From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

Fangirl

Rainbow Rowell

Start date: August 22, 2014

Finish date: August 30, 2014

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What Members Thought

Jan 15, 2014 ♡Karlyn P♡ added it

Shelves: audiobook, dnf

DNF @15% I have a big sad, as I really had high hopes for this one! But alas, this was not for me.

In a nutshell: BORING, SLOW and NOTHING SPARKED my interests.

This is very much a coming of age book, and deals with the normal stresses of an 18 y/o college girl. Boyfriends, exams, living on their own for the first time, sibling rivalries, food, parties...etc. In other words, she doesn't really have any problems if this is all she can focus on, right? Yet she whines like life is so hard and terri ...more

26 likes · Like · see review

Sep 21, 2013 Michael rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, read-in-2013, tower-team-challenge-b, pbrc-tower-challenge

After their mother left, twin sisters Cath and Wren lost themselves in the fantasy world of Simon Snow. That included devouring the books and creating their own fan-fic based set within the world of Simon.

Now that two are headed off to the same college and Cath is having a difficult time adjusting to the changes in her life. Wren wants to live with someone else and Cath, who is a bit shy and socially awkward, can't quite work up the gumption to go to the cafeteria to eat her meals. Instead, she' ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Oct 09, 2013 Trisha rated it it was amazing

Oh, Rainbow Rowell, You are an amazing master at your craft. You absolutely dazzle me with your comfortable and easy words until I am so wrapped into the story, I actually feel the characters. When Cather was nervous, I was nervous. And when she hurt, I had pain so deep in my chest, I had to actually step away from the book for a whole day, because I wasn't sure I could take it.

And my deep affection for these characters completely took me by surprise. I mean, I thought I liked the story and I th ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 19, 2015 Nancy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, chicklit

I am not a particular fan of YA, or of chicklit for that matter so perhaps a 2 star rating is a bit unfair. There was not a lot about this book that appealed to me. But saying that, I have read YA I really like and I have also read chicklit which wasn't too bad either. Sadly, for me, this book didn't achieve either. It was just too predictable and I felt it just didn't go anywhere. I got so tired of the Simon Snow excerpts between chapters as well that I barely read them by the end as they just ...more

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Apr 27, 2014 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, almost-read, contemporary, 2015-reading-challenge, female-authors, one-word-title

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because of Simon Snow. This is the first book by Rainbow Rowell that I have read, and I had high expectations. Were they met? In some ways, but I found the book slow going.

Cath, our main character, is having a hard time starting college. She doesn't want to meet people, and has a crippling sort of social anxiety. She doesn't go to the cafeteria for a month because she doesn't know where it is, and she isn't asking. She's also a popular writer of fanfiction in the Simon 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because of Simon Snow. This is the first book by Rainbow Rowell that I have read, and I had high expectations. Were they met? In some ways, but I found the book slow going.

Cath, our main character, is having a hard time starting college. She doesn't want to meet people, and has a crippling sort of social anxiety. She doesn't go to the cafeteria for a month because she doesn't know where it is, and she isn't asking. She's also a popular writer of fanfiction in the Simon Snow fandom (an obvious Harry Potter knock-off, though strangely enough Harry Potter does exist within the book's universe.) She has a twin sister who she's growing apart from. And she finds the social scene of college to be impossible to navigate, as she's not interested in frat parties or drinking.

Let me say that I related to Cath very much. In fact, she's the reason I kept reading. I myself was once a shy, socially awkward college freshman attending a large state University. I also stayed in my dorm room with the door shut (because I was not interested in the things the other girls were) and read large amounts of fanfiction (on the X-files, to date myself a bit.) I feel that Rowell caught her Cath's personality perfectly. She was sometimes frustrating, as she refused to move outside her comfort zone, but it was consistent with her character.

I thought this was going to be a 5 star read for me. The thing that held it back for me was the lack of forward motion in the plot. I understand that this is a coming of age story, but I sometimes felt the plot meandered around, with no central conflict. I also thought that Cath's love interest was much too perfect, and not believable to me. I wasn't super invested in Wren's plotline either (view spoiler)

Recommended, just know that it's not in a hurry to get anywhere. ...more

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Jul 31, 2015 Jenn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 2015-finished

Not really impressed with this story. It may be because I just finished 3 really good books that I enjoyed and this one was just meh compared to those.

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