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A review by fictionallybecca
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
4.0
I’m so glad to have ticked this off of my physical TBR and can say that I’ve finally read Fangirl. It’s one of them books I’ve owned for years but have kept putting off for such a long time. This was an easy 4 star read for me. I love Rainbow Rowell’s books, some more than others but this one is definitely a new favourite!
I read and adored Attachments and Scattered Showers in 2023 and I’m having a lot of fun getting through her backlog.
I picked this one up because not only have I been meaning to for such a long time now because I’ve been super intrigued, but it’s also one of my close friends favourite books of all time, so I’ve been dying to talk to her about it and see why she loves it so much!
Overall with the story, I love it. I think it was executed really well and it actually gave me Eliza & Her Monsters vibes by Francesca Zappia. I guess because I read that one recently so it’s still pretty fresh in my mind, but they both gave like 2014 booktube vibes and had a similar main character and loose plot points that were the same in some ways too.
The whole idea with Cath and Wren heading off to University and this being a coming of age story is still something I love to read. I love a good YA story and this one will definitely be memorable to me.
I loved the characters in this.
Cath was so relatable in some ways to me, personally. She is very introverted and awkward and has anxiety, which are things I resonated with her character. She had such great character development throughout the story and it was so fun to see her come out of her shell and her love for Simon & Baz still have the same level of passion she did as she did when she first got to University.
I liked Regan. I was unsure on her at first, because she is a little unnecessarily mean, but that’s her character and I know that’s the point. She definitely cares for Cath and you can tell they became close friends towards the end of the story. I do wish she was in this more though, I feel like I would have liked to have seen her more, because she was always out socialising so maybe that made sense that we hardly saw her.
Wren I didn’t particularly like. I get that Cath and Wren are now at University so it’s kinda inevitable that she was going to go off and do her own thing, most people do, but she kinda turned selfish and forgot about Cath entirely when she found a certain group of people to join. Like Courtney, who seemed like an airhead and wasn’t a great friend to me.
I think Wren was a little unfair towards their dad too and seemed to forget she had a twin sister half the time. I think she really changed for me when she started to make comments about Simon and Baz and Cath’s fanfiction and made fun of it a little. I don’t think she ever really redeemed herself.
I loved Levi so much. He is such a golden retriever boyfriend! He’s so sweet and kind and caring and I wish he was real! He’s quirky and fun and I really like getting to know his character more. I was unsure at first because he came across cocky but confident, but he quickly grew on me.
Nick was an asshole! That is all I have to say about him.
I loved Cath & Wren’s dad. He was so sweet and laid back with things and I’m a bit sad his health issues didn’t seem to get resolved much. It didn’t feel like this was addressed.
There were a few things I disliked which prevented me giving this five stars:
The author had certainly included some questionable things in the beginning of the book. Including some comments about rape and eating disorders which seemed a little heavy to include in a YA story. I think it’s fine to mention an eating disorder but maybe only if it’s portrayed in a more positive light and it’s something a character struggles with and then overcomes, because there are likely younger readers enjoying this story and I think it was written in a jokey way and was a little inappropriate, even if it was Regan’s character that said it.
I do wish Regan was in this more too! As mentioned earlier, she didn’t seem like she had much character development or like I knew her much, which was a bit sad, I really liked her.
I also mainly struggled to connect with the Simon & Baz elements of the book. I really don’t know if I’ll read Carrg On. I love this story for Cath and Wren and the friendships and relationships, not for the contents of her fanfiction. I really didn’t like it.
Honestly other than those things, I really enjoyed the story overall and I’m so happy I finally read this
I read and adored Attachments and Scattered Showers in 2023 and I’m having a lot of fun getting through her backlog.
I picked this one up because not only have I been meaning to for such a long time now because I’ve been super intrigued, but it’s also one of my close friends favourite books of all time, so I’ve been dying to talk to her about it and see why she loves it so much!
Overall with the story, I love it. I think it was executed really well and it actually gave me Eliza & Her Monsters vibes by Francesca Zappia. I guess because I read that one recently so it’s still pretty fresh in my mind, but they both gave like 2014 booktube vibes and had a similar main character and loose plot points that were the same in some ways too.
The whole idea with Cath and Wren heading off to University and this being a coming of age story is still something I love to read. I love a good YA story and this one will definitely be memorable to me.
I loved the characters in this.
Cath was so relatable in some ways to me, personally. She is very introverted and awkward and has anxiety, which are things I resonated with her character. She had such great character development throughout the story and it was so fun to see her come out of her shell and her love for Simon & Baz still have the same level of passion she did as she did when she first got to University.
I liked Regan. I was unsure on her at first, because she is a little unnecessarily mean, but that’s her character and I know that’s the point. She definitely cares for Cath and you can tell they became close friends towards the end of the story. I do wish she was in this more though, I feel like I would have liked to have seen her more, because she was always out socialising so maybe that made sense that we hardly saw her.
Wren I didn’t particularly like. I get that Cath and Wren are now at University so it’s kinda inevitable that she was going to go off and do her own thing, most people do, but she kinda turned selfish and forgot about Cath entirely when she found a certain group of people to join. Like Courtney, who seemed like an airhead and wasn’t a great friend to me.
I think Wren was a little unfair towards their dad too and seemed to forget she had a twin sister half the time. I think she really changed for me when she started to make comments about Simon and Baz and Cath’s fanfiction and made fun of it a little. I don’t think she ever really redeemed herself.
I loved Levi so much. He is such a golden retriever boyfriend! He’s so sweet and kind and caring and I wish he was real! He’s quirky and fun and I really like getting to know his character more. I was unsure at first because he came across cocky but confident, but he quickly grew on me.
Nick was an asshole! That is all I have to say about him.
I loved Cath & Wren’s dad. He was so sweet and laid back with things and I’m a bit sad his health issues didn’t seem to get resolved much. It didn’t feel like this was addressed.
There were a few things I disliked which prevented me giving this five stars:
The author had certainly included some questionable things in the beginning of the book. Including some comments about rape and eating disorders which seemed a little heavy to include in a YA story. I think it’s fine to mention an eating disorder but maybe only if it’s portrayed in a more positive light and it’s something a character struggles with and then overcomes, because there are likely younger readers enjoying this story and I think it was written in a jokey way and was a little inappropriate, even if it was Regan’s character that said it.
I do wish Regan was in this more too! As mentioned earlier, she didn’t seem like she had much character development or like I knew her much, which was a bit sad, I really liked her.
I also mainly struggled to connect with the Simon & Baz elements of the book. I really don’t know if I’ll read Carrg On. I love this story for Cath and Wren and the friendships and relationships, not for the contents of her fanfiction. I really didn’t like it.
Honestly other than those things, I really enjoyed the story overall and I’m so happy I finally read this