I just finished listening to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and I liked it even better than Eleanor and Park, which I raved about in my review. Fangirl could be considered Young Adult or New Adult fiction since its main character is a college freshman struggling to overcome her social ineptness in her first year at the University of Nebraska.
Premise
Cath is an introvert who retreats into the fandom of Simon Snow (a fictional equivalent of Harry Potter) when her real life gets too difficult. She and her identical twin sister Wren grew up reading, and loving, the Simon Snow books and writing fan fiction that earns them some online popularity. But when the girls go to college, Wren wants to start a new life, unattached to her twin, and Cath finds herself floundering outside of her comfort zone. She’s pretty sure her roommate hates her. She can’t believe how much her roommate’s boyfriend smiles. And, there’s this cute guy in her fiction writing class who likes collaborating with her, but never offers to walk her home after their late night writing sessions in the stacks.
This is a great novel about facing fears and shattering self-imposed boundaries.
What I liked
I could relate to so many of Cath’s issues: feeling socially awkward, wondering how to deal with grown up guys, facing deep-seated family conflict. I especially enjoyed Cath’s description of her writing process and all the joys and frustrations that come with trying to get the right words to tell a story.
Rainbow Rowell has particular skill in writing fresh, vivid descriptions of people and emotions. One of the reasons Cath likes Levi, her roommate’s boyfriend, is that he has “10,000 different smiles.” And on a day when Levi is uncharacteristically unfriendly, she says he’s “thirty degrees lower than normal Levi.”
The characters often exchange funny quips, but the humor is balanced with thoughtful treatment of serious issues like abandonment and mental illness.
The chapters of Cath’s story are interspersed with snippets from either the “real” Simon Snow books or from Cath’s Fan Fic, and I had fun trying to figure out what Ms. Rowell wanted to accomplish with those interludes.
What I didn’t like
Not much.
Recommendation
This is a great book for older teens who like realistic fiction or for adults who don’t mind a good college story. Rebecca Lowman, who read Eleanor’s chapters in Eleanor and Park, narrates this audio book as well. She does a great job in both. I highly recommend the audio version.
Notes on content
Characters consume alcohol, but they also suffer the effects of excessive drinking. (Cath’s sister ends up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning.) There are a few “kissy” scenes, and the characters discuss having sex. In Cath’s Fan Fic, the main characters, and arch enemies, of the Simon Snow series have a homosexual relationship. But in the Fan Fic and the main story, nothing explicit ever happens between characters. Some language.
Have you read this or any of Rainbow Rowell’s books? What did you think?
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