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Nothing Happens in This Novel!!!
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I thought a lot of things happened in this novel: Cath moved out of her childhood home, went to college, learned to live life without her sister, made some friends, got a boyfriend, learned that sometimes people suck. Also she learned how to come out of her shell a bit.True, nothing particularly exciting happens in the 'shocking plot twist/car chase/murder plot/what have you' way, but I don't think it was meant to be that kind of book.
I think this is more of a slice of life kinda book where the story just kinda rambles along and nothing major happens, but the main character ends up in a different place than where they started. (It's kinda like Where the Heart Is, there's no real plot, but the characters are in different places by the time the book is over.)
So yeah, nothing major or exciting really happens, but things do happen in the story.
I just finished the book this weekend and braved it after reading some of Rainbow's other books. I have to agree with Ren on this one. There's nothing shocking or dramatic, but I think there's a lot going on in this novel.
Firstly, Cath's relationship with Wren is changing. After having been super close with her twin sister the first 18 years of her life, BOOM! Gone. And maybe not gone so much as different, but we see that struggle with Cath.
Secondly, Cath's challenges dealing with a mentally unstable father. It's the first time her father will be completely alone and we see her struggle with that.
Third, Cath's challenge facing college life ... without her twin sister, mind you.
And I could list some more. While these are exactly life-shattering, they are life-altering for Cath and I liked seeing her working on herself. As Ren mentioned, she did end up in a different place from where she began and I appreciated that journey.
I agree 'life' happened and it was interesting to read and changing for Cath.
Ok I'll take a shot at explaining. This book isn't popular and beloved because of the riveting plot. It is, I agree, largely plotless. What it is, is a well done self-insert wish fulfillment story that wraps the reader up like a warm blanket.Cath is the nerdy teenage girl that every nerdy teenage girl wishes they could be. She is smart, attractive, and talented. Everyone falls to their knees before her greatness, she's an extremely talented writer with tens of thousands of rabid fans, her favourite teacher kisses her butt endlessly and a super hot guy falls for her because, um, reasons. But she still has that streak of social anxiety (that a large portion of nerdy girls have) to ground her and make her feel like a real human being.
I know this makes it sound like I'm ragging on this book but I'm not, I actually quite liked it. It's nice to read a book like this sometimes, I know I'd fantasized about having a life like Cath's many times, and it's nice to just sink into a fantasy like this once and awhile.
So that's why people read this book, forget about trying to find "plot."
Sammy, does that mean you think Eleanor and Park was just a boring book about a boy and a girl riding the bus?! You're boiling the book down to its most basic; if you think like that, Harry Potter is just a kid going to school and Bella is just the new girl who likes the mysterious, cute guy. I thought Fangirl was adorable and relatable. Rowell captures the feeling and insecurities of going off to college when you're not very outgoing. But Cath overcomes her doubts and makes friends, learns lessons about boys, gets a boyfriend, cares for her father, questions her passion for writing, and comes out stronger in the end.
Jessica wrote: "Ok I'll take a shot at explaining. This book isn't popular and beloved because of the riveting plot. It is, I agree, largely plotless. What it is, is a well done self-insert wish fulfillment story ..."
Totally agree here. I was hesitant about reading the book because I knew there would be no "wow" or "wtf just happened" factors like there are in paranormal, thriller, dystopian, or mystery books. But, I found that though there was very little plot, I could relate to the characters and the events that took place.
It truly was a book about a nerdy girl finding her feet in her new world after having to move on from high school. It captivated so many people because so many people can relate whole heartedly.
Totally agree here. I was hesitant about reading the book because I knew there would be no "wow" or "wtf just happened" factors like there are in paranormal, thriller, dystopian, or mystery books. But, I found that though there was very little plot, I could relate to the characters and the events that took place.
It truly was a book about a nerdy girl finding her feet in her new world after having to move on from high school. It captivated so many people because so many people can relate whole heartedly.
Sammy wrote: "Seriously nothing happens I can't stress that any harder. I'm not even over exaggerating - NOTHING HAPPENS. Please, I implore anyone who can argue with me to do so, I am simply desperate to know th..."I agree that even though not much seems to happen within this novel the main focus is on coping with reality and accepting new situations. Another part of it was living with anxiety even though this wasn't emphasized much and it almost seemed to be used like an excuse for Cath. I would disagree with the aspect of lack of character growth because Cath did remain in school, as well as date, along with finally finishing her last Simon Snow FanFiction. Even though these were very small progressions and seemingly insignificant they were important, at least to me, in showing that life's individual struggles are important to our growth as people even though highly mundane. Now I was also bored temporarily by this book because it was so mundane but then I just chose to ignore it :)
Anne wrote: "Sammy, does that mean you think Eleanor and Park was just a boring book about a boy and a girl riding the bus?! You're boiling the book down to its most basic; if you think like that, Harry Potter ..."No if you boil it down to that Harry is a boy that goes to school and fights the darkest wizard of all time whilst uncovering secrets of the wizarding world that nobody previously has. And Bella (though I hated Twilight) still battled her demons literally!!!
Jessica wrote: "Sammy wrote: "Seriously nothing happens I can't stress that any harder. I'm not even over exaggerating - NOTHING HAPPENS. Please, I implore anyone who can argue with me to do so, I am simply desper..."I do agree that there was a very small degree of character growth in Cath, however it all seemed to happen in the last 10 pages rather than as a general progression through out the novel, to me it felt a little rushed and forced. Didn't you think so?
thanks for the reply :)
411Junkie wrote: "I just finished the book this weekend and braved it after reading some of Rainbow's other books. I have to agree with Ren on this one. There's nothing shocking or dramatic, but I think there's a ..."
It just felt to me like all of these things were focused on for a page at a time and were given little to no focus at all. As someone who has a parent with the exact same issues as Caths father I thought the only say three pages granted to this issue made the writing only more pathetic. These issues do not get sorted that immediately...they take a lot of time, certainly more than three pages out of 500...
Thank you everyone for replying to me with your own interpretations!:)
This book is a more 'realistic' book so I guess it'll work out for you if you like these kind of books; personally I'm a fan :P
I understand the genre of the novel and that it was supposed to be realistic and what not but in reality things happen, besides I can't say I've ever heard of an audience for a book that's so realistic it follows a college girl over the course of a year whilst she texts, goes online and does laundry had I know that writing a novel would have been much easier. What I'm asking for is a climax, character growth - the basic formula used when writing a novel and thus far nobody has managed to grant me an insight to these things. And to be quite frank I don't find this book to be realistic at all NO HUMAN BEING IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD HAS EVER HAD LIFE THAT EASY!!! Cath literally gets everything she wants by doing nothing to earn them, her severe lack of growth helps readers to assume that the great gods above have eyes for Cath (and Cath only) and drop all of the dreams she's ever wanted into her patiently waiting lap...that just doesn't seem very realistic to me.
I don't think you've been reading the same book as the rest of us, either that or you're most used to very dramatic turns of events. This book does have character growth but it's mostly subtle. This is a slice of life story and those don't usually lend themselves well to the usual three act structure most books and movies have going on.
Ren wrote: "I don't think you've been reading the same book as the rest of us, either that or you're most used to very dramatic turns of events. This book does have character growth but it's mostly subtle. Thi..."I was wondering if you could share your evidence of Character growth?
Character growth: at first, Cath is so afraid to go figure out how to use the cafeteria that she lives off granola bars for the first month. She doesn't have any friends and she feels abandoned by her twin sister. She lives only through her online forums. By the end of the novel, Cath has friends and eats in the cafeteria, has been betrayed by a friend and overcomes it, has a boyfriend, realizes she doesn't always need her twin sister (though more time together would be nice), and experiences life beyond fan-fiction. She gets to experience real relationships instead of ones she imagines for fictional characters. So her biggest growth is in the sense that she's living life in the real world instead of her fantasy world.
Anne wrote: "Character growth: at first, Cath is so afraid to go figure out how to use the cafeteria that she lives off granola bars for the first month. She doesn't have any friends and she feels abandoned by ..."This, basically.
It's not something that's announced in big dramatic moments, but if you compare Cath at the beginning with Cath at the end then you'll notice that there are differences in her behaviour and how she handles things. That's why I say it's subtle, maybe no one acknowledges the changes in big dramatic speeches, but just because we aren't beaten over the head with announcements doesn't mean the changes didn't happen. The main thing (I believe) that we are supposed to take from Cath's story is that she arrived at college a very little, anxious fish in a huge new pond and had to learn how to come out of her shell in a way that was comfortable for her, which she did by the end, maybe not in a big way, but she did.
This book isn't driven by plot, not really, but by character development. Maybe if this was a book written about Wren you'd find all the drama and 'excitement' you were looking for, since Wren's personality is very different from Cath's and her growth and development went in a very different direction and she needed to learn different things, or maybe some of the same things but in different ways that would have a better impact on her.
Anne wrote: "Character growth: at first, Cath is so afraid to go figure out how to use the cafeteria that she lives off granola bars for the first month. She doesn't have any friends and she feels abandoned by ..."That to me wasn't character growth and the simple reason for that is Cath in no way changed to accomplish those things, they simply fell into her lap. She done nothing to earn them as I mentioned in my last reply to you. Cath's friends are her friends and work to be so as we all have to do in our relationships, but Cath in no way works or sacrifices to keep them, they do all the work. She's not brave enough to eat in the cafeteria she only does so when she's being forced or supported which would be okay if she were supporting her friends in return. She didn't overcome being betrayed by a friend she is bitter and refuses to allow him to use a story that's half his even though he's giving her half the credit?! And then her friends hide her away before she confronts him. The real relationships she experiences happen even though she does nothing to prove to her friends and boyfriend that she's willing to meet them in the middle. They all have to do all the work all of the time and accept all of her quirks and complications without her accepting or forgiving theirs.
That's not growth that's luck and good fortune...
Sammy wrote: "Anne wrote: "Character growth: at first, Cath is so afraid to go figure out how to use the cafeteria that she lives off granola bars for the first month. She doesn't have any friends and she feels ..."Yeah, I didn't really see things the way you did, I guess.
Cath is a person with anxiety (social and general, I believe) so the fact that she does manage to become more social over the course of the story is character growth in and of itself. The sacrifices she makes to keep her friends are that she's working against herself and her own insecurities to keep interacting with them.
Also I think we can all agree that Nick was a self-serving jerk and Cath owes him exactly nothing. And not letting him walk all over her was a big step for her in terms of her progress.
But I feel like she didn't work against it, they forced themselves upon her and she used her roommate as a pillar and she never once done anything for Levi he accepted all of her and she refused to budge. And I never fully seen what was wrong with what Nick done. I guess your right we seen the book from different perspectives, which is great the best part of goodreads is discussing two completely different opinions I think!
Sammy wrote: "But I feel like she didn't work against it, they forced themselves upon her and she used her roommate as a pillar and she never once done anything for Levi he accepted all of her and she refused to..."True, the interesting thing about books is that there's more than one way to see things. Some books speak differently to different people.
(Though there's really only one way to interpret Nick's actions and that is that he didn't care at all about Cath or her feelings and used her and her writing for his own personal gains. So, dick move there.)
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Please before you criticise me for not liking this novel I implore you to read my review first to fully understand my perspective - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I would also like to add that I'm aware that two incidents occur in which main characters end up in hospital, seemingly taking the novel to the next level but each of these events only last for a few pages nothing more and there is absolutely no character growth as a result of these events - so I personally don't count them.