BOOK REVIEW 'Fangirl'

Fangirl

By: Rainbow Rowell

For those of you who may have not figured it out yet, I consider myself to be a really huge nerdy fangirl who will take sci-fi and a good book over reality TV any day and when I saw this book on the library shelf one day, the title struck me. The title “Fangirl” in itself already promised a main character I could relate to on some level that wasn’t typical in the literature world and it was extremely intriguing. I picked it up on a whim and completely fell in love.

The story begins on college move in day for Cather Avery and her twin sister Wren. They’ve shared a room all their life, and that especially helped them when their mom left the family when they were very young, though Wren suggested this year the two of them get different roommates to broaden their horizons and Cath is still having a hard time dealing with that. She really sees Wren as being her rock, someone to share secrets and clothes with, and to talk about Simon Snow with. In the universe of this book Simon Snow is about the equivalent of Harry Potter. Simon is a magician going to school to refine his magic and fight the Insidious Humdrum and there’s a ton more Harry Potter references the author wrote in even down to the point of who the readers see as a couple, or ‘ship’ in fandom terms. It’s a fairly popular thought among the Harry Potter fans that Harry and Draco Malfoy, who in a sense hate each other most of the time, should be a couple and Cath ships the Simon equivalent of Simon and Baz. She believes in them so much she spends a lot of her free time writing fanfiction of the two being a couple. It used to be a thing she did with Wren until Wren decided she was too cool to take part in such things and instead spends her time at college parties.

Cath grows increasingly shy without her sister by her side and for the longest time wouldn’t even leave her room to go get meals, instead choosing to gorge herself on granola bars she kept in her dorm. Reagan, her roommate and her ex-boyfriend Levi, whom Cath hasn’t talked too much for an almost borderline fear of them, notices the increasing amount of energy bar wrappers in the garbage can and the fact that Cath never really seems to leave forces her to come out with them. Though at the time, Cath doesn’t know that Reagan and Levi once dated and had broken up long ago, so that romantic spark she feels with him, let’s be honest, must be present somewhere because it’s a YA book, quickly goes by the wayside and she slowly allows herself to develop a social life. Though, hers mostly consists of writing secessions at the campus library with one of her writing classmate and bowling with the roommates. How she chooses to go out on a Friday night is only one more way that I connect with Cath because that’s basically me and my friends.

As the friendship grows, Levi begins to show that maybe that spark Cath feels whenever she is around him isn’t one sided. He walks her home from her midnight library runs so she doesn’t have to by herself, drives her home to see her dad when she needs to, and does a whole lot of other things that I personally thought were adorable and if some guy did for me I maybe wouldn’t be the single high schooler that I am, and by the end of the book I’m not quite sure who loves him more, Cath or I. I guess what makes this relationship different from almost every other teen book is that it is used to help both of them grow instead of just a constant string of ‘I love you’ and kissing. Cath slowly learns to face her fears and anxieties through him and her character is a constant evolution of gaining self-confidence. And, just like a good boyfriend should, instead of condemning Cath’s love of the Simon Snow series, Levi takes up an interest in it himself and encourages her passion toward it. I guess that was what sealed the deal for me because it’s not exactly an easy trait to find.

The book combines a very enjoyable plot with characters that are clearly written for the audience she is targeting and I don’t know if I could even explain how much I loved that. I would recommend it to all of my fellow fangirls out there and anyone who needs proof you don’t have to give up the things you love to meet a guy.

Pages: 445

Read In: 2 weeks

Rating: 9/10

Ages: 15+ up

Four Categories: Romance, High School (College) Problems,