Review: Fangirl

I received this book for free from FTC: Exchange for honest opinion, Publisher, Review in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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?

I have head amazing things about Rainbow Rowell and her book Eleanor and Park but I have yet had the chance to read that book. However, I was able to pick up Fangirl and the cover is what first caught my attention. I feel that it did not look like a typical YA cover. It had originality and somewhat of a “geek” feeling to it and that is what made me love it as well as love the book.

The story is told through the perspective of a girl named Cath who is Simon Snow’s fanatic. She is about to start college and this is where we start seeing the little things about Cath that make her unique in her own little way. She has a twin sister, Wren, and although they are stuck together growing up, college splits them apart. Cath now has to face the world that college has to offer.

The story felt so different for me that it was a little hard for me to get into and I did have to take breaks every now and then but at the same time, it made me fall even more in love with the book. Strange! I know exactly what Cath is going through because this is exactly what I went through when I was in college, minus the divorce parents and sharing a room with someone. I was able to connect with Cath and the story on multiple levels and sometimes that is very hard to do with a book because most books are not realistic fiction like this one.

Cath is the type of person who would rather stay locked up inside her room, instead of going out to a party. I know what she is going through. She goes through different ordeals that I feel help her become a more dynamic character and allows her to open up more towards the end of the story.

The romance is so cute and I hope that one day, I will be able to find someone to sweep me off my feet just like Cath was. I just love the whole idea of their relationship just because of one thing. It felt real!

Overall this book was cute on so many levels and I am dying to see what other works Rowell has in store. This is a book that cannot be read in one sitting but over a couple of days. Take this journey and become a fan of Fangirl.

A contemporary that matches that of reality.

I give this book 5 bites!