Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

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Synopsis: 

Cath and Wren are identical twins and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they’re off to university and Wren’s decided she doesn’t want to be one half of a pair anymore – she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It’s not so easy for Cath. She would rather bury herself in the fanfiction she writes where there’s a romance for more intense than anything she’s experienced in real life. 

Now Cath has to decide whether she’s ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she’s realizing that there’s more to learn about love than she ever thought possible. 

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My Review:

I chose to read Fangirl after seeing quotes from it on Tumblr (in fact quite a few of the books I’m planning to read are curtesy of Tumblr). This book is about a girl, Cath who spends her days writing fanfiction on the internet, and she has a huge following. However, where she is a popular figure in cyberspace, she is quite reclusive in reality.

Cath is a super fangirl. She loves nothing more than getting lost in the magical world of Simon Snow and writing slash fanfiction. However, she has to enter reality as she starts university for the most part solo as Wren, her twin sister wants to be more independent. Therefore, instead of rooming together, (like they have since birth), Wren gets a ditzy roommate called Courtney who she becomes fast friends with and Cath gets Reagan, an intense woman who is 3 years older than her, “She did everything so forcefully. She swung their door open; she slammed it shut. She was bigger than Cath, a little taller and lot more buxom (seriously, buxom). She just seemed bigger. On the inside, too.” As the novel progresses, Cath struggles to cope with university, as Wren embraces it. She is constantly worrying about herself, her sister and her father, who is now all alone since the twins went to university.

I found that in some aspects I could relate to Cath. I find her to be intriguing and realistic. She wants to do well in school, but she doesn’t want to party. She’d rather spend the day reading or writing fanfiction on the internet. She’s anxious, most of the time and she often makes terrible decisions. I found that Rowell portrayed the anxieties of starting university quite well. Cath is funny, intelligent and caring. She really loves her family and wants to support them even if it affects her mentally.

The family has their own complicated drama, and I love that Rowell didn’t hesitate to make them complex. It’s not all sunshine and roses in the Avery house. The twins, Cath and Wren (trust me, I didn’t work out that it was Catherine, until Levi did. Don’t worry if you didn’t catch on either) are so different. Wren, is confident and outgoing “Wren had always been the Social One. The Friendly One. The one who got invited to quinceaneras and birthday parties” but this has unfortunate consenquences, whereas Cath is reserved and would rather stay home and write fanfiction. Their father, has his own mental issues to deal with and Cath expresses fear that she with become him. Their mother, left them when they were 8 declaring she couldn’t be a mother, emotionally scarring the girls.

Levi is an absolute sweetheart, and even if you don’t fall in love with him, he’ll make you want a gingerbread latte.  He wasn’t the hottest, smartest boy on campus and he did do some silly thing, “just a kiss” but that’s what made him realistic, imperfect.  He had his own difficulties in university but he always managed to smile through it. I personally understand how hard it can be in university when you have learning difficulties and I think Rowell handle it very well.

One thing I wish we had less off was the constant Simon Snow book/fanfiction references. I understand having some, its part of who Cath is. I did, however, grow bored of it and I found myself skimming sometimes even skipping the excerpts. I would’ve rather there was a focus on what was happening in the world, and have the occasional fanfiction/book reference.

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