Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Obožavateljka

I was so scared reading this book, because I feared the moral at the end would be that fictional worlds are bad for you etc, but that didn't happend and I'm so greatful for that.

This book depictes a fangirl so well, I think I never related to a protagonist this much. I also really like that Cath doesn't have a super strong character development, she stays herself, she is the foundation the other characters can grow on.

For my liking there was a bit too much unchecked homophobia in this book, I wish some characters had commented on how wrong many reactions about gay fanfiction are.

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g_c_geeks's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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spworley's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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crufts's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I picked up this book one morning, and was pleasantly surprise to find myself having blitzed the entire thing in less than a day. It is good.

The premise of the story is established in the very first page, an imaginary Wikipedia article about the Simon Snow series - a seven-part fiction series that's effectively this world's equivalent of Harry Potter, having sold millions of copies, spawned seven movies and achieved worldwide fame.

Meanwhile, our protagonist Cath is a big-name Simon Snow fanfiction author. Her magnum opus fanfic is Internet-famous; but in real life, she's a nobody. The world of fandom is comfortable for her, whereas her new world of college life is unfamiliar, frightening, and worst of all, real. With a group of college roommates, friends, and classmates around her, Cath is thrown into this new world and has to learn how to deal with it.

Amongst its many fine points, I adored Fangirl's depiction of anxiety. The author takes Cath's irrational fears and writes how they twist and bend to become rational and believable, showing the true, internal experience of anxiety.

How can [my roommate] just fall asleep like that with a stranger in the room?

The depiction of mental illness and mental disabilities in a few other characters was also sensitive and realistic.

It also made me laugh that the Simon Snow series had all these parallels with Harry Potter, tiny details that fans will enjoy:

[They were watching] Simon Snow and the Selkies Four [i.e. the fourth movie of the series]. All the actors had longer hair in this movie.

I liked that we actually get to read many, many excerpts from the Simon Snow series. It's not just a handwaved plot device that we have to believe; we get to see for ourselves why it charmed so many people. (It was a bit odd that the Harry Potter series also existed in this world, though.)

Fangirl ended a little abruptly, with some of the climactic crisis decisions being resolved in less than a page - e.g. the conclusion of Cath's university fiction writing course was resolved in a one-paragraph text excerpt. However, perhaps the author knows this because she added a little FAQ section to this edition, answering the questions of what the characters got up to after the story. A little odd, but hey, it worked.

I really enjoyed this book, and I hope you will too.

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caitlin_doggos's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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marshiereads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This books was so cringey at times it was difficult to read. I honestly should have stopped reading and not finished it but I did and it was an okayyyy ending, like the last 60ish pages were such a wash for me honestly and in terms of a romance that takes place with college kids it’s incredibly PG. if you’re looking for even second base I’ve got bad news. I wanted this book to be a dedication to artists and writers who’ve struggled to find their way and I genuinely did not care if she failed or succeeded. Also it felt wrong for literally everyone in this story to be straight and have a huge part of the story being a obsessed with writing gay relationships, not just Simon and Baz but when she’s writing with Nick too. It felt fetishizing to me? Because I finished it, it gets 2 stars but I was just genuinely disappointed and unhappy with what this book turned out to be.

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kate_1910's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Me in a book form.

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