A review by mynameismarines
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

3.0

In a lot of ways, Fangirl seems like a book tailor-made for Internet lovers: an introvert with social anxieties sets off for college where she's often forced to defend Internet culture, community and fanfiction.

And, I mean, the plot is a little more involved than just Cath and her fanfiction, but the charm of this book is in the details, the realism and the injection of this culture we know and so love.

While romance is at the heart of this book, it isn't a book solely about a girl's freshman year romance. I have a soft spot for books that tackle on sistership, and Fangirl does that in a heartbreaking manner. My chest ached for Cath and for the way she stayed so steady while her sister floated away. I loved how their building conflict was resolved,
Spoilerbecause it wasn't almost directly addressed. They talked a little about it, but mostly, they both accepted that it was over and they didn't want to be so far apart. It reminded me so much of trying to stay mad at my sisters, but ending up realizing that I needed to share something with them, be somewhere with them, do something with them. The anger always evaporates and you fall into synch once again.


The supporting characters in Fangirl were just as (if not more) intriguing than Cath. Reagan and her brand of blunt was fantastic, and never felt too mean or bitchy. Particularly because that sort of strong, unshakeable personality is what Cath needed most at one point.

Levi was also great to read about. I'm always weird and super picky about love interests in stories, but Levi was refreshing. He was nice (though not perfect) and he was flawed (but not mean) and we was good to Cath. It was a well paced romance, one that never felt forced and that was grounded in lovely moments like a Kanye dance party and reading out loud and the sharing of one's passion.

The writing was smooth and natural, often peppered with lines that struck me right in the feels, because I'm pretty sure Rowell was talking about me. She was talking about my life. The only down side for me where the longer snippets of fanfiction. Don't get me wrong-- I loved that Cath was a fanfiction writer and Rowell has a fine understanding of what that means for her character, but I didn't care a lick about Simon Snow. Reading so much about him only seemed like longer interruptions to the story I wanted to be reading.

When I turned the last page, I knew how nice the book was but it wasn't until this morning that I realized how much it managed to settle into my skin and into my brain. I didn't expect this book to have so much staying power, but it does. I'm still thinking about it and I was sad to leave Cath and Wren and Levi and Reagan behind.