Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Goodreads rating: 4.18

Summary (Goodreads): 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?

Cover: 4/5

I adore the soft feel for this cover! More paperbacks should be like this!

I have this beautiful yellow cover!   
 

Review: A girl who is obsessed with a fandom. Check. Who likes to write. Check. A lovable love interest. Check check CHECK!

It feels like I am on a role with reading some kick-ass books! Seriously for the couple of hours (I will say 8) I read this book, the experience was so fun and amusing.  After reading The Miniturist, which was not the lightest novel I have read, the Fangirl was like light and airy like a Victoria Sponge. 

Plot: Just like any other contemporary, it follows the life of a quirky character, Cather, whose life takes some unexpected twists and turns. Cather is a fan fiction writer- one of the biggest fanfiction writers in the Simon Smow fandom. But her spunkier, more forward twin, Wren drags her from her comfy world and places her on a frightening place. University.

I though that the plot was refreshing and I found it a bit odd that a story like this hasn’t been written before because we are in the age of the fandom. The book itself was very fast paced with the plot and I never felt that is was dragging on at all. I liked how there were some side plots that didn’t interrupt the main plot or seem unnecessary. But some of the ends of these side plots were a little dodgey. I can’t really say a lot without spooling people…but yeah I actually can’t say a lot but the endings of some of the side plots (I hope any Fangirl fans know what talking about) weren’t very strong.

Characters: Cath is the most relatable character I have read. Yes she was still white, pretty and still of good proportions, but her personality was so me. It felt so weird to relate to a character so strongly from the way they she acts to the way that she talks. Her character arc, though a tad small I have to admit, was nicely done.

Levi. Where do I start about Levi. He’s the typical contemporary boyfriend to put it shortly. But I still loved him all the same. The the book said he smiled I smiled too and I felt that I really connected with him. Weirdly.

The last character I want to talk about is Reagan. She is a badass redhead who is Cath’s roomate. I was just really enjoyed the way Reagan interacted with Cath and Levi. So carefree and funny! Rowell really did well with her character.

What I liked:

–The Characters definitely!

-The overall good feeling atmosphere 

-The extracts from Carry On and some writings from the Simon Snow series. I couldn’t get enough of them!

What I didn’t like:

–Some of the side plot endings were weak

-Too small a character arc from main protagonist

Verdict: I reccomend this book to anyone who is a fan of some romance and who is in a fandom, or anyone who is just looking for a fast paced, light read. 

I’ll write soon.

-Astra