Fangirl

Hey guys! It's been a while. I have to admit, I've been in a reading slump lately and just couldn't find anything I wanted to read. The only two books I read over the summer were... for school.

Pathetic, right? I think it's because I've been reading way too many dystopian YA novels and I've found myself growing tired of them. So instead, I decided to check out a realistic-fiction author I've heard good things about, Rainbow Rowell. Her more well-known book, Eleanor and Park, wasn't available at the library, so I decided to settle on one of her other books, Fangirl.

And wow I enjoyed this book so much.

A brief synopsis from Amazon:

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?

Let's talk about the fanfiction. One unique thing about this book is that it includes several excerpts from the (fictional) Simon Snow series and Cath's own fanfiction story. To be honest, these excerpts were probably my favorite part of the entire book, because it's like a reading a spin-off from Harry Potter (which I LOVE) but it's different enough to make it its own. Fangirl is like two stories in one; Cath's college life and the fictional world she writes about.

Cath and her twin sister Wren were close growing up, especially after their mom left them when they were younger. But now that they are starting college, Wren wants some independence. The two are very different from each other; Wren is more outgoing and likes to go to parties and get drunk, and Cath is more introverted, preferring to lock herself up in her room and write fanfiction all day. Throughout their freshman year, they hardly talk to each other and when they do, it always turns into an argument. By the end of the book however, Wren reconciles with Cath and they are drawn back together through the world of Simon Snow, which I found really touching. Two twins, gone their separate ways, are brought back together because they are sisters and know each other best.

The romance in this book was so cute and sweet. Unlike a lot of YA books where a lot of the romance feels fake or forced, Cath and this guy (name undisclosed to prevent spoilers) start out as acquaintances and slowly develops into something beyond friendship. His and Cath's personalities were both really likable and I thought they were perfect for each other.

Overall I absolutely loved this book, and I look forward to reading more of Rainbow Rowell's books. It's a perfect blend of realistic-fiction, fantasy (Simon Snow), humor, romance, and character development. I recommend it to anyone looking for a light and cute read because I fell in love with the characters and I know you will too.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars