Published by St. Martin's Press
Date: September 10, 2013
Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction
Pages: 433
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park.
A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .
But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?
Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
- Goodreads
For Cath, her entire life revolves around her identity as a fangirl. She is a die-hard fan of the Simon Snow series (which is basically Harry Potter in disguise), and she devotes all of her free time to writing awesome fan fiction about the series with her twin sister/best friend, Wren. Cath and Wren do everything together … that is, until Wren decides to go her own way when she and Cath start college. Wren decides she no longer wants to write fan fiction; she no longer wants to spend every moment living and breathing Simon Snow; she no longer wants to spend so much time with Cath. Wren’s abrupt decision causes Cath to question who she is, sending her on a journey of self-discovery. Deep down, Cath wants to join the real world as Wren has, but she can’t seem to let go of her life as a fangirl.
I really enjoyed reading this book for several reasons. First of all, let me just say how much I loved the story’s connection to fandoms. The plot’s focus on the perspective of a fangirl is a unique twist that, I think, sets this book apart from others. I’ve never read a book that focused on the point of view of a fangirl or even mentioned the level of devotion found in fandoms. As a book lover and a devoted member of several fandoms (Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Sherlock … you know, the good stuff!), I appreciated that the book was able to capture Cath’s love of Simon Snow and weave it into the plot without going overboard. Cath could have easily been one of those in-your-face fangirls who never shuts up about the fandom they love. However, then there wouldn’t have been a story; the whole book would have been about how much Cath loves Simon Snow, and it isn’t–it’s so much more than that. Cath’s love of Simon Snow is definitely a part of who she is, but it isn’t the entire focus of the book. It’s a fun, quirky quality that sets the book apart from others.
Another aspect of the book that I loved (for the most part) was the uniqueness of the characters. Yes, Cath is a fangirl, and that quality sets her apart from some of the other characters I’ve read; however she is also really relatable. She is the girl who doesn’t like stepping out of her comfort zone. She’s the type who would rather stay at home curled up with a good book than go out and party (that’s totally me!). And, the struggle she goes through as she tries to figure out who she is and who she wants to be is something that I think a lot of people can identify with.
Another character I really enjoyed was Cath’s love interest, Levi. Levi is one of the few people in Cath’s life who is able to get her to come out of her shell and experience things she never would have thought possible. He’s funny and sweet, and even though there were a couple of moments in the book when I wanted to slap him silly for doing stupid things, he’s a great character.
Okay, on to things I didn’t like. Number one: Wren’s character and Wren and Cath’s parents. Wren is the complete opposite of Cath. Where Cath is a reserved and introverted bookworm, Wren is a bam!, in-your-face party girl. That’s pretty much all she did the entire book–party herself into a hole that she had to fight to climb out of. I felt as if she existed solely to create complications in Cath’s life, which, I guess, is the definition of a sibling, but I still didn’t like her.
I also didn’t like Wren and Cath’s parents. As far as parents go, they are pretty bad ones. The mom left them when Wren and Cath were little girls, and then suddenly reappeared when they were grown and in college. I give her credit for wanting to be a part of her daughters’ lives, but the fact that she didn’t want to deal with the hard stuff really made me angry. The dad is slightly better. He is at least there for his girls (for the most part), and he definitely loves Cath and Wren and tries to be a good father. But, I felt as if he was another character who existed solely to create complications in Cath’s life. I understand the decision to make Cath and Wren’s parents less-than-perfect. The messiness of Cath’s relationship with them makes the story more realistic. I get, I do. Life is not all sunshine and rainbows, but giving the parents a few redeeming qualities would have been nice.
The second thing I didn’t like: the ending. I felt as if the book just ended. There were a few aspects of the plot and the characters that I wanted to be more resolved. There were a few things that, I thought, were left open-ended. I understand it; I think the author intentionally created an ambiguous ending so readers could fill in the loose ends for themselves. Boy, do I hate endings like that. I like everything to be tied up with a pretty bow, but that’s just a personal preference.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Fangirl. The things I liked about the book definitely outweigh the things I didn’t like. I loved the quirkiness of this coming-of-age story, and I would recommend it to bookworms, fandom enthusiasts, and anyone who enjoys books about self-discovery or books with adorable love stories.
Posted in Realistic Fiction, Reviews, Romance, Young Adult