Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I decided to give Rowell’s newest book its own well-deserved post. First, the plot summary:

Plot summary via GoodReads.  Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . . But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Rainbow Rowell hits another homerun with her newest YA novel. I could not put this book down, which was pretty perfect since I received it over the holidays. It’s not that the book is action-packed, just that its characters are incredibly engaging and loveable so I became very invested.

I can completely relate to Cath as a fellow introvert just trying to make it in the new, unchartered world of college. She is a huge fan of Simon Snow (it’s pretty much Harry Potter) and can’t stop talking about it which in turn affects how she lives her life. She writes fan-fiction and is actually a prominent author on the Simon Snow forums. If you take Cath and replace Simon Snow with The X-Files or Star Wars or Harry Potter, you get me.

I could even at times relate to Cath’s twin sister, Wren; someone who is more than ready to move on with life and experience new things. It was refreshing to see Wren develop towards the end and try to have a happy medium of experiencing new things, but not be embarrassed by the things you loved as a teen. Trust me; in high school I was too embarrassed to admit that I loved The X-Files or Star Wars.

In addition, Rowell provides a wonderful romance story and, as always, an interesting portrayal of family dynamics. Unlike Eleanor and Park, Cath and Wren’s home life did not devastate me as much, but was still just as powerful.  I am beginning to enjoy books where the siblings and the family have positive relations or have a happy understanding towards the end (see Going Vintage).  Also, the ending to Fangirl did not make me weep like Eleanor and Park.

This does not mean that I think books shouldn’t feature homes with broken families for readers to enjoy. I loved Eleanor and Park and feel it portrays a population of youth that we don’t normally see in YA Literature. I try to stress that relatable characters are important when reading YA fiction. It’s unfortunate that many of our teens come from violent homes and though books can be used as an escape, we should offer material to our teens that can also help them cope – materials that express that they are not alone by having characters that are in similar situations. This can provide an outlook of hope rather than just escape.

Sorry my peeps. I didn’t mean to go on a little tangent there, but it needed to be said.  Apparently, a few Parent groups and organizations around the country want the book Eleanor and Park banned from schools and I just wanted to put my two cents in as to why Eleanor and Park is important for teens.

Back to Fangirl, you should get it for your YA collection as Rowell has put together a fantastic read with a great protagonist and a beautifully written plot. After two such wonderful masterpieces I may need to read her adult novel Attachments.