Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Review: Fangirl

Title:  Fangirl
Author:  Rainbow Rowell
Rating: 5/5

Summary:

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 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?


Review:

I don't believe the summary of this book does it justice at all, but that summary and the title are what initially drew me into Cather's world.  I am a long-time reader and writer of fan fiction (for the better part of the last 10 years).  The fact that this underworld was brought into the world of a published book made me far to excited to pass this book up.

When I did finally get my hands on the book (ebook...), I couldn't put it down for very long.  Cath draws in every introvert (like me!) and gathers us together to let us she how she evolves.  She goes from a scared girl who is set adrift by her twin and is ensconced in the world of Simon Snow, to a young adult who is trying to make the best out of her life.

It's also a bit of a plus in my opinion that Simon Snow was obviously Harry Potter (with Baz being Draco Malfoy in my opinion).  This is one of the biggest fandoms I read and I was just so happy with this.




I wish more people knew about fan fiction, but at the same time I like how it belongs to only us, the fans who want to see where the story could have gone if the author had went there.  There is some truly astonishing pieces out there, and I hope some day their author's are like Cath and they go on to publish worlds of their own.

I can't recommend this to everyone, because unless you love the fan fiction world [and are a bit of an introvert], you won't get the same value out of this book.

P.S. - Rumor has it that "Carry On, Simon" is going to be written as a full book.  Who else is majorly excited about that?!

Rating:



3 comments:

  1. Hmm.. I've seen this book everywhere but haven't really thought of reading it, honestly. Well.. you got me hooked! :) Will definitely read it after reading your awesome review :) :)

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    2. I'm so glad to get you hooked. I hope you enjoy it!

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