Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - Restarting February 22nd 2021

[Sarah Elizabeth]

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park.

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Fangirl will be our Guided Buddy Read for December 2013.

Please read at your own pace, and hide any spoilers ☺ You are welcome to join at any time during the month ☺

Happy Reading Everybody!

Pre-Reading -
Anybody got any thoughts on this one before we start?

Has anyone read anything similar to this before?

[Hannah]

All of the booktubers I watch have said amazing things about this book. I've been meaning to read it since it came out! I'm so excited.

[Sarah Elizabeth]

I've heard that a lot of people really love this one ☺ I haven't read anything by this author yet.

[Mei]

I've read her Eleanor and Park but wasn't a fan of it. That doesn't mean I'm mot going to read any more works from Rainbow Rowell, though! Heard a lot of great things about Fangirl. I have my copy already so I'll join in reading :)

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Happy December guys! I'm starting this now ☺

[Sarah Elizabeth]

2% (view spoiler)[ OMG. I see both sides of the argument, but I think I'd rather share a room with my twin sister who I trust, than with some stranger who could smell bad, snore, steal your stuff, kick you out of the room to have sex with her boyfriend, have sex with her boyfriend while you're in the room, have sex with Your boyfriend etc. better the devil you know if you ask me. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

2% (view spoiler)["Did you get an eyelid?"
What a strange thing to ask. who finds eyelids in their bacon cheese burger? (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

4% (view spoiler)[ I am embarrassed for her. I cann't believe she just used the word 'rapey' (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

6% / end of chapter 2 (view spoiler)[ this Simon person sounds like Harry potter! (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

7% (view spoiler)[ if she can't sleep with a stranger in the room she's going to have a hard time at university. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

7% (view spoiler)[ a crucible picks your room mate? that sounds like the sorting hat! (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

10% (view spoiler)["Internet friends don't count."
Okay, that does it, I hate her. She should totally blame her sister for ending up with such a pants room mate.
(hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

16% (view spoiler)[ this book is killing me. I mean I have a real aversion to it. I dislike Cath, even though she lives online kinda like me, because she's so OTT about this non-existent Simon bloke. I hate her sister eho treats her like dirt. I hate her room mate who tells her her online friends don't count as friends. her father is clearly off his rocker, and these bits about Simon are driving me nuts, because it just feels like a rip-off of harry potter. plus, I'm not the greatest fan of fan fiction, I prefer it when people write original stories. this book and i are not going to be friends. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

17% (view spoiler)[ I thought Cath and Abel weren't really together anyway, so why is she so surprised that he's breaking up with her? why does he even need to break up with her if they're not together? (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

23% (view spoiler)[ i think her tutor has a point. the work isn't wholey her own when she's using someone else's world and characters. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

End of chapter 14 Questions -

(view spoiler)[1. What do you think to the way Wren is behaving? Is this just typical student behaviour? Or is she acting out?

2. What do you think to Cath and Nick's relationship?

3. Do you think Cath had really put enough work into her relationship with Abel?

4. What do you think to the fan-fiction so far? Do you think Cath's tutor was right when he said her work wasn't purely her own because it was fan-fic? (hide spoiler)]

[Novel]

Sarah wrote: "4% [spoilers removed]"

LOL

[Sarah Elizabeth]

42% (view spoiler)[ what the hell was she thinking? kissing and then falling asleep with your room mate's boyfriend? bad form Cath. bad form. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

43% (view spoiler)["This is why I can't be with Levi. Because I'm the kind of girl who fantasizes about being trapped in a library overnight - and Levi can't even read."
That is seriously harsh. (hide spoiler)]

[Novel]

Sarah wrote: "23% [spoilers removed]"

I agree with the tutor too. I'm not particularly fond of fan-fictions but there are some really good ones on the internet that I can't help but enjoy. Still, it's not her characters, it's not her idea. If she could write a decent fan fic, why not try her hand on something original, maybe it'll come out better than her fan fics right?

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Novel wrote: "Sarah wrote: "23% [spoilers removed]"

I agree with the tutor too. I'm not particularly fond of fan-fictions but there are some really good ones on the internet that I can't help but enjoy. Still, ..."

The thing is this is for a class. fair enough to write fan-fiction in her own time, I've no problems with that, but I think she should maybe consider that it wouldn't quite cut it for a college course.

[Novel]

Sarah wrote: "Novel wrote: "Sarah wrote: "23% [spoilers removed]"

I agree with the tutor too. I'm not particularly fond of fan-fictions but there are some really good ones on the internet that I can't help but ..."

exactly! i understand her love and devotion for HP, ooops! I mean Simon, but she was asked to write a paper for a class. Even though it's really good (she have tons of followers online), of course she should also consider if the paper is a class material.

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks Simon is Harry!

[Sarah Elizabeth]

End of chapter 25 questions:

(view spoiler)[5. Do you think this relationship between Cath and Levi will work now?

6. Do you think she was right to feel hurt when she caught him kissing another girl, even if they hadn't put a label on their relationship? (hide spoiler)]

[Novel]

Sarah wrote: "Glad I'm not the only one who thinks Simon is Harry!"

haha, it's very HP-ish to me.

[Sarah Elizabeth]

79% (view spoiler)[ she really hates her mother. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

79% (view spoiler)[ I find it funny that the nurse asked if she was there for Wren - seeing as they're identical twins it would certainly make sense! (hide spoiler)]

[Novel]

Sarah wrote: "79% [spoilers removed]"

i hate her too. you read so fast!

[Sarah Elizabeth]

I read faster the less I like a book....

[Sarah Elizabeth]

96% (view spoiler)[ well it kind of serves Wren right that Cath doesn't want to share a room with her next year. it's her fault that they weren't sharing this year. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Good luck! I really hope you like it better than I did!

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Hannelore wrote: "6% - Rapey? Is that even a word?"

No! I can't believe she even said that. I felt embarrassed for her.

[Sarah Elizabeth]

That's how I felt, the whole thing just felt pointless.

[Sarah Elizabeth]

It gets worse. A bit further in there's pages and pages of fan fictionn just thrown in there.

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Yep. The fan fiction is pretty pointless. It adds nothing so you can skip it and it doesn't matter.

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Hannelore wrote: "10% - god she really acts weird!
That Simon Snow thing seems obsessed!
[spoilers removed]"

I thought she acted weird too. a little too introverted or something.

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Hannah wrote: "Lol thanks for the heads up! I will probably skip it."

I ended up skipping quite a lot of it. it didn't really add to the story at all.

[Greta]

well…i don't think i really appreciated all the Simon Snow stuff.
i did like the love story part of the book, and the writing in general.

i wasn't able to tie all the Simon Snow fan fiction in with what was going on in Cath's life, and i think that was the point of it.

[Greta]

Hannelore wrote: "Sarah wrote: "10% "Internet friends don't count."
Okay, that does it, I hate her. She should totally blame her sister for ending up with such a pants room mate."

Haha yeah that sentence was mean!"

agree.. in general, i had a hard time liking Wren.

[Jenn]

*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Restarting January 18th.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Could a mod change the date please?

[Jenn]

Ypu didn't enjoy it? I've seen a lot of rave reviews

[Jenn]

Oh okay. Well you should join us then :)

[B∞k]

How much chapters per day? How much time do we have, like when does the buddy reads end?

[Tati]

Book, you can read it at your own pace, and there is no deadline to finish the book.

[Tati]

I'm a little late, but I'll be starting it today. Have you started it yet?

[Jenn]

I've not started yet either. I am bhind in my reading schedule. I hope to pick this up Monday.

[Jenn]

But this book is on my TBR high list. Hope it doesn't disappoint :)

[Rachmi]

I want to join you guys but I might be start it late too. I'll try to read it on Tuesday, though.

[Tati]

I'll wait for you, then! I have other stuff to read, so I don't mind waiting.

I'm at 33%, (view spoiler)[ and I'm not sure where this is going... It's getting a bit boring with Cath moping and not really doing anything. (hide spoiler)]