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A review by literarypenguin
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
Fangirl follows a young girl named Cather Avery during her freshmen year of college and her journey to finish Carry On, a fanfiction she writes based on the Simon Snow Universe. She also tries to maintain a close bond with her twin sister Wren and keep an eye on her father while being away from the house for the first time. During this time she meets a guy named Levi who is the polar opposite of Cath. Will they grow closer? Will she survive college despite her anxieties? I have had this book on my shelf for quite a long time now. I even got the special edition with a bookmark put in! I haven’t gotten around to this book in so long and I feel terrible because it turned out better than I expected!
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Alcohol