Began Reading: 19.2.2015
Completed Reading: 24.2.2015
Overall Rating: 4 stars
Cath and her twin sister, Wren, have enrolled at university and are eager to begin their studies. Cath and Wren are total opposites: Wren’s interests revolve around boys and parties, while Cath prefers to spend her time at home, writing fan fiction. Cath considers herself abandoned when Wren reveals that she does not want to be roommates with Cath and wants to spend time with her new best friend. Cath and Wren must learn to overcome difficulties together, including family issues, assessments and boys, despite their differences. Cath has to understand how to live apart from her closest friend, and deal with her emotional past, whilst avoiding being hurt another time.
There were so many reasons for me to love Fangirl. Firstly, Cath is very relatable! Like her, I prefer to be at home, on my computer, instead of going out. My favourite quote from Cath is:
It’s just that… I don’t like new places. New situations. There’ll be all those people, and I won’t know where to sit — I don’t want to go (p. 39).
Yep, that’s my excuse for wanting to stay home. Cath is also passive and introverted, which is definitely me. Other readers have stated that Cath’s passiveness is irritating, but I think that it adds to her overall personality.
Another reason why I love this book is the humour. Humour plays a recurring role throughout the novel. I love that Levi is like ‘the other half’ of Cath. For me, Wren and Levi make the story more interesting because they are Cath’s opposites, personality-wise. My favourite quote from Levi:
*talking about Wren, and Wren’s boyfriend* "Maybe we should go on lots of double dates," Cath said, "and then we can get married on the same day in a double ceremony, in matching dresses, and the four of us will light the unity candle all at the same time."
"Pfft," Levi said, "I'm picking out my own dress" (p. 409).
(My humour is terrible, I know!)
Speaking of Levi, Rainbow Rowell has made the protagonist fall for a guy who doesn’t meet the expectations of many readers. Usually, the protagonist falls for the most attractive guy/girl on campus (or whatever). In Fangirl, Cath doesn’t replicate the romantic expectations that appear in other books, which is very refreshing.
At first, I didn't enjoy the excerpts from Cath’s fan fiction and Simon Snow books. I felt that they were ‘out of place’. As the story went on, I began to understand the relationship between Cath’s story and Simon Snow’s. It reminded me so much of Harry Potter!
Finally, the descriptions of characters and places are very detailed, which makes me very happy, haha! As I've mentioned before, the amount of detail (or lack thereof) a character or place has been described impacts on how much I enjoy the book. I want to be able to see the characters or situation as clearly as the author does. Rainbow Rowell has done a very impressive job with describing her characters. For example: “His eyes were set so deep, it made everything he said more intense” (p. 65). I really liked the way Cath described Levi’s eyes: “His eyes were warm and baby blue. They made you feel like he liked you better than other people” (p. 233).
Sometimes, I lost the motivation to continue reading. I think it was because something would happen in the story that I didn’t want to happen. For example, the arguments between Cath and Wren. Also, one argument between Cath and Levi seemed a bit unnecessary. I don’t want to spoil the book, so I won’t explain further.
I would have loved to know what happened with the characters. For example, does Cath reunite with her mum? What happens to Nick? What does Levi’s family think of Cath? I think that there could have been a page or two at the end, explaining a bit about what had happened to certain characters in the two months or so of the Fall semester.
My favourite character in this book would definitely have to be Cath! She’s so damn relatable! As I mentioned before, Cath is very introverted and prefers to stay at home, writing fan fiction. I wish my dad could be more like Cath’s. He’s so open and carefree, which makes everyone love him. He would have to be my second favourite character in the book. This book is very good with plot twists! I won’t give it away, but let me just say, Nick’s a jerk!
Happy reading!
Buy the book: http://www.bookdepository.com/Fangirl-Rainbow-Rowell/9781447263227
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