Book Review: Fangirl

Title: Fangirl.
Author: Rainbow Rowell.
Series: No.
Pages: 433.
Source: Purchased.
Publisher: St. Martin's Press.
Published Date: 9/10/13.
Links:
Goodreads.
Barnes and Noble.

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 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?"

My Thoughts:

Cath and Wren have been together their whole lives, mostly because they're sisters! And twins! Cath isn't really feeling the idea of going off to college far away from home, staying in a dorm there, and leaving behind her dad all alone. But Wren doesn't make her feel any better, when she says that she doesn't want to dorm together; claiming that neither of the two will get the FULL college experience.

Instead of sharing a dorm with her sister, Cath is sharing a room with a girl named Reagan...and half the time with Reagan's best friend/ex-boyfriend, Levi. Reagan isn't in her the room very often, but when she is usually Levi isn't too far behind.

Cath loves writing! (OMG we have so much in common, college freshman AND she loves writing?!) The last two years she's spent and dedicated her life to writing Simon Snow fanfiction. She writes a chapter every night, to feed her adoring fans' addiction.

With all the school work and writing she needs to get done, Cath doesn't leave her room very often; which she doesn't mind at all. She hates the awkwardness of meeting people for the first time, or going somewhere, where she's never been; not knowing how things work. Even when Reagan and Levi ask her to go out with them to parties or just to hangout, Cath always declines their offers, staying in the dorm room instead.

Cath has made one friend though, his name is Nick. She met him in her advanced writing class, and meets him at the library to work on their story together, sometimes until midnight! Besides Reagan, Levi and Nick, Cath hasn't talked to anyone else, not even her sister.

Wren didn't even go home to visit their dad when they were informed that he was in the hospital from over working himself. Cath called Wren pleading her to come home with her, but she didn't and only tried reassuring Cath that he would be okay.

Wren spends most of her time hanging out with her roomate, Courtney; usually partying and/or drinking. So when Cath receives a text message saying SOS with the bar she's at, she askes Levi for a ride, and heads there to make sure her sister is save. Turns out that Wren wasn't trying to reach Cath, but Courtney instead, and that her sister is piss drunk.

The twins have never been close to their mother, after she just up and left one day when they were about eight years old. But when Cath receives a message from her, telling her that Wren is in the hospital, Cath ignores all the anger she has towards her mother, and gets there as soon as possible for Wren.

First her dad in the hospital, then Wren and a phone call from her mom, who disappeared so many years ago. Things seem to be falling about all around Cath, and she's trying to juggle too much all at once. Reagan isn't as scary or different from Cath as she once thought. Nick isn't how Cath assumed he was. Wren has completely changed since going to college and Levi seems to (strangely) be the only person who is making her feel better.

My Verdict:

Fangirl honestly rocked my world. I don't know if it was because I could relate to Cath so much, or what, but I loved it. Cath was down to earth, had similar interests and fears as I do, and I enjoyed watching her come out of her shell.

Wren and Nick added the crazy level and twist to the story, that I felt was needed for this book to be as amazing as it is. I thought Wren became a bit selfish and mean for just leaving her sister (and her dad) hanging like that. And I had a feeling about Nick, but I never ACTUALLY thought he would go through with what he did...how rude!

Even as Cath's world seemed to be crumble down around her, and her fanfiction writing seemed to be coming to an end, the ending of the story was happy...and I was happy about that. I liked that everything worked out for Cath, Wren, her friends and her dad. 

But there was one thing that wasn't cleared up, and that was Cath and Wren's mom. The reader is never truly informed as to why she left when they were so young, or what happened after Cath ran to hospital for Wren. So I was a little bit disappointed about that, but overall Fangirl was BOMB!