Fangirl- A Review

Screenshot of Google's
blurb on Fangirl.
I do not own this image.

Rainbow Rowell. I love every about the woman. From her quirky name to the perfection she writes. The characters are believable and unique. Somehow, Rowell takes a cliché storyline, boy meets girl, and makes it into one of the most engaging and wonderful things you will ever read. 

So far, I have read three of Rowell's four books: Attachments, Eleanor & Park, and Fangirl. I was lukewarm about Eleanor & Park until I read more of her work. For some reason, the more you read of her writing, the more you love the characters. There seems to be a familiar air in every character, almost as if the personalities from the different stories are building on each other. That being said, they never feel stale. It's more akin to meeting someone who reminds you of an old friend, but you can't put your finger exactly on it. It's remarkable!

Fangirl was my favorite of all the Rainbow Rowell books I have read so far. I think this can be chalked up to the fact that I am a fangirl. I could relate to the main character, Cath. So let's get into it!

Cath and her twin sister Wren are college freshman. So many things are changing, include their relationship. Before, the two girls were bonded over a love of Simon Snow, a wizard (very akin to Harry Potter) whose story has a massive following. Together, the two of them would write fan fiction. However, as they grew older, Wren turned to boys and partying and Cath stayed on as the author of various incredibly popular Simon Snow fan fiction. The story revolves around Cath's struggle to grow up and find herself. There is an adorable boy, Levi, who helps guide Cath through this awkward, but magical part of life. 

I adored the story of Cath. Even though the book was relatively large (433 pages), it felt like I flew through it. This has to be a part of Rainbow Rowell's magic. I enjoyed how the plot made me smile to myself and get that warm feeling in the pit of my stomach like I was the one falling in love! Throughout the novel, there are excerpts of Cath's fan fiction. This was the only downside for me. Don't get me wrong! I love fan fiction, but Simon Snow's universe was too close to Harry Potter for me. For quite a while, I thought that Cath existed in an alternate dimension where the Harry Potter series did not exist, but at one point it is mentioned, so I guess I was wrong about that. Even though there was background information about Simon Snow, I did quite understand everything that was happening with his story, causing me to haphazardly skim the pages containing the fan fiction. I wish I had been able to get more into his subplot. 

All in all, I recommend Fangirl to everyone! In fact, to get the best Rainbow Rowell experience, I would suggest reading her work inthe order in which they were published: Attachments, Eleanor & Park, Fangirl. This way, you will be able to get a sense of her quirky and fun way to writing and creating. I have yet to read Landline, but that will definitely be next!