Fangirl

Rainbow Rowell

Cather is an identical twin. Her twin, Wren, has been waiting eagerly for college to start – she has a partying spirit. Cather on the other hand is slightly more neurotic, and just wants to hide in her dorm room between fiction writing classes. The question is, is the anxious Cather able to have a life and love like her sister?

Cather touched my heart. I worried about her, I worried with her, and hurt with her. Now I remember why I don’t read books like these – I identify with the protagonist too much! I love the book, because it makes me feel, but then again, I hate it because I do feel!

I literally couldn’t put this book down, I enjoyed it so much. I wanted to even read it at the dinner table, but I didn’t. I finished it in two days, which for me at the moment is sort of a record. I’m surprised I got into it. Lately it’s been I get a couple of pages into a novel and give up.

The romance! The betrayal! Arg! I always knew what was happening, but some things hit me like a rock anyway. Does anyone else already see the funny thing about the twins’ names? I didn’t even notice until it was pointed out in the text.

I see character development in Cather, but not really in the other characters. That’s not to say that they are 2D character, rather they have been fleshed out, and from Cather’s perspective, it’s just the way things are. I loved Levi – I’d totally date that boy too! And the other characters who were sometimes a bit narky? Yeah, I could see why they were like that.

If your child is curious about going to college, this could be a good novel to point out the negatives of things (such as underage drinking and clubs), but also the positive things (sometimes your roommate turns out to be great!). I’d recommend for older teens, or even those already at college. It’s such a good read, especially for aspiring young authors.

Another couple of minor things that added bonus points to my reading experience? Cather’s father had a mental illness, and she was forever writing gay fic. I love variety!

I couldn’t believe that someone had gotten away with writing novels that seemed like a complete rip off of Harry Potter. And then I googled it after finishing the novel and then found out that it’s just a fictional novel that was created by Rowell. Some people say they’d love to read those books – inspired by Twilight perhaps? Not me anyway.
I would read Rowell’s novels again. I received this novel free for a review – but I opted to receive it, and it was just as good as I say it is!

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Review update: 15 December 2021 – Wow! I guessed that it had been about 7 years since I read this novel, and I was right. I very happily devoured it again over three days. I had mostly forgotten the ending, so that was good too. In my last review I commented that I wouldn’t want to read the Simon Snow novels, and lo and behold, when I read Carry On / Wayward Son, I thought it sucked! This novel gets to stay on my bookshelf, but the others can go to a different home. Still five stars from me.