Fangirl in The Seasonal Reading Challenge

Dec 10, 2013 Chris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: united-states, fiction, audiobook, youth, young-adult

I can't remember the last time a book made me smile so much. I was totally and completely unprepared for it. Once I got into the story of Cather Avery I didn't want it to stop. In fact, I listened to the whole book--11+ hours--in about three days. At first Cath was a bit of a turn off. She really is weird. She wants nothing to do with the outside world. She'd much rather stay in front of her computer writing fan fiction about Simon Snow, the boy magician, whose book series has taken the world by ...more

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Jul 07, 2016 Kate rated it it was ok

I wanted to like this book. I really did. When I was in middle school and high school and even some college and (if I'm telling the truth and being honest) even some now, I used to read and write fanfiction. So I thought that this would be my book soulmate. I mean our names are even similar...

But it was just a fail. Cath bothered me on so many levels. And she was sort of portrayed as the ultimate fangirl. Like this is what fangirls are like. Loners who never socialize, are afraid of everything, ...more

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Oct 29, 2016 Brandi rated it really liked it

Not a book I would have chosen for myself. It was a book club choice. But it was a good book. I laughed and cried my way through it. Definitely a good read.

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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 27, 2015 Cindy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-borrowed, ya-novels, r-q-authors

Good YA book! If you know about fanfic, this book will make you smile!

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Mar 17, 2014 Alisha Marie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: e-books-i-ve-read, young-adult, favorites, 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 13, 2014 Bernadette rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, genre-romance, theme-coming-of-age, theme-college, genre-contemporary

I feel like Rainbow Rowell wrote this book especially for me, I can relate to it so well. Fanfiction has been part of my life for so long, and usually it's not written about in a positive light, if it's written about at all. But lately I feel like many authors have been coming out and praising fanfiction writers, and not only does Rainbow Rowell do that, but she rewards them as well by writing Fangirl, and Cath. ...more

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Oct 25, 2013 Lisa Gray rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 Stars

Boy, it's been a long time since I felt compelled to stay up WAY past my bedtime to finish a book! This was it, though. I definitely will read everything she's written. This is typical YA love story fiction, but the characters were so well drawn, the story pacing just right enough....just such a feel good story that you can't stop reading.
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