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breadbees's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Grief, and Toxic friendship
aanyaaa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Alcohol
Moderate: Abandonment
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
emotional
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
I don’t know what I was expecting from this book, but having an intense emotional reaction to this one and absolutely falling in love with all the characters wasn’t it. I found Cath so relatable and my heart ached and sang for her at every turn. Now I’m going to have to immediately read the manga series and the Simon Snow series—can’t get enough of the world Rainbow Rowell has created!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Abandonment, and Alcohol
cateemma's review against another edition
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
4.5
THE NARRATIVE
Characters: 5/5
Honestly, five billion out of five. I can't even begin to explain how real and beautiful and flawed the characters in this book are. I just love them so much, and I want to hug Cath and have a long chat with Levi and judge people with Reagan - I love them all, and even the less loveable characters, like Wren, I ended up loving by the end. While I was reading I felt like I was in Cath's dorm, watching everything unfold between her and Levi, or in the cafeteria scrutinising the people in line with her and Reagan. Rainbow Rowell just has such a real way of writing. Her characters are so consistent and halfway through the book you realise you know them almost as well as your own best friends.
Plot: 4/5
I want to give this 5 stars but there isn't really a plot? The story revolves around the characters, which is what makes the book so special and wonderful to read.
Writing: 5/5
The writing flows so perfectly and the dialogue - the dialogue - is so hecking good. Witty and funny and unique to each and every character.
THE THEMES
Family: 5/5
I love love love reading YA books where there are actual present families that are supportive and flawed and communicate with each other. Cath's dad tries so hard and she cares about him so much, and the two of them and Wren are so complicated but so loving. Wren and Cath's relationship is hilarious and sad and I like that the twin thing isn't played up too much.
Mental Illness: 4.5/5
I'm so appreciative of all the recent mental illness rep in YA fiction, but sometimes I feel like every character with a mental illness is barely functioning, and inevitably ends up in a psych ward. And there are people whose experiences with mental illness are like that, but there are also those who are constantly affected by their illness but still live what looks like a normal life from the outside. Cath is one of those people, and I love her portrayal of mental illness - specifically social anxiety - in this book.
MY THOUGHTS
So. Can we just take note that when I first read this book I have it two stars. TWO STARS?!?! I don't know what I was thinking, because this is a five star read through and through. I love the characters, I love how easy it is to read, I love the snippets of Simon and Baz, and I even love the cover.
Characters: 5/5
Honestly, five billion out of five. I can't even begin to explain how real and beautiful and flawed the characters in this book are. I just love them so much, and I want to hug Cath and have a long chat with Levi and judge people with Reagan - I love them all, and even the less loveable characters, like Wren, I ended up loving by the end. While I was reading I felt like I was in Cath's dorm, watching everything unfold between her and Levi, or in the cafeteria scrutinising the people in line with her and Reagan. Rainbow Rowell just has such a real way of writing. Her characters are so consistent and halfway through the book you realise you know them almost as well as your own best friends.
Plot: 4/5
I want to give this 5 stars but there isn't really a plot? The story revolves around the characters, which is what makes the book so special and wonderful to read.
Writing: 5/5
The writing flows so perfectly and the dialogue - the dialogue - is so hecking good. Witty and funny and unique to each and every character.
THE THEMES
Family: 5/5
I love love love reading YA books where there are actual present families that are supportive and flawed and communicate with each other. Cath's dad tries so hard and she cares about him so much, and the two of them and Wren are so complicated but so loving. Wren and Cath's relationship is hilarious and sad and I like that the twin thing isn't played up too much.
Mental Illness: 4.5/5
I'm so appreciative of all the recent mental illness rep in YA fiction, but sometimes I feel like every character with a mental illness is barely functioning, and inevitably ends up in a psych ward. And there are people whose experiences with mental illness are like that, but there are also those who are constantly affected by their illness but still live what looks like a normal life from the outside. Cath is one of those people, and I love her portrayal of mental illness - specifically social anxiety - in this book.
MY THOUGHTS
So. Can we just take note that when I first read this book I have it two stars. TWO STARS?!?! I don't know what I was thinking, because this is a five star read through and through. I love the characters, I love how easy it is to read, I love the snippets of Simon and Baz, and I even love the cover.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Alcohol
lucymoosie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
risten's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Toxic friendship
injiofthebooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Vomit and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use and Fatphobia
ellacole03's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Abandonment, and Alcohol
jazzy_t's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have re-read this books hundreds of times! Amazingly well written. Will always be a happy read for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, and Alcohol
crufts's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Alcohol
Minor: Rape and Toxic friendship
Rape is mentioned briefly in a discussion of the risks to college students.