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caelix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
(Also i related to the dad which is probably not good but oh well!)
Edited my review down bcs I remembered some moment and cringed again
Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Minor: Incest, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
leonormsousa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
- will fall shortly of the expectations since YA books are not really my thing anymore
- ended up loving it even more than the first time (2013)!
WHAT I ENJOYED
- It’s just so funny and wholesome and cute → it made me feel so incredibly happy reading it
- Even though this is YA, I related to the MC much more this time around, maybe because she’s in uni (like me) and suffers from social anxiety (which I started having a couple of years ago)
- The fast pace just kept me completely glued to the pages
- As a bookworm, I felt a lot of myself in Cath and the nerdy vibes are immaculate
- Having read Carry On just made me more nostalgic (?) reading Fangirl again
- The characters are well-developed and feel very real (no one is perfect!) and it’s interesting seeing Cath navigate through her relationships
READ IF YOU ENJOY
- cute fun and lighthearted YA contemporary romances
- bookish and nerdish references
- the topics of writing and fanfiction
Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Abandonment
rach981's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Minor: Alcoholism and Mental illness
elliereadsthings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
OH! And don’t get me started on Cath… Wren…
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, and Abandonment
peachg3m's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Abandonment
Minor: Forced institutionalization
loverofeels's review against another edition
5.0
still very enjoyable, though the pacing is a bit weird. lots of lines of dialogue that are excruciatingly 2013, not in a good way (the one that i think annoys me the most is levi reacting to the creepy guy in the bar by bringing up cath and wren's FATHER, as if the dad is the one who is most wronged in that situation).
but i giggled multiple times while reading?
but that being said i wouldn't necessarily recommend <i>fangirl</i> to anybody, both out of shame and out of disliking the author and the many questionable/outright harmful aspects of this work and those in her other books...
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Rape
literarypenguin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The writing was good and I enjoyed that at the end of every chapter was a piece of fanfiction written by Cath and sometimes her sister Wren or an excerpt of the Simon Snow books. It showed an appreciation of fandom and how it tied into the main story. The pace was pretty easy to follow except the beginning was a bit slow at first but then it picked up its pace the more you got into the book. The ending was something out of nightmares, I hated how it left off on a cliffhanger not really resolving much of what happened and leaving it in the air. What hurts the worst is that it may never be resolved as the book was written as a standalone. Despite all this, the writing was fine and enjoyable for the most part.
Fangirl focuses on Cather Avery and her navigating her first year of college and all the trials and tribulations that come with it. It follows her trying to tackle all her new classes, having a roommate that isn’t her twin sister for the first time, and even having her first real romantic relationship. The story is the most relatable story I have read, It talks about the stresses of college so accurately and how it can be a lot for people to handle. One of the central conflicts Cath faces is her writing assignment and keeping her scholarship for her Fiction Writing class. She has to learn how to balance her writing of works that she loves like her fanfiction and writing projects for her class allowing her to explore new worlds and create her own. The only thing I wish the plot did more was to focus on Cath becoming a better writer and improve her writing overall. I could have done without as much fanfiction and more about Cath and her journey in the world of being a writer.
Cather was the most relatable character in fiction I have ever read about! Cath views the world differently than most people do and like myself doesn’t like change and would rather isolate myself in my room rather than do too many social situations. It was nice to see her evolve and be more accepting of change and be a bit more social. Wren was the polar opposite of her twin sister, she was more sociable and impulsive than her. She was also more of a flirt than her. She loves Cath deeply though and their bond is truly an inseparable one. Levi. I love Levi! He is such a gentleman and such a big sweetheart! I loved how Cath and his relationship started with her reading him her fanfiction and then graduated to something deeper and more romantic. He was also really supportive of Cath and her writing which was so sweet! I really liked their father Arthur too! He was a good parent despite his mental shortcomings. Reagan was a really good friend and eventually became a close friend to Cath over the story. I loved her brutal honesty and her sense of humor!
This book mainly takes place at Cath and Wren’s college in Lincoln, Nebraska. I don’t know too much about Nebraska personally but I enjoyed the author putting an emphasis on the farming communities in the area and how the colleges offer education on farming and agriculture. I think that is so interesting and really shows the importance of that industry in the state. I like that not all of Nebraska was shown as farming either and how the state had cities as well.
One of the themes that this book explores is anxiety and mental illness in general. It depicts Cath suffering from a sort of social anxiety disorder and their father suffering from mental illness as well. It also depicts children being raised by a single parent and the abandonment of a parent. How Cath and Wren both deal with their father’s mental illness and their estrangement from their mother for decades. I think the author handles these themes very well for the time that this book was published and it handled it with care. I love that Rainbow Rowell wrote a book featuring these themes and brought them all in a positive light!
In conclusion, I really enjoyed Fangirl and I think if you are a fan of fanfiction then you will feel a connection with this story. If you are a person that enjoys a sweet and wholesome romance about two unlikely people being drawn to one another then you will like this romance! I think this was a lovely book that will stick with me!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Alcohol
holyhead_harpie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Vomit, and Alcohol
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming and Bullying
ashleycmms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Medical content, Abandonment, and Alcohol
gymbeannz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Incest, Sexual content, Vomit, and Toxic friendship