I got a finished copy of this book for review from St. Martins Press. This book will be released on September 10th.
Summary:
From the author 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 Thoughts:
Plot-
After finishing Rowell's first young adult novel Eleanor & Park I knew I had to read her second one, Fangirl as a fellow fangirl myself.
The story follows Cath, a big fan of The Simon Snow series, 7 (and soon to be 8) books about a boy named Simon who goes to a magical school. There he finds friends like Penelope, and enemies like his roomate Baz.
But Cath isn't just a fan, she writes popular fanfiction online, has Simon posters all over her room, and much more. Being a fan is part of her life. A big part.
But when Cath starts going to collage, things change. She has a strange roommate who isn't too found of her Simon obsession, her twin sister Wren is growing distant, and she has a professor that doesn't seem to understand how much fanfiction means to her and how writing about something else just isn't the same. Sure the characters and world might not be Cath's, but the story is. She didn't steal Simon and Baz from the author, she just borrowed them for a little while.
What I love about Rowell's books is that there's always more to the story then the description. For example, Eleanor & Park wasn't just about two teenagers falling in love, it was also about bullying and a girl's abusive stepfather.
So Fangirl wasn't just about a huge fangirl and her starting collage (though I did love that story line) Cath also had to deal with her father's mental health and her feelings about her mother that left her as a child wanting to be part of her life again. There's also some pretty adorable romance, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
This book was very unique in ways. I've never seen anything like it before. In between each chapter there was an excerpt from something Simon Snow releated: a page from the wiki, an article about the books, a page from the actual books or from Cath's slash fan-fiction. Overall, I loved every part of this book and can't wait to re-read it.
Characters-
Like everything in this book, the characters were very strong. Cath was an excellent protagonist. I loved seeing her grow and change through out the novel.
Wren, Cath's twin sister, is a perfect example of how twins are not the same person. Cath is uptight and a bit conservative while Wren on the other hand is the stereotypical collage student: partying, having sex, and getting drunk to no end. I'm sure there are some people that do, but I didn't hate Wren. Everyone gets a bit crazy at points in their life but she still obviously cared for her sister.
Of course, the roommate Reagan, was an interesting character. At first she seems a bit odd, probably the worst roommate Cath could have imagined having. She has a clingy boyfriend, is a bit violent, does drugs, smokes, you name it. But eventually they warm up to each other and Cath & Reagan, are even able to have a weird relationship that you can't exactly call being friends.
I loved Cath and Wren's father. I think his name was Arthur, but I can't be sure so I'll just call him Mr. Avery. He seemed like a hands on single dad which you don't see that much because usually either the mother takes the kid(s) after the divorce, or the father of the children leave. Not the other way around. He wants the best for his daughters, and convinces them not to give up. He seems like a good father though he did has his faults like all of us.
And finally, of course I loved Levi. Such a sweetheart. It was just the little things that made me love him. Like the fact that Reagan gave him a key to her dorm in case of emergencies but he still waits outside the door for her to come and let him in because it's not an emergency. Or that he grew up on a ranch- I've always wanted to like on a ranch or farm.
There were other characters in the book like Professor Piper, Courtney, and Jandro, but they were only in a couple of scenes so I decided to just focus on these 5.
Overall-
Overall, I ADORED this book. I seriously am in love with Rainbow's books and can't decide whether i like this one or Eleanor & Park better. I'm planning on reading her adult book Attachments soon and can't wait for the release of her next book Landlines coming out spring 2014.
★★★★★
Piper
Please note that the author, publisher, or any one else did not make me wright this positive review. I honestly did enjoy Fangirl. Whenever I review a book I received from publisher I always share my honest thoughts on it.
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