Fangirl

 Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell

Genre:  Young Adult/New Adult
Pages:  448
Published:  9/10/13 by St. Martins Press
Format: ebook

My rating:
4 out of 5 stars 







I have read all three of Rainbow Rowell's books this year (see my other reviews here and here).  And I can say with confidence that I am definitely a fan!

Rowell's newest book, Fangirl, is about fans!  Cath is the world's biggest Simon Snow fan (Simon Snow is suspiciously similar to Harry Potter).  Along with her twin sister Wren, she not only reads and studies all of the Simon Snow books, but she also writes Simon Snow fanfiction.  When Cath and Wren go to college, Wren quickly abandons Cath (and Simon Snow) for the sake of exploring a brand new world.  But Cath would prefer to live in her fictional world rather than interact with real people, like her rude roommate who always speaks her mind or the handsome guy who is always hanging around Cath but couldn't possibly be interested in someone like her.  Fangirl is a coming of age story about Cath's adjustment through her first year of college. 

My description of the book is not doing it justice.  This is a great little story!  Rainbow Rowell's writing is just so much fun to read!  I love her style.  I love the way that she can get inside the mind of insecure, nerdy, introverted characters.  I love the way she describes the awkward clumsiness of new relationships.  I love how her characters always seem so real.  I love her humor and wit and dialogue.  Rowell writes with the perfect blend of sweetness and humor without being cheesy or sappy.  Her books are cute, and I mean that in the best way possible!

My only complaint with Fangirl is the Simon Snow fanfiction parts.  Interspersed throughout the book are portions from the Simon Snow books as well as Cath's Simon Snow fanfiction.  I understand why Rowell included them as a part of this novel, but I really didn't care much for them at all.  I ended up skimming over most of the Simon Snow parts, and I don't feel like I really missed too much.  I probably would have given this book five stars if it weren't for the fanfiction excerpts.

I also didn't love the ending.  The book ends with a portion of Cath's fanfiction, rather than her actual story.  And I think that is why I don't like it.  Because the fanfiction was my least favorite part of the book, it was anti-climactic to read it as an ending.  I wanted the book to end with Cath's real life story and not her fictional world.

Regardless of my complaints, this was a fun book. It made me smile.  A lot. I will be first in line to read Rainbow Rowell's next book!