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Fangirl

Rainbow Rowell

Start date: June 1, 2016

Finish date: June 30, 2016

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What Members Thought

Dec 05, 2014 Angela Blount rated it liked it

2 1/2 Stars

Character-driven from the start, Fangirl is a niche coming-of-age contemporary story centered around the Freshman year of college for a semi-stereotypical geeky girl named Cather (Cath).

Cath is a mixed bag of anti-social neuroticism, insecurity, and self-loathing. She's glaringly unenthusiastic about moving away from home and into a dorm—not to mention procuring a roommate who, for the first time in her life, is NOT her sister. Resistant to change, socially handicapped, and disintere ...more

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May 13, 2020 Vikas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nbtr, owned

So I finally finished this book and now I would be trying to read the two "fanfiction" Carry On and Wayward Son, this was nice although being a 37 years old guy I might not be the target audience but I would read what I wanna read. And I have got twins siblings but they aren't the identical ones being brother-sister twins pair. I had difficulty with Cath's behavior and story in the beginning but it kept on getting better and just like I say the books do get sometimes better in their second half. ...more

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Jul 20, 2014 Madge rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-books, all-time-favorites, romance, young-adult, new-adult, contemporary

I have seen this book floating around on tumblr, goodreads, twitter, etc. for quite some time, but I didn’t really pay attention to it until a few months ago. I added it to my Amazon wishlist thinking I would buy it or borrow it someday, maybe. Then the Kindle edition went on sale for $4.99 the other day and I bought it after I tried the sample and got hooked. Based on what I knew of it before then, I expected it to be a somewhat amusing new adult story. I was not prepared for what it actually i I have seen this book floating around on tumblr, goodreads, twitter, etc. for quite some time, but I didn’t really pay attention to it until a few months ago. I added it to my Amazon wishlist thinking I would buy it or borrow it someday, maybe. Then the Kindle edition went on sale for $4.99 the other day and I bought it after I tried the sample and got hooked. Based on what I knew of it before then, I expected it to be a somewhat amusing new adult story. I was not prepared for what it actually is.

The plot of this book was awesome. I’ve been in fandoms most of my life, and I know the joys and heartaches and sense of belonging that comes with finding something you’re so passionate about. Other people think you’re weird if they don’t get it, so you turn to others in the fandom for friendship and understanding. We’re like families, in many ways. We look out for our own, encourage one another, cry together, read each others fanfic, etc., and I think Rainbow Rowell captured a lot of that in Fangirl.

Cath’s story really got to me at times, because I can relate to her so much. I don’t write fanfic now, but I used to (I was never popular, though), and I definitely relate to her anxieties and some of her fears. I found myself nodding and sympathising with her so often — having a mentally ill parent, worrying that you’ll be just like them, being abandoned by one parent, not knowing what to do in new situations, being freaked out by crowds — because I’ve been through it, and I know how scary it can be. I didn’t cry while reading this book because it wasn’t really sad, but I did laugh a lot. I’m not sure how people who have never been in a fandom would feel about this book, but I think anyone who has been in a fandom could appreciate it and probably relate to it in some ways.

I fell in love with Cath, Levi, and Reagan right away. I love all three of them so much, and they were so real. Everything about this book felt like it could really happen— like I was reading about real people. I hated Wren for most of the book, but by the end I started to like her. I found myself rooting for her and hoping she would work things out. I thought Reagan was entertaining, but I kind of wish we could have “seen” more of her. Cath & Levi were adorable and I didn’t want the story to end, so I could find out what happens with them. I really enjoyed being inside Cath’s head because it felt so familiar. She was socially awkward and a little weird, and she reminded me of myself.

It’s been a while since I’ve read most of a book in one day because I couldn’t put it down, but that’s what happened with Fangirl. I tried to pull myself away, but I couldn’t do it for more than a few minutes. I really loved this book, and I definitely recommend it. ...more

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Oct 28, 2015 Meera Nair rated it really liked it

Twin sisters – Cather and Wren – have always stood by each other, whether it was their passion for the Simon Snow book series or coping with their family drama. But when they move to college, the sisters’ opposite personalities drive a wedge between them. Surprisingly, Cath who is not used to forming friendships easily, gets accustomed to her roommate Reagan fairly well. On the other hand, Wren’s new friendships begin to take up all of her spare time. Cath channels her loneliness and feelings of Twin sisters – Cather and Wren – have always stood by each other, whether it was their passion for the Simon Snow book series or coping with their family drama. But when they move to college, the sisters’ opposite personalities drive a wedge between them. Surprisingly, Cath who is not used to forming friendships easily, gets accustomed to her roommate Reagan fairly well. On the other hand, Wren’s new friendships begin to take up all of her spare time. Cath channels her loneliness and feelings of betrayal onto the fan-fiction that the sisters had been writing together. She gives Simon the reality that couldn’t be hers. Somehow, writing becomes her door to the outside world. She joins fiction writing class with an ambition to write to her heart’s content; she becomes writing buddies with a boy from her class and gradually grows close to her roommates boyfriend – all this while taking supreme control over the fanfic and attracting thousands of fans for her own book. What does it mean to be a fangirl? This novel throws light on exactly that. That and the drama which ensues in Cath’s life.

A friend told me that I had to read this before reading Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and that is what pushed me to open the book which had been sitting on my shelf for months. Fangirl has been written so realistically, you can as well imagine being the protagonist. Rowell’s writing style is extremely agreeable and easygoing. She makes you feel like you know all the characters personally and weaves most of them to be very endearing. Initially, I thought that Cath had Agoraphobia (a fear of venturing out into situations and places with large crowds from which escape may not be easily possible) but we learn later that it is nothing major. She displays traits of low self esteem and introversion. Her preoccupation with a fictional world results in her withdrawal from social settings. But she blossoms into a more confident person after meeting Reagan, Nick and Levi. Whether good/bad, her experiences with these people help her get out of the shell she had made for herself. Wren’s detachment from Cath and the fan-fiction they were writing is inevitable because of the nature she has. She is a person who lives in the moment, at parties and gatherings than through fiction. Levi, Reagan’s boyfriend, is shown to be an optimist. But I found his character to be a little superficial. Cath herself repeatedly emphasizes the fact that he is always smiling, even when facing goons at a party. That sort of dilutes the essence of happiness for me. How can someone be smiling all the time? Their mother left them at an early age. And so they have been living with their father. The bond they share with him is a friendly and affectionate one.

The storyline is really good, nothing too extravagant but very grounded. We witness how the sisters deal with different issues in varying ways. Moreover we learn how fans create a totally different world by situating the objects of their praise at an apex and then producing merchandise, alternate endings, costumes and fan clubs. What I didn’t like much about the book were the snippets of Simon Snow stories that were included at the end of each chapter. While I absolutely love epistolary novels, I didn’t like reading Simon Snow because I didn’t know the whole story. So I couldn’t wrap my mind around why the tidbits had been incorporated. That being said, I really enjoyed Fangirl and I look forward to reading Carry On. It is definitely a feel-good book and I recommend it to everyone. ...more

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Jan 16, 2016 Sanika rated it it was ok

The cover blurb looked promising, so I picked this book up. Frankly, I was quite disappointed reading it. This is a story of broken family - twin sisters and a father. The mother leaves them when they were 8 years old and permanently marr their lives. Eventually twins find solace in fictional charaters of Simon and Baz. Okay, so this family had issues with abandonment and they tried to cope with living in a fictional world..but was it necessary to include Simon and Baz dialogues after every chap ...more

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Jan 17, 2015 Mildred Smith rated it really liked it

LOVED IT. This is the second Rainbow Rowell book I've read and loved (Eleanor and Park was the first). The characters....they just draw you in.
Levi----I fell in love with him along with Cath.
Another awesome book by Rainbow. YOU ROCK!
...more

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Nov 05, 2014 Katie rated it it was amazing

This was a long book, but well worth my time. I love everything about it. I like how they tell us the story of her first year of collage. They made Cath like most teenage girls, obsessive over a movie or book. I didn't think I was going to like it, but overall I enjoy it thoroughly. ...more

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