As you can see by the title I'm going to talk about Rainbow Rowells Fangirl. It was published in September 2013 and belongs into the contemporary YA section.
Note: Once again
Synopsis:
Cath and Wren are identical twins and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to college and Wren's decided that she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - 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 romance far 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...
Story:
The story is very typical for this genre... if you just brush its surface but deeper it's really not that typical anymore. What makes it unique is that Cath is a big fangirl, writing her own fanfiction and burying herself in that world. Naturally there are parts of fan culture etc in the book which is something I've never read anywhere else before and I think it's great that it is a subject in this novel.
I also liked that she created the Simon Snow series as the Harry Potter series of Caths world but it confused me a bit when the actual Harry Potter was mentioned as well because why reinvent it, when you're going to mention it anyway?
The beginning of the story can be a bit frustrating, especially if you can not relate at all to Cath and her anxiety because she just turns down all the invites for any kind of social activity and mostly stays in her room. But it gets better towards the middle and you really start rooting for Cath.
I was sad that it ended so soon because there were a couple more things that I would have liked to see.
Characters:
This novel has the most relatable protagonist EVER! I could understand Caths issues and fears very well. Though I probably wouldn't have survived that long on protein bars and peanut butter ;) What I also loved about her was that while she is introverted and anxious she's not afraid to stand up for herself.
Then we have Levi, probably one of the nicest and cheerful guys in all the books I've read so far. I just want to pick him right out of the novel so I could be friends with him.
I also liked Reagan and her kind of forceful/brusque manner. She led to a lot of laughs. I'd also pick her out of the novel to be my roommate because while she might appear mean she's always there to give you a little push when you need it :P Here's an example of her interaction with Cath:
"I feel sorry for you, and I'm going to be your friend."
"I don't want to be your friend," Cath said as sternly as she could. "I like that we're not friends."
"Me, too," Reagan said. "I'm sorry your ruined it by being so pathetic."
Generally I really enjoyed how Rainbow Rowell developed the characters and the relationships between them. They are all different from each other and realistic which in my opinion is important in contemporary coming-of-age stories like this one.
Writing Style:
I don't really have much to say about the writing style. Rainbow Rowell managed to create lovely cute scenes and I particularly liked how she wrote all the fandom related scenes. They are very realistic and I guess many Harry Potter fans will remember what events etc are/have been like for them. The story is written from Caths POV but in third person which is perfectly fine since we stay pretty close to the protagonist and are able to sympathize with her as if it were written from a first person POV.
Overall Opinion:
I really really enjoyed Fangirl and I think the biggest reason for this is that I could relate so well to the story and the characters. I rated it 5 out of 5 stars on goodreads and I would recommend it especially for girls who can see themselves in Cath or people who enjoy coming-of-age stories.
