Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl.
Author: Rainbow Rowell.
Publication Date: January 30th, 2014.
Publisher: Macmillan.
Format: Paperback, 459 pages.
Source: Provided By Publisher.
My Rating:



Cath and Wren are identical twins and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they’re off to university and Wren’s decided she doesn’t want to be one half of a pair any more – she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It’s not so easy for Cath. She would rather bury herself in the fanfiction she writes where there’s romance far more intense than anything she’s experienced in real life.

Now Cath has to decide whether she’s ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she’s realizing that there’s more to learn about love than she ever thought possible...

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Fangirl has been one of those ridiculously hyped up books that everyone and their mothers seemed to have read and loved. When I first started reading Fangirl, I wasn’t really sure what to make of it, Rainbow Rowell’s writing style is incredibly different from everything I’ve ever read before, and there is a lot more dialogue throughout the book than I’ve ever come across. I’d glad to say I really enjoyed reading Fangirl, and yes, I did fangirl myself a little bit throughout the book. As much as I loved it though, I wouldn’t say it’s the more incredible novel I’ve ever read – and as much as I can see where all the hype has come from, there are just some things that just niggled at me. However, the overall effect and amazing plotlines and characters kept me constantly turning the pages, eager to find out what would happen next!

Cath is our main protagonist, and to be perfectly honest, at first, I really didn’t like her character much at all. I’m not entirely sure why, and I’m finding it pretty hard to put into words my reasoning, but I have a feeling it was to do with the fact that she reminded me so much of myself. Characters I read in novels NEVER remind me of myself, and I usually hate comparing myself to them – because hey, that’s an esteem killer. But there were just too many similarities to ignore. Cath is a reader, a fanfiction lover and writer, she’s shy, would rather stay at home than go out partying, has only a small handful of friends and is relatively smart – I could go on! We just seemed to share so many of the same traits that I found it quite unnerving – but as the book progressed, I grew to really like her character, which unnerved me even more. Cath’s downright refusal to do a lot of new things did kind of irritate me, and I felt I was constantly willing her to grow a pair. But the further you get into Fangirl, the more out of her shell Cath becomes – and it was really brilliant to read more and more and to see her transformation to a slightly more confident college student.

Levi is the love interest throughout Fangirl, and I absolutely adored his character! Levi is the guy who jokes about everything and generally loves being nice to absolutely everyone. It doesn’t tire him out; in fact it just seems to energise him. His character is so up-beat, cheerful, sweet, kind and ridiculously funny – I was constantly laughing at some of the things he came out with. I just couldn’t get enough of his character! He’s not usually the type of guy in books that I tend to like, but he’s just so adorable, I couldn’t help but love him. And yes, Levi, I was rooting for you throughout the entire book!

Cath and Levi’s relationship gets off to a rocky start, at first she thinks he’s annoying and frustrating, but eventually a small friendship starts to blossom. I don’t think Cath even realised she had fallen for Levi until the something happens between them – and I thought that was beautiful. I loved reading scenes with them together, they have this easy and calm relationship, and Levi is able to bring out a relaxed and playful side of Cath that she barely ever gets to see.

Wren is Cath’s twin sister, and by gosh did I dislike her. ALOT. I get that Wren wants a bit of distance, to try and become more of an individual, and I respect that. However, Wren was really rude and downright nasty towards Cath for pretty much the entire book. It’s like she completely shut her out of her life, and I really hated that – you’d think you could try and spare maybe just five minutes to talk to your sister, let alone your twin. Luckily by the end of the book, Wren’s character does a 180, but I still wasn’t keen on her at all. Art is Cath’s and Wren’s dad, and the parent that raised them. I really loved his character, he was so funny and cool. Art was an erratic character, and I loved reading about his relationship with his daughters, Cath especially. The character development in Fangirl was fantastic, and although I didn’t like Wren’s character, she was still solid and interesting.

Overall, I loved reading Fangirl; it was an amazing story with wonderful characters and a plotline that I just couldn’t get enough of. I even fell madly in love with Simon Snow and the story world Cath is obsessed with. I think it would be incredible if Rainbow Rowell actually recreated and published the world of Simon Snow, as I think it’d be incredibly popular! Rainbow Rowell’s writing is beautiful and detailed with this wonderful unique texture to it that I’ve not come across before. Although I thought Fangirl was a far from perfect novel, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and speed through it, even though it’s quite the hefty book! I just couldn’t put it down, and kept just telling myself; ‘Just until the end of this chapter’ and then ‘One more chapter won’t hurt’. The only thing that frustrated me was how abrupt the ending was, not everything was as tied up as I hoped it’d be, and occasionally scenes would stop mid-way through, which I found extremely frustrating. However, I believe Fangirl well and truly deserves the 4.5/5 star rating I gave it, and I’d recommend any with a love of contemporary romance (and Fanfiction!) to give this book a go, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

Quotes

"No," Cath said, "seriously. Look at you. You’ve got your shit together, you’re not scared of anything. I’m scared of everything. And I’m crazy. Like maybe you think I’m a little crazy, but I only ever let people see the tip of my crazy iceberg. Underneath this veneer of slightly crazy and socially inept, I’m a complete disaster." - Page 192.

Reagan was sitting up at Cath's desk when Cath woke up.
"Are you awake?"
"Have you been watching me sleep?"
"Yes, Bella. Are you awake?"
"No." - Page 302.

She closed her eyes and kissed him below his chin, behind his jaw, where he was soft and almost chubby, like a baby. He arched his neck, and it was even better than she’d hoped.
"I like you," she said. "So much. I like you here."
Cath brought her hands up to his neck. God, he was warm – skin so warm and thick, a heavier ply than her own. She slid her fingers into his hair, cradling the back of his head.
His hands mimicked hers, pulling her face up to his. “Cath, if I kiss you now, are you going to leap away from me?”
"No."
"Are you going to panic?"
She shook her head. "Probably no."
He bit the inside of his bottom lip, and smiled. His bowed lips didn’t quite reach the corners.
"I like you," she whispered.
Her pulled her forward.
Right. There was this. Kissing Levi. - Page 401 & 402.