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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Published September 10th 2013 by St. Martin's Press
Genre: YA/New Adult contemporary
$18.99 (US Hardback)
433 pages
What it's about:
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?
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?
My thoughts:
This is one of those books that even though it's been a few months since I've borrowed it from my local library and read it, every time I see it out in the wild, I get excited and go "I love that book!" I then have to talk myself out of buying it because I need to buy books that I haven't read before. This always takes a lot of will power on my part because I love this book just that much.
Contemporary books can always be hit or miss with me. I try to avoid the books which are all about a teen trying to gain popularity. I find those lacking imagination for the most part. It really takes a phenomenal plot and writing style for me to love contemporary and Rainbow Rowell has both. This book is right up there with John Green as my favorite YA contemporary books. Yes, to me, it's just that good.
While reading, I was pacing myself. I didn't want to read Fangirl in one sitting because then it would be over. I wouldn't have anymore of Cath and Wren and Simon Snow to read about. I was sucked into this world of college and fandom because I could relate so well. I too am a fangirl and have done all the things Cath has for her fandom, all but write fanfiction. All the characters were so believable. They had flaws, they didn't figure out all their problems, and everything happened over a long enough period of time.
I could easily keep talking about my love of this book, but I won't because I don't want to bore you. Or spoilers. I will end this review with saying that Rainbow Rowell has now earned her spot on my "automatic buy" list. I will now read whatever she is writing and I will definitely be rereading Fangirl some point in the future.
My rating: 10/10
