Fangirl

A really cozy book, and a lovely homage to fanfiction. Somehow with Greek plays or folktales everyone accepts the many reiterations of the same story, but doing the same thing with modern fiction, and everyone is flabbergasted that it exists. Fanfiction is such a beautiful playground for writing, it reminds me of when were kids playing with action figures, and we had a Wolverine one (and had no idea who the guy was) so we decided he could fly with his hair. It's building many universes out of that one, and to me, it's imagination at its funnest.

In this book we follow Cath, a Simon/Baz fanfiction writer (kind of a Harry/Draco thing), entering her first year in college. It's slow paced, it's like we're with her during that whole first year, while she figures out her roommate, her friends, her family and the difference between creative writing and fanfiction. It's just nice all around.

No pude leer más allá de la mitad del libro. Digo, empieza bien, Cath empieza siendo un personaje fácil de pensar y de identificarse —sobre todo proviniendo de otra fangirl y escritora de fanfics—, pero a partir que el 9/11 empieza a ser una cosa, cuando se empieza a mezclar ese evento con la ruptura de su familia, cuando incluso se niega a perdonar a su madre y no perdona a Wren por poder hacerlo, CUANDO SE NIEGA A ESCRIBIR HISTORIAS ORIGINALES PORQUE LE IMPORTA MÁS SU ZONA DE CONFORT... Ahí es donde toda esa magia que se iba creando junto con la fascinación a su personaje y sus ganas de verla CRECER se interrumpen.

Cath empieza bien, es una escritora de fanfics, una fan a morir de sus libros (bonito rip off de Harry Potter), y que encuentra en su hobby como fanficker el deseo de volverse una escritora, al punto de matricularse en Literatura y no solo eso, en clases de Escritura Creativa Avanzada. Me pareció muy bien, pero cuando la sinopsis dice que su profesora piensa mal del fanfiction, esperaba que fuera de las típicas “puritanas de la Lengua”, que condenan el entretenimiento de este tipo. No. La profesora de Cath quiere alentarla a empezar a escribir cosas propias, a lo que ella se aferra a que prefiere seguir escribiendo en su página de fanfics y me parece que admite que su interés hacia las clases de Escritura Creativa son para, atentos... Escribir mejores fanfics.

Yo también soy fanficker, pero a partir de ahí empecé a tomar las fuerzas para escribir mis propios originales. Así que creé mucha empatía por Cath con sus miedos que son referentes al fandom y a su entorno IRL, pero perdí esos lazos recién creados cuando empieza a comportarse como una niña mimada.

I really enjoyed this one! I stayed up way too late several nights in a row because I just didn't want to stop reading it!

Reread July 2021:
Lowered my rating by one star (thus to a 3 star rating).

I love, love, love the anxiety representation in this book. It is well executed.
I kinda like Cath and Levi. They are adorable, okay. And sometimes I like cute, fluffy stories.
I like Levi as a character even though he has major flaws (smoking when other people smoke -,-).

What bothered me this time around was the joking atmosphere around mental illnesses. It was hard for me to read. What also bothered me was the joking about gay stuff, that's not something to joke about, tbh.
And the weird comment about eating ... That definitely could be a trigger for people suffering from an eating disorder.

I liked the story bits of Carry on! :)

Overall, I still liked the story, I just liked it less than five years ago when I first read it.

Cath adoresHarry Potter Simon Snow and she loves to write fan fiction. Cath and her twin sister Wren head off to University of Nebraska Lincoln for their freshman year of college. (There are lots of UNL landmarks mentioned here!) I listened to this one in the car. The audiobook is well done. really enjoyed the characters and the story.

Everyone seems to enjoy this book a lot, so I'm not sure why I didn't like it so much.
Despite the story dealing with anxiety, tumultuous sibling relationship and parental issues, it's still a light read and the writing style is very easy. I loved the idea of Cath being so involved in the fandom and the small snippets of Simon's story. Ofcourse, I wasn't very surprised by it all because I read Carry On first.
But I never really connected with any of the characters. The twins relationship with their dad seemed the most genuine for me. The love story of Cath and Levi also didn't really interest me much. I just can't pinpoint what it is about the book that felt lacking but it didn't connect with me emotionally. But I can definitely understand it's appeal.

This was my introduction to Rowell, about whom I've read a lot of buzz online. It was decent enough that I'll read more. But I was a bit disappointed because of too much hype.

The story drags at times. Honestly, the book didn't need to be as long as it was. It didn't need the long excerpts of Simon Snow. Or at least not as many of them. I wanted more characterization of Reagan and less of the Snow brigade. Cath also didn't engage me as much as I wanted her to.

That said, I enjoyed the family drama elements. In fact, I could have used more of them. More of the other characters plotlines and less lovey-dovey romance with Cath and Levi. I got the point.

Still, it was sweet and and enjoyable, and the parts I liked I liked quite a bit.

I just discovered Rainbow Rowell's books, and I'm already booked. She has a tremendous way with words and an instructor ability to draw you into the story. Her characters are damaged but in incredibly believable ways.

In Fangirl, she manages to bring readers a strong story of love, loss, and geekdom. Cather is someone any person who has ever experienced anxiety, grief, and love will connect with instantly. And the story managed to give me butterflies, something I never expected.

I'm excited to read Carry On, which stems from this novel. And I'm excited to read more of Rowell's works.

4 stars because the book was AMAZING and had me captivated but the ending was lack luster and had too many open endings. It just ended. Ughhhhhhhh I need more! I typically don't like Rowell's books (hated Eleanor and Park/Attachments) but a friend told me to read this one. It was fantastic!

This was great! I read Eleanor and Park a few years ago, and I liked it quite a bit as well. Fangirl is very much in the same vein: the writing is quirky, emotional, and fun, and so are the characters. I loved the modernized yet classic coming-of-age elements in this story. Fanfiction is uncharted territory in literature, yet it's such a thriving commodity online for young people and adults. As someone who has read and written fanfiction, it was great to see the concept handled so well here. The romance was so sweet. Levi is one of the best male love interests in my recent memory. Burgeoning sexuality in the main character, Cather, is handled excellently. Though infuriatingly self-sabotaging and pessimistic at times, Cather is a great character to follow around in her world. She has a good heart, she is inquisitive and interested in things outside herself, and there. Is. No. Insta-love. THANK YOU!
I didn't give this one a 5-star rating mostly because 1) I didn't feel like the mom plot was wrapped up sufficiently. She wasn't there, then she was, then she wasn't again. I'd have loved to see more of this plot in the story since it was such a problem area for Cather. 2) The Simon Snow bits in between the chapters didn't always make sense in relation to the story itself. I think it would have been more cohesive if it had been strictly Cather's fanfic instead of random portions of her fanfic and the Simon Snow books. These are really small faults I found in the book, but they don't make it unreadable in the slightest. I really enjoyed Fangirl and would recommend it to anyone who loves YA.

I wish I would have read this book when I was first starting college. Cath was so relatable to me as someone who also suffers from anxiety. I felt so connected to her, and I loved every minute of this story. I've been in such a mood for contemporaries lately and Fangirl definitely quenched that thirst. Such a good book.

I enjoyed this book, and it was a quick read! Part of me feels like it is on the line to YA fiction, but I remember well what it was like starting college. Every now and then I truly enjoy a light book that I can sit down and delve into for a few days. This fit the bill beautifully.

Love this sooo much!!! Charming and funny!!!!

Ik had echt even twijfels over dit boek terwijl ik het aan het lezen was. kwam er vrij slecht doorheen, toch heb ik er echt heel erg van genoten!

Absolutely loved it. Possibly the best description of adolescence I've read in literature.
Parents are imperfect, so are boyfriends, so is the heroine. A delightful book which every parent of a teen should read :)

I pretty much devoured this book as quickly as I could, and got more and more panicked as it came to an end. I didn't want it to stop, but I absolutely loved the ending. I'll be reading more from this author.

I was expecting so much more...

This book was meta, it read like a fanfiction about fanfiction, but whereas I believe that well written fanfiction is out there, I perceive that most of it is juvenile, clumsy writing that is stereotypically lacking on structure/plot and goes for drama.

I understand that Cath spent ten years without a mother, and she's supposed to be this awkward person, but it still came off like she didn't know how to be a person. Towards the end she had a fight with Levi and she kept saying that he didn't understand. When someone, especially someone you love, doesn't understand something, instead of saying that over and over, you're supposed to explain it to them. She also put forth minimal effort to find the dining hall...

I loved what the writing professor said about fanfiction/plagiarism and I wanted it to be addressed more. I loved where it was heading, of the possibility that it doesn't matter the form but that great writing/storytelling is being created. I mean I love graphic novels and it can be argued that they are not ‘acceptable' forms. I wanted Cath to make an argument (at least in her head), to bring up ghostwriting or hell even ‘50 Shades of Grey'. I also wanted more with the Nick storyline being connected to that.

I'm not a fan of romance as a genre. I'm fine with it as being part of a story, but if it is an integral part of the plot I'm already grumpy. I didn't understand Cath's motivation or even emotions behind being intimate (kissing and ‘stuff').
That being said I do think that Levi was well written.

As much as the book made me (literally) cringe, I still wanted to know what was going to happen next and I did laugh at parts. I enjoyed the neurotic and semi-clueless dad (gravioli thought was funny: ‘panda bears don't hibernate') Reagan was bearable.

General statement for all my reviews on books by Rainbow Rowell:For reasons regarding what Rainbow Rowell has written in the past, and her continued defiance to listen to those hurt by this, I no longer read her books, or support and promote her in any way. I am sorry for supporting her, but I won't hide my mistakes as that would be wrong, instead please be aware my thoughts and feelings towards her have changed due to her behaviour and my opinions on her are now different* - July 2020

This book originally didn't have a review on Goodreads, I have not deleted anything, all I've done is clear my original rating which was four stars

What a sweet little book! I devoured it in almost one sitting. It's similar in tone to John Green's YA romances, but with a little more backbone and a little bit less...operatic emotion.

1. There was way too much YA novel style necking/nuzzling and descriptions of lips. Especially for them being in college.
   2. For the story being about her love of writing fan fiction, that plot was sure not described at the end. We get a satisfying ending to both her fiction class story, and the Simon snow part (in an excerpt), but we don't get to find out how she ended her most important project. Why?
   3. I couldn't help but feel like my positive feelings for the story and character were just borrowed from my nostalgia for Harry Potter. Case in point, the midnight release scene.

4.5 stars I loved this book! I could relate to Cath so much it hurt. I'm probably the only one, but I really could have done without the fanfic excerpts at the end of each chapter...

Fangirl is about a girl named Cath who is a fangirl over Simon Snow. Not only is she a fan and have multiple posters and shirts about the books, she also writes her own fanfics. Cath used to do this with her twin Wren but, the two are on the rocks ever since Wren wanted to branch out and not be roommates for their first year at university.
So, Cath has to learn how to live without relying on her twin, and figure out how to live with her anxiety, which isn't easy with all the newness through at her.

I went into this book prepared not to like it because of reviews but, I did- like it. I'm not in love nor do I think I'll ever re-read it but, it was nice to connect to a protagonist so strongly yet, it was scary and uncomfortable. Her difficult time with eating alone, or going to class, even with dealing with a roommate, I understood her. And while we see the anxiety bring her down there are times when she is VERY strong and brave which I don't think are truly given the magnitude of attention they should be given or perhaps things had to be written a certain way for the story to progress.

As any writer of fanfic can tell you, finding time to write between school, hanging with friends, especially when you have a significant other, really brings the writing time to nil. The fact she was able to find time is astounding to me– then again... Freshman. I'd bet after she finishs Carry On she stops or barely writes.
So, it was nice to read about someone who could understand what I've been through.

Cath was hard to be around sometimes but, I liked her as a main character and I'm happy to have read her story. Love it? Nah, Really Liked it? Possibly but I think it hit too close to home sometimes yet, other times Cath didn't make sense... But, I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to some of my fanfic writing/fangirl friends.

reread jan 2019: still one of my faves :') so fun and heartwarming, will reread forever

Read in one sitting, approximately 11 hours.

Awesome read about what it means to be a part of a fandom. I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of anything because you will be able to relate in one form or another.

Just read it.

Leukleukleuk. Zo eentje die je volledig in beslag neemt. Was wel een beetje ontgoocheld van het einde. Verwachtte nog niet dat het gedaan ging zijn. Ben nu ook wel benieuwd naar Carry On.