Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Tittle: Fangirl

Standalone

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young-Adult

Page count and format: 433 pages, Paperback

Published: October 2013 by St. Martin’s Griffin (first published September 10th 2013)

Source: Purchased

My rating: 

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Blurb (from Goodreads):

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?

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“To really be a nerd, she’d decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.”

I really, really loved this book. This was the first book I read by Rainbow Rowell and now I’m definitely a fan. Now I can see what the hype is all about, this book is simply irresistible and sweet, the plot, the characters, everything was outstanding. I simply can’t wait to get my hands on her other books.

Fangirl revolves around a girl named Cath. She is a huge Simon Snow fan. Though Simon Snow is coming to an end and they are all grown up, most people her age, even her sister have stopped fangirling over Simon Snow but Cath can’t let go. She even likes to write fanfictions about them. Now, it’s time for them to go to college, Cath had planned all along she is going to live with her twin sister in the same dorm room but Wren denies her because she wants some independence and space between them. Cath is definitely not ready to face the whole new world all alone but she is left with no other choice. She takes solace in what she does best, writing fanfictions and along with that she begins a new adventure of life as well.

The plot was simple and great. It was nothing about the world coming to an end or any of that stuff but it was a simple story, about moving to a new phase of life, getting out of your limited boundary, exploring new things while keeping the old ones with you and not throwing them aside. This is what exactly Cath did, while Wren wanted out, Cath didn’t. Slowly she began to experience everything that a college-goer usually does, making new friends, falling in love. But not for once did she forget about Simon Snow and her fanfictions, they were a continuous part of her life. She was constantly worried about her dad who on the other hand was a great character. I enjoyed the funny voicemails that they shared.

Fangirl was a character driven novel rather than plot which brings me to my next point. I simply adored the characters! Cath and Wren were the complete opposites. Whereas Wren was the life of the party and most popular, Cath was an introvert, she really liked to keep to herself and hide behind her computer screen writing fanfictions. Cath managed so much which is really inspiring. I mean I’m also at college, but studying, blogging, writing fanfictions, all together is simply exhausting but she still managed. According to me, Wren was really a bad sister to Cath but towards the end I was relieved and I really loved it, how they grew close once again.

Reagan, Cath’s roommate was really awsome. She was snarky, brutally honest but really good at heart.

“Reagan was sitting up at Cath’s desk when Cath woke up.
“Are you awake?”
“Have you been watching me sleep?”
“Yes, Bella. Are you awake?”
“No.”

And she was simply hilarious at times. I cracked up at this Twilight reference. (I mean no disrespect to Twilight, even I love it but this was just really funny!) 😛

Levi was another cute and adorable character. At first when he did that stupid mistake and Cath saw it, I was angry, heartbroken and horrified. I wanted to bash his head into a wall. (Yeah, calm down people!) But well finally when they cleared things up, I was soooo happy. He was really a unique character, he was understanding and reaaaally cute. And I really loved the aspect that he loved to hear Cath’s fanfictions. Cath was really lucky to get someone like him. (I really want someone like this guy!) *SIGHS*

The writing was beautiful. There was not a lot of action going on throughout the whole book, but not for once did I feel bored. The pages easily flew by for me. I specially loved the snippets of fanfictions which were given at the end of each chapter. I was always eagerly waiting to finish a chapter so that I could read the snippets. And with that I remember, I’m really exited to read Carry On where we will be reading Cath’s fanfiction which she was writing throughout this book.

Overall, Fangirl was simply superb. The plot was simple yet intersting, it featured the ups and downs that we go through in life. I specially loved the characters, they were relatable, full of depth and personality. The writing was beautiful. Everything just felt so real. I loved each and every moment of this book. To end this review in a beautiful note-

“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.”

Recommend it?

If you love contemporary, and coming-of-age stories, then you’ll definitely love it. And those who doesn’t read contemporary that much, should definitely give this book a try! I’m sure you’ll end up loving it like me.

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Have you fangirls/boys read Fangirl yet? Loved it? Liked it? Hated it? Share your opinions with me!

• 4 butterflies out of 5
• contemporary
• Fangirl
• Rainbow Rowell
• romance
• Young-Adult