From the Bookshelf of The Seasonal Reading Challenge…

Fangirl

Rainbow Rowell

Start date: December 1, 2013

Finish date: February 28, 2014

Why we're reading this: This book was chosen for the Winter 2013 Group Read in the category 2013 YA
[close] This book was chosen for the Winter 2013 Group Read in the category 2013 YA

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What Members Thought

Apr 28, 2015 puppitypup rated it did not like it

Shelves: new-adult

New Adult Hmmm...

I read this several days ago, but I've been putting off the review. There's just no way of doing this without baring my soul.

I did not finish the book, not because I didn't enjoy the author's writing style. Although her metaphors are rather awkward, the low-key, conversational tone of the book adds a touch of realism that I find appealing.

That's about it for the brownie points on this one, at least from my perspective. After realizing this was about identical twins, I should hav ...more

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Mar 17, 2014 Alisha Marie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, favorites, e-books-i-ve-read, read-in-2014

I have a confession to make: I am an unapologetic fangirl (yep, I do have a Warehouse 13 Myka/HG computer background, so what?!). There's just no other way to describe it. I am a hardcore shipper and I read fanfiction about my favorite ships daily. However, it is something that I tend to keep to myself with my "real life" friends because they don't get it quite the way that my internet friends do. (In fact, I've had that "what the fuck is 'the fandom?'" conversation that Cath has with Reagan man I have a confession to make: I am an unapologetic fangirl (yep, I do have a Warehouse 13 Myka/HG computer background, so what?!). There's just no other way to describe it. I am a hardcore shipper and I read fanfiction about my favorite ships daily. However, it is something that I tend to keep to myself with my "real life" friends because they don't get it quite the way that my internet friends do. (In fact, I've had that "what the fuck is 'the fandom?'" conversation that Cath has with Reagan many times in real life). So, having a book revolve around fangirls and placing heavy emphasis on a fictional fandom was like a nerdgasm for me.

Here's the thing: I see a lot of myself in Cath. And the minute, I identify with the main character, the book becomes not-a-complete-waste-of-time for me, no matter how bad it may be. But it shocked me how much I identified with Cath. Introvert, feels a bit more less than than her more glamorous sisters, geeky fangirl, kinda socially inept in "real life" situations, yet is way more outgoing online...all of those things, totally me. So, Fangirl pretty much won me over instantly with Cath. And it just cemented it with its freaking awesome supporting characters!

I loved every single character in Fangirl. I loved and swooned over Levi and his relationship with Cath(and that's rare in a YA novel). I loved the complicated and angst-filled relationship between Cath and Wren and the even more depressing situation with Cath, Wren, and their mom. I was completely charmed by the girls' father. He was such a great, funny, lovable, sympathetic character. I loved and adored (and add way more synonyms for those words here) Reagan. Seriously, she was hands-down my favorite character in Fangirl. I have a soft spot for sarcastic, perpetually scowling, somewhat bitchy girls who are sorta nice on the inside. It's a really difficult feat to write a character like that because it can easily cross the line into a character you start to hate, but Rowell managed to make Reagan seem completely badass. Someone who is absolutely terrifying and intimidating until you get to know them and then realize that they're still terrifying and intimidating but absolutely golden when they have your back. I could write soliloquies about Reagan all day. That's how much I loved that character.

The FANDOM: I loved Simon and Baz's ~~Harry and Malfoy's~~ romantic storyline. As someone who has a big bulk of her ships gear towards slash, I definitely appreciated it seeing as how we seem to get the stink eye from every other "canon" ship. I loved the little tidbits of fanfic that we were given in Fangirl about these two characters. Sure, they don't do anything to advance the actual storyline, but man, were they fun to read! Again as someone who reads numerous fanfics, I loved reading how Cath changed canonical events so completely and how she made that world her own. I'm one of those people who doesn't see it as plagiarism at all (unless you're profiting from it, of course). In fact, I would totally read a spin-off book with Simon Snow at the center. It could be that actual (fictional) author's interpretation or Cath's interpretation. I'm not picky.

So overall, I found Fangirl to be an amazing read. I can't even count how many times this book had me laughing out loud or how many quotes I highlighted on my Kindle to peruse from time to time (I can probably do the latter, but I'm too lazy to). Definitely a book all fanfic writers or readers should read due to its sheer brilliance. This was my first Rainbow Rowell book and it shan't be my last. Highly recommended. ...more

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Dec 14, 2013 Scarlett Sims rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, leisure, romance, nook, contemporary

This book is somewhere between young adult and new adult. The main character is a freshman in college, and dealing with issues relating to that, mostly.

The portrayal of main character Cath's anxiety was one of the most true-to-life I have ever read. For example, she doesn't eat lunch at the cafeteria for a month because she doesn't know where it is, and there are a lot of things about it you can't Google, like where to get in line, where to put trays when you're done, stuff like that. Cath's emo ...more

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Nov 14, 2016 Beth F rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, 2016, src-fall-2016

Most YA fiction irritates me because I don't like to be reminded of the tedious thoughts that go along with being a young adult.

But somehow this author manages to touch the happy parts of remembering and none of the tediousness. I loved this. ...more

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