Scan barcode
ironfang's reviews
26 reviews
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
3.0
An entertaining enough easy read. I absolutely preferred it at the start where Cath's interest in fanfiction felt more like it had a more 'concrete' presence in the book - something safe for her to retreat to in an unfamiliar college setting, the discussions with her lecturer about plagarism, how it was part of her relationship with her twin - as I felt it fell out of relevance as the book went. Even with the snippets of Simon Snow books and Cath's fanfics sprinkled throughout, they never felt like they connected all that much towards the end.
When the the initial hook of Cath's fandom investment and the ways it's come up in her life disappearing over time, the book ended up feeling like a fairly by the numbers college romance but the characters were likeable enough. Ultimately I don't really think I have any strong opinions on Fangirl either way, it was a solidly 'fine' read if the concept grabs you. Just don't expect too much depth in the fandom aspect, despite the title.
(Could not suspend disbelief when I learned that Simon Snow, this wizard magic school franchise juggernaut, didn't replace Harry Potter in universe but existed alongside it. The latter comes up once in the entire book! There'd be overlap in those fandom spaces of SOME kind, even if it an off-the-cuff comparison of the two! This is a very small thing though, but was a looming shadow of 'nah, no way' after learning it for me.)
When the the initial hook of Cath's fandom investment and the ways it's come up in her life disappearing over time, the book ended up feeling like a fairly by the numbers college romance but the characters were likeable enough. Ultimately I don't really think I have any strong opinions on Fangirl either way, it was a solidly 'fine' read if the concept grabs you. Just don't expect too much depth in the fandom aspect, despite the title.
(Could not suspend disbelief when I learned that Simon Snow, this wizard magic school franchise juggernaut, didn't replace Harry Potter in universe but existed alongside it. The latter comes up once in the entire book! There'd be overlap in those fandom spaces of SOME kind, even if it an off-the-cuff comparison of the two! This is a very small thing though, but was a looming shadow of 'nah, no way' after learning it for me.)
Into the Wild by Erin Hunter
3.0
I have definitely more than aged out of the intended target demographic for this and I have zero nostalgic attachment to this series, so I can fully understand that it's not for me and that speaks to me being an adult rather than a fault with the book itself. I can definitely see why this series captured so many imaginations though, I did enjoy the tapestry of cat betrayals and drama going on even if I found some things about the book hard to follow (not a new observation: the naming patterns led to me mixing up supporting characters, for example).
To Own the Libs by Zoe Storm
5.0
Cannot stress how much I picked this up for the title and genuinely hilarious sounding premise, so excellent job with hooking in a reader to the author! Read this over two days, so I hope that says something for how easily I became interested in Lily living through her 'experiment'.
Lily was the peak of "still cis though" and her navigation through 'pretending to be trans for my research paper/to own the libs' while genuinely exploring her own identity felt very grounded. 'So dense [she has her] own gravitational field' is indeed a very accurate description for the POV character, as the Lily Logic responses to things she found gender affirming or dysphoric often were WILD conclusions but also COMPLETELY believable thought processes for someone who's transition was less than straightforward.
Given where Lily starts from as a person, I was pleased to find ultimately find her incredibly likeable! Every milestone she went through was genuinely heartwarming from her perspective and I was glad she found friends and family to connect to, as well as a wonderful support network when dealing with people who were unfortunately awful to her. The postscript ending was especially lovely.
Admittedly this book isn't the most straightforward recommendation due to the unfortunately realistic depictions of transphobia and general queerphobia, which might be difficult for some. However the ebook comes with a handy breakdown of what's depicted in each chapter with a content warning at the back and I wholeheartedly recommend this book if this won't be too much for you as a reader!
Lily was the peak of "still cis though" and her navigation through 'pretending to be trans for my research paper/to own the libs' while genuinely exploring her own identity felt very grounded. 'So dense [she has her] own gravitational field' is indeed a very accurate description for the POV character, as the Lily Logic responses to things she found gender affirming or dysphoric often were WILD conclusions but also COMPLETELY believable thought processes for someone who's transition was less than straightforward.
Given where Lily starts from as a person, I was pleased to find ultimately find her incredibly likeable! Every milestone she went through was genuinely heartwarming from her perspective and I was glad she found friends and family to connect to, as well as a wonderful support network when dealing with people who were unfortunately awful to her. The postscript ending was especially lovely.
Admittedly this book isn't the most straightforward recommendation due to the unfortunately realistic depictions of transphobia and general queerphobia, which might be difficult for some. However the ebook comes with a handy breakdown of what's depicted in each chapter with a content warning at the back and I wholeheartedly recommend this book if this won't be too much for you as a reader!