Disclaimer

FTC Disclaimer: Books specified to be in the "ARC" or "eARC" format were sent to me for free by the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review. How I acquired these items does not have an effect on my opinions and thoughts on them in my reviews. Everything written on this blog are my honest opinions only unless otherwise stated!

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