Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013
Genre: YA Contemporary
Buy: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ TBD
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? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
It’s confession time and I must say that I haven’t read any of Rainbow Rowell’s books before. I deeply regret it! Fangirl has just restored my love for YA contemporaries and stirred the fanfic-loving side of me. But this isn’t just a story about a girl who writes fanfics. It’s about introverts, anxiety, freshmen in college, first love, growing up, individuality, and a whole other bucketful of stuff. Rowell wraps it all up in a heartwarming story that will have you reading well into the night.
Cather is not the first socially awkward heroine I’ve read, but she certainly is the most accurate and realistic in my opinion. I identified myself with many of the things she felt and did, like wanting to stay in her room writing instead of going to a party, the hyperawareness she felt whenever there were people around, thinking that smiling is confusing because it can send wrong signals. I could only read on and think ACCURATE. Cath doesn’t only have to deal with these personal issues, she also has to deal with her twin sister Wren who seems intent on drinking herself silly more often than not, her father who isn’t coping that well with living on his own, and her mother who after abandoning them when they were little wants to get to know them. Of course, lets not forget having to deal with a roommate and boys.
Though, really, I wanted to hit Cath with something. I wish I had her luck and had a Reagan and Levi in my life to take me out on bowling dates and interrupt me on days I want to stay locked up like a sad little hermit. Scary Roomate is Awesome. Most of the quotes I highlighted had Reagan speaking. Perfect Levi is Perfect. I’ll take a pumpkin mocha breve with Levi on the side, please. The guy just cracked me up the second he appeared on the page and started talking. Sure, he messed up, but really? Who doesn’t these days? I actually liked that he did slip, because it was more realistic.
Now, the big aspect of this book is all the talk about fanfiction. Well, it’s not just talk. There are quoted pieces of the fanfiction Cath writes, plus quotes from the original (fictional) books she’s doing the fanfics on. It almost felt like I was reading two separate stories, but they totally mashed together beautifully. Like, I really wanted to search for some Simon and Baz fanfics! The thing that shocked me the most is that I actually liked the quotes from Cath’s fanfics better than the ones from the original (fictional) books. *gasp* Cath wanting to live in a fictional world and seeing the characters as if they were real people was pretty normal for me. I’m a writer. I totally get it.
But some happenings did make me frown, like when Cath hands a fanfic for a school assignment. Seriously? Also, the fact that she refused to write any original work. Like I understood her arguments, but I would’ve seen it as a challenge, a chance to write something different and to grow as a writer. She did sign up for a Creative Writing major. Did she think she would be writing Simon and Baz forever? This didn’t make sense to me. Last but not least, I would have never ever fought with my boyfriend over missing a made up deadline for a fanfic. I guess I’m not that much of a fangirl? The ending left me feeling like there was something missing. I like my endings to be nicely wrapped in a bow with all avenues mostly closed, but this was a sort of open ending. I was never sure that Cath fully understood why writing her own stories was better, and she never did solve her mom issues.
Favorite Quotes:
~Meeting People~
“Are you meeting people?”Yeah, she thought, you people.
“Not intentionally,” she said.
~Scary Roommate Ain’t So Bad~
“—I don’t know where the dining hall is.”“You’ve been living here more than a month.”
“I know.”
“And you haven’t found the dining hall?”
“I haven’t actually looked.”
“Why haven’t you asked someone? You could have asked me.”
Cath rolled her eyes and looked at Reagan. “Do you really want me asking you stupid questions?”
“If they’re about food, water, air, or shelter—yes. Jesus, Cath, I’m your roommate.”
~Iceberg of Crazy~
“Guys like Levi don’t date girls like me.”“Again—the girl kind?”
“Guys like Levi date girls like you.”
“And what does that mean?” Reagan asked, tilting her head.
“Normal,” Cath said. “Pretty.”
Reagan rolled her eyes.
“No,” Cath said, “seriously. Look at you. You’ve got your shit together, you’re not scared of anything. I’m scared of everything. And I’m crazy. Like maybe you think I’m a little crazy, but I only ever let people see the tip of my crazy iceberg. Underneath this veneer of slightly crazy and socially inept, I’m a complete disaster.”
~Scary Roommate Ain’t So Bad pt3~
Reagan was sitting at Cath’s desk when Cath woke up.“Are you awake?”
“Have you been watching me sleep?”
“Yes, Bella. Are you awake?”
