Fangirl: A Novel (Paperback)

Staff Reviews

Ryan's September 2013 pick

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors, and her newest novel Fangirl is rivaling Eleanor & Park for my affections! 
Fangirl is a cool, modern coming-of-age tale. Cath, cripplingly introverted, is famous. Well, sort of. Everyone in the Simon Snow fandom who has ever delved into the world of "SnowBaz" Fanfiction knows her username. Magicath, as she's known online, writes Fanfiction (stories written by fans about their favorite characters) about Simon Snow and his vampire enemy Basil (Baz), and her stories are so beloved by the fans, that most confess they wish her latest, Carry On, Simon was the real thing.

Of course, no one but her twin sister and her ex boyfriend know that Cath is the one writing the infamous Fanfiction, and now she's a freshman in college struggling to survive the new environment, all but abandoned by her extraverted twin, stuck with a roommate she has nothing in common with (and is a little freaked out by), and she's afraid to eat in the dining hall by herself. Living off of protein bars and Simon Snow, Cath shuts herself in her room and writes furiously, deterined to finish Carry On before the final volume of Simon Snow is released. Also, there's this boy she kinda likes... 
This novel is so awesome. I loved this book. It was refreshing to read about Fanfiction (especially in a way that celebrates it!), introverts in a college setting (those bits felt eerily familiar), and passion (obsession?) over a book series (that's not entirely unlike our own beloved Harry Potter). Please, please check out this book. I think you'll love it. Rainbow, as she's proven before, is able to totally capture the essence of the teenage years. There were several times when I laughed at something Cath did because it brought back vivid memories of myself doing the exact same thing. 

You know what's great about Fangirl? The characters develop. they go through realistic journeys. They have good days and bad days, and they feel real. I couldn't get enough of this book, and I strongly urge you to pick it up, if only so I'll have someone else to fangirl with other than Rainbow herself.
 

Excerpt (pgs 50-51):

"You don't owe them anything," Wren would say, crawling onto Cath's bed at three in the morning and pulling Cath's laptop away. "Go to sleep."
"I will. I'm just...I want to finish this scene. I think Baz is finally going to tell Simon he loves him."
"He'll still love him tomorrow."
"It's a big chapter."
"It's always a big chapter."
"It's different this time." Cath had been saying this for the last year. "It's the end."
Wren was right: Cath had written this story, Baz and Simon in love, dozens of times before. She'd written this scene, this line -- "Snow...Simon, I love you"--fifty different ways.
But Carry On was different.
It was the longest fic she'd written so far; it was already longer than any of Gemma T. Leslie's books, and Cath was only two-thirds of the way through.
Carry On was written as if it were the eighth Simon Snow book, as if it were Cath's job to wrap up all the loose ends, to make sure that Simon ascended to Mage, to redeem Baz (something GTL would never do), to make both boys forget about Agatha...To write all the good-bye scenes and graduation scenes and last-minute revelations...And to stage the final battle between Simon and the Insidious Humdrum.
Everyone in fandom was writing eighth-year fics right now. Everyone wanted to take a crack at the big ending before the last Simon Snow book was released in May.
But for thousands of people, Carry On was already it.