A review by btg
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-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

5.0

I devoured this book in, like, a day.

Cath just hits. It's easy to relate to her; to borrow Rowell's words, she "jumps off the page." But the even more astounding part of the book is that Rowell manages to put words to experiences that are rarely talked about and that rarely get representation -- fic authors moving into original fiction, anxious first year college students who don't party, children of adults with mental illness. I found Cath to be intensely relatable, and Rowell's depiction to be very truthful. Rowell's tone is free and easy; she writes as though she has lived experience in this world. While Rowell admits to being a fic author early, I don't know enough about her personal life to guess about the rest. What I can say is that I felt a lot of me reflected in Cath that I don't see in a lot of stories, and I didn't know I needed to hear.  

I'll admit I didn't originally love Levi as a love interest at the beginning of the book; I found him too forceful. But as Cath gained her own confidence, he grew on me. They developed their banter and their language. I'm not sure the romance would have cemented if it wasn't a slow burn, if Cath didn't have time to grow before she and Levi got together. I think where Rowell succeeded here is in thinking ahead; she didn't give Cath a love interest appropriate for her beginning. She gave Cath a love interest appropriate for when she was ready, and I think that's super powerful. And Rowell's handling of the love triangle, normally a tired trope, was absolutely masterful. 

Fic authors, put down the fic for a bit and read this book. You won't regret it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Medical content

Minor: Infidelity

Minor: A secondary character admits to previous infidelity with the primary love interest. It is past tense, only mentioned a couple of times, and both characters have moved past it as of the beginning of the story. Moderate: A secondary character is committed to a mental health ward for a short period of time at the midpoint of the book. A secondary character is hospitalized with alcohol poisoning towards the end of the book. She is heavily implied to be alcoholic and a binge drinker, but it's never directly stated. Graphic: Multiple primary and secondary characters are heavily implied or directly stated to have a mental health disorder, and symptoms are described in detail. A main character is heavily implied to have social anxiety disorder and regularly engages in both avoidance behaviors and thought spirals. A secondary character is hospitalized for alcohol poisoning, implied to be an alcoholic and forced to both attend counseling and AA meetings (no counseling or AA meetings are shown). A different secondary character is explicitly bipolar; hypomanic states and discussions of medication/management are depicted. The character is hospitalized for a manic state towards the middle of the book. The main character is a child of someone with serious mental illness and regularly explores the caretaking and worry that involves. A primary character is implied to have a learning disorder, most likely dyslexia but potentially also ADHD, and references it several times. There's also some stuff that's not quite enough to tag, or a tag isn't available: Emetophobia: One line, "You smell like x." Abandonment: A major and secondary character were abandoned by a parent early in life, which factors heavily into the plot of the book.