Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell 
Published: September 10, 2013
Genre: YA Contemporary 
My Rating: ★★★



Goodreads Synopsis: 

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park.

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. 

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?



My Review: 

I have a real problem I need to work on. It's called "Building very high expectations of books I haven't read, or even bought yet." Which is why I didn't buy the ebook in the first place; I waited until my bookstore had the physical copy (and until my expectations for it hit the roof). But who cares? Now, I have the pretty spine on my bookshelf.

Cath is a college freshman who writes Simon Snow fan fiction (which has many references to Harry Potter). I do enjoy reading fan fiction from time to time, but Carry On (the fanfic Cath writes) just wasn't for me. I wasn't too keen about it, and I found myself skimming through those parts. I found the main character Cath and her twin sister, Wren kind of obnoxious and whiny at times, but thankfully, things got better as the story progressed. For the most part, I enjoyed the characters.They were actually pleasant people. They weren't perfect book/movie characters. I think that anyone that reads this book will see even the slightest part of themselves. In that aspect, I related to Cath because at times, I too get kind of anxious around people and prefer to stay home and catch up on reading or tv.

Fangirl is my second Rainbow Rowell read. Eleanor and Park was my first. One of my favorites, actually. Which is why I should stop setting high expectations for books based on my love for others. It's a bad habit, as Fangirl didn't meet the VERY high standards I had set for it, and now I'm kind of disappointed, which is why I gave it only 3 stars.

Who Do I Recommend This To: Fangirls (and fanboys) who like fanfic ..... and Harry Potter.