FANGIRL BY RAINBOW ROWELL
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
“Happily ever after, or even just together ever after, is not cheesy,” Wren said. “It’s the noblest, like, the most courageous thing two people can shoot for.”
― Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl
Synopsis:
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?
I am not even sure where to start with this review. I feel like I am one of the last people in the book community to read this book and I so very much wish I would have had this book my freshman year of college. Even though I am no longer a freshman in college or even in college anymore, this story was so relatable to my life. Even down to the atmosphere and feel of the midwest agricultural college that I experienced. I think the fact that Fangirl took place at at a college much like the one I went to made me fall in love with the book even more. This book was layered with moments that brought back the nostalgia and memories for me. I was also in a sorority and loved the mention of greek life as well!
This book took me back to my time in college and I am so thankful to Rowell for that. She made me remember what it is like trying to find your own way and meeting new people. I could understand Cath and her need to lock herself away in her room and get lost in the fictional world instead of the real one. I believe there is a little bit of fangirl in each of us and for that reason Cath is so relatable and real. Cath was a complex character who had to learn about life as she was going and experiences the good and bad. Cath also goes through a wide array of real life experiences and situations that I appreciated while reading this book. Although I do not consider Levi a fictional crush, I did love his character. Rowell did a fantastic job creating a well rounding loving character, in Levi whom was a perfect complement to Cath. Levi was not flawless, but had a huge heart and I loved that.
Overall I loved the fact that Rowell took such a huge and relatable concept of being a fangirl and fan-fiction and turned it into a brilliant, heart warming and beautiful story. She does not hide any of the real life issues and situations that arise while in college and depicts the agricultural school and life so well! I thought it was fantastic that Rowell also created her own version of Harry Potter and made it her own!
