Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publishing Date: September 10th, 2013

Pages: 483 
Audio Length: 12 Hours and 49 Minutes

Genre: YA Contemporary
TW: Underage drinking

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park. 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?

What made me pick this book up: 

I see this book literally everywhere, it's hard not to notice it. I've read many reviews and have had many people tell me I need to read it.

What did I like about the cover: 

The cover is okay. I like how it shows the characters drawn. But it's kind of boring to me. 

What made me read this book: 

Like I said, everyone tells me to read it. And I love what it's about. I used to write Harry Potter fan fiction *eye roll* so I can kinda relate. Plus I have anxiety, she has anxiety, she's awkward I'm awkward, she's geeky, I'm geeky. Etc.

What did I like the most: 

I think I really liked how much I could relate to this book. To the characters. 

Like I said up there, I have anxiety, really bad. So when she would freak out about things, I totally understood. 

I love reading books about people with mental health issues. Anxiety, depression, etc. I have my own issues and I feel like this being put into a book is making it seem like the issues are not only real, but that we're not crazy. 

I also understood the geeky portion of this. I used to write Harry Potter fanfiction, and I loved reading it. So I totally understood why she wanted to write it, and the excitement of it. 

I love that this book really promotes her getting out of her comfort zone. She makes friends, she goes out. It isn't easy, but she does it. And that's really great.

I also love how she grows up. She used to rely on her twin sister and her fan fiction, but then she realizes there's more to life than that.

I also really love Levi. I fell in love with him the first time we meet him. He's goofy and sweet and caring. 

I think the parts where her twin is drinking is also really important. Again it shows that underage drinking is a very real problem. I love books that bring light to it.

The writing is really great, and relatable. It was an easy read, even if it was a bit slow.

What didn't I like: 

It was a little slow, it took me a bit to get into it. I felt myself thinking I didn't understand the hype.

I also didn't care for the sections of her fanfic, I just didn't care for it. I want to read Carry On, but I'm really hesitant to. 

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I think so! I'm especially excited for

Overall I'm really glad I finally read this book, and it's definitely really good.

“To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.” 
― Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they're screwing up. And people who fall in love.
When she's not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things.
She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

More at rainbowrowell.com.