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Fangirl

Rainbow Rowell

Start date: August 22, 2014

Finish date: August 30, 2014

Discussion: Books of the Month

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What Members Thought

Apr 06, 2014 Kirsten rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Wow. What an incredible book. I probably would never have picked this book up if it hadn't been a book of the month choice. But I am so glad I did. I have never met a character that I identified with more. A real girl with real problems and real joys. It was just magical, but still real. I was sad to turn the last page. I wanted to spend more time with these people.

...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Mar 05, 2014 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, read-in-2014, _own-ebook

Rainbow Rowell is just amazing ... I've loved each of her books but I was concerned this one wouldn't work as well for me since I'm not really a fan of fan fiction but she did her magic and I really liked this one a lot! The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is that I didn't love the fan fiction/story inserted within the novel. Those parts were not my favorite. They didn't take away from the rest of the novel but they didn't work as well for me. I highly recommend this or any of Rowell's wor ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 04, 2015 Avigail rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: physical-book, 2015

First, I really and sincerely enjoyed this author's writing style. It is witty, funny, unique and light-hearted (...am looking forward to reading more of her stuff). The book was an easy, up-beat read. I loved all her references to movies and books. She also does a very good and realistic stream of consciousness for her characters- what Cath is doing vs. what she is thinking. Especially in her make-out scene. She also makes her characters and their experiences very relatable. I liked how realist ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 06, 2014 Destiny rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-young-adult-romance

I knew I would love this book when I saw the first page. It was like a parody of Wikipedia. I have a weakness for documents in books. If there is a document in a book I'm reading then the chance that I will love it goes up by 40%.

And I did love this book. I really liked Cath. I liked her relationships with Wren, Reagan and Levi. I liked how multi-layered the characters were. I did start to skim over the snippets from the Simon Snow books. I was more interested in Cath's story. Her relationship w ...more

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Jul 03, 2015 Aces Unbound rated it did not like it

Shelves: disappointing-reads

I don't usually write reviews, I just rate the book and get on with it. But this book made me angry by the time I finished reading. The only thing good about it is the grasp that Rainbow Rowell has on how social anxiety works and the limitations of fandom life in a real world setting. That's where it stops. Cather (which BTW is such a stupid name it makes me cringe) went from 0 to 0 through this entire book, she felt stuck and so desperate to come out of her nook that it takes a 21 year old (who I don't usually write reviews, I just rate the book and get on with it. But this book made me angry by the time I finished reading. The only thing good about it is the grasp that Rainbow Rowell has on how social anxiety works and the limitations of fandom life in a real world setting. That's where it stops. Cather (which BTW is such a stupid name it makes me cringe) went from 0 to 0 through this entire book, she felt stuck and so desperate to come out of her nook that it takes a 21 year old (who reads like a 30 something) to get her out of her comfort zone.

I'm sure we've all been obsessed with certain books/movies/shows and fandoms, and we've all been there, where we don't feel comfortable talking about it in public on account of being judged, but what Rowell fails to understand is that 'fandom' is not about one person, it's about a group of people who have the same passion and obsession over the same thing. We help each other get over characters, and support one another's idea of romance, be it platonic or otherwise. Cath does none of this, all she sees is one aspect of the Simon Snow series (more on that below) and sticks to it and never lets go.

Another thing that bothers me is the way she treats fanfic to not be plagiarism, I think we all learned from the Cassandra Clare debacle that fanfic is plagiarism. Here's a tip, you can take personalities, but anytime you take away setting and characters it becomes plagiarism. You can say your protagonist has social anxiety, but you can't put her in the same setting as this book and not call is plagiarism, it makes no sense.

Coming to Simon Snow, I have only three things to say.

One That throw away line of Levi saying that "It feels like HP was gay" is so unnecessary, because in my mind, in a universe that Simon Snow exists in, HP would never exist, because it's the same book. If someone came up with a similar concept as Harry Potter in this world and set 12 years old magicians on quests to defeat the villain all set up with a magic school backdrop, it would be pushed off the desk with cries off 'plagiarism' before we can say 'Merlin's beard!'

Two It all reads as the same writer. The Simon Snow excerpt from the books, the fanfics and the actual novel, they all read as if they're written by the same person, it smudges the line between fantasy and reality when the fantasy world writer, the book writer and the fanfic writer all write the same way.

Three If I wanted to read some knock-off Harry Potter fanfic, I would just go read that. I shouldn't have to force myself to read it via another book.

Finally, I think we all would have done things differently in our own respective fandoms, we might tweak and change a few things, have some character marry someone else, but at no time have I ever come across a fan who has ever said or thought that a fanfic writer and their story was better than the author or the original story.

...and if I read 'Levi smiled' one more time, I might have to punch a wall. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 31, 2023 Marla rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: award-winner, celebrate-christmas, young-adult, series, romance, chick-lit, adult, new-adult, celebrate-thanksgiving, zz-2023

. Cath is a Simon Snow superfan and she writes Simon Snow fanfiction. Cath starts college and must learn how to function as a solo entity without her twin, Wren.

Likes:
* Simon Snow is like Harry Potter.
* Reagan, Cath's goth roommate
* Interesting to have fan fiction excerpts from Cath's blog
(view spoiler) ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2017 Jen Ifer's Inklings rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-books, library, read-in-2017

I enjoyed this story way more than I expected.

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 24, 2014 Paula rated it liked it

I love Rainbow Rowell's work, but this one started out painfully slow. I stopped and started a few times and didn't really get into a groove until after 40+ pages. The Simon & Baz excerpts wore on my nerves and I wish there weren't so many. I began skipping excerpts because they just didn't make sense.

I did enjoy how the relationship between Cath & Levi developed. He was such a lovable character. Their relationship and banter are the reason this one gets 3 stars.
...more

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Jul 09, 2014 Krissy rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, buddy-read, imperfect-heroine, pgs-400-499, read-before-2015, i-want-to-stab-her-with-a-spork, cover-color-green

I love this author's writing style. And her books are great. BUT I think she needs to work on her endings some more. They seem to just end suddenly. It feels more like it's the end of a chapter rather than the end of a book. ...more

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Jul 19, 2014 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, favorites

Loved. I can't say enough good things about her books, her characters, and specifically in this one her stories within a story. Fanfiction is near and dear to my heart, so this was a fun read. ...more

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