Review: Fangirl

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Publication Date: September 10th, 2013
Genre: Contemporary
Amazon/Barnes and Noble

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?

I absolutely LOVED Fangirl. And, yes, the all-caps is a big pointer to how much I think my friends should read this wonderfully written book. *cough cough* Please? This may or may not be more of a short worshiping than a review, just warning you. I feel like I should also say sorry in advance for all the exclamation points. I'll tone 'em down for you... maybe.

Something about the book was just plain sweet. Was it the romance? Cath's love of Fan-fiction? Her growing friendship with her unique roommate? The sister bond between Cather and Wren? (Cathe-rine. Get it?)The answer is ALL of those things, and more.

Also, there are many heavier topics. What happens when your Mom just gets up and leaves? What happens to the daughters and husband? Well, Wren starts going out... and getting into trouble. Cath finds solace in her Fanfic and stays mostly in her room. Their Dad needs a little help. I LOVED (see the all caps again) how heartwarming/breaking the whole story was, I cried a little and smiled, a lot! I also read this book in only one night. I was completely pulled into Cath's world!

The romance also deserves a full fivestars. Cath and unnamed love interest have such awesome interactions! (I'm not telling who! hehehe) It was so darn sweet! And real, and meaningful, and all that jazz. Oh, darn, now I'm singing All That Jazz from the movie Chicago! Back to the topic Em. Oh yeah! One of my favorite characters in the book is, um, we'll call this love interest Smiley... okay? Well, Smiley was one of my favorite characters. Can I marry that guy? He is nice and funny and... loves energy bars! (Which is what I live on.)

Overall, um, READ THIS BOOK! (Or, at least read it if you think Fangirl may be up your alley) And also, Simon Snow is awesome, even though it isn't real, (I think) After reading this, I feel like it is! And the ending of the book was perfect. Wow, I need to stop raving, this was supposed to be a the concluding paragraph.

This about sums my thought up: Rainbow Rowell is amazing.

*Please note I received this book through Firstreads. That factor, however, did not influence this 100% honest review. (I have given out numero uno stars to books I have received from Firstreads before.)*

5 Stars