Books 2014 - Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

[byslantedlight]

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 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. No 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...

The blurb also describes this as A tale of fanfiction, family and first love, and I think that's a nice summary of it. The blurb makes this book sound more of a love story, I think, but it isn't really.

It's a coming of age story that's about first love, but only as part of the life of an eighteen year old off to university for the first time. Fangirl is far more than just a love story! Cath has to deal with family - not just her twin sister's apparent defection, but also her dad - with her classes, which are much more than school ever was, with decisions that you never have to make until you're really out here on your own, and even with the end of an era in her world of fandom - everyone's waiting for Simon Snow and the Eighth Dance, the last book in the series about the young wizard and the boy who wanted to kill him, and Cath has to finish her fanfiction - which is read by thousands of people on FanFixx.net, all desperate for her next installments - before the real author, Gemma T. Leslie, josses her.

Cath - and all the characters in the story - are such real characters that you're right there with them through everything. It's better, of course, for being half-in the world of fandom, and better again from my pov for being set in the world of an American university, because I could feel Cath's world on campus (right down to the girl who walked around with a cat tail attached to her outfit of the day, and sometimes ears... *g*) Not only that, but Cath loves writing, and she's dealing with the very different worlds of fanfiction and what her writing tutor would probably call "real writing" at the same time.

This is one of the most readable books I've come across for a long time. Actually this review is a bit of a cheat, because I first read Fangirl last year, as a book I came across on my Kobo when I was trying out non-fanfiction on it. When I saw the paperback version in the bookshop last week I had to have it, and then I just had to re-read it almost straight away - well, as soon as I read Eleanor and Park by the same author, which is also magically written.

Anyway - absolutely, 100% recommended. Such a good book! And how fab to discover an author whose new books you look out for, because they're just consistently worlds and people you want to read more about... *g*

Comments

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a lot of fun - and I do love the idea of people writing about fanfiction who actually know what they're talking about, which I assume this does. Nice find!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Highly recommended! It's an easy (but nice and long and solid) read, and with added hugs for being written by someone who knows - and isn't afraid to write about - the joys of fanfic (and yes, the author is apparently a fan herself)! *g*

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

This could explain a puzzle ... I found that I had this book on my amazon wishlist but couldn't remember why or how I'd found it in the first place. Did you by any chance rec this book when you first read it?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yes! I don't think I reviewed it, cos I hadn't got back into that at the time, but I thought I'd mentioned it before somewhere. So yeah - probably me. *g*

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

There was one bit of Fangirl which made me laugh so hard... where she's talking about writing the m/m sex scenes and said that she was getting the 'his' and the 'hims' all mixed up. I thought, 'YES! She gets it!' Very funny.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yes! Yes, that's just the little touch that makes it a brilliant read, isn't it! *g*