Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Published September 10, 2013 by St. Martin's Press
Purchase: Amazon / B&N

About the book:A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. 
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?

My Thoughts:
Fantastic. It's been a long time since a book made me laugh and cry. Beautifully written!

Cath and her twin sister, Wren, are starting college. Wren is outgoing and ready to live up her college years while Cath is an introvert who loves writing fanfiction and keeping to herself. Cath is so relatable and I loved her! I'm a fangirl myself (Twilight obsessed), as well as a slight introvert, and I could totally picture myself in her shoes. It made the story that much better.

Cath is just trying to cope with being a freshman, her twin sister becoming distant and a major party girl, and worrying constantly about her dad being alone.

She becomes friends with her roommate Reagan and Reagan's friend, Levi. And Cath starts coming out of her shell. She still loves writing her Simon Snow fanfiction, but she's starting to open up and let people in a little. Everything about this story just made me happy - it was so sweet! I love every character in this book and the roll they played, and the constant witty banter was hilarious.

And the love story was the sweetest and left me giddy. There is just so much love in this book - between friends, siblings, parents and I found myself getting emotional more than once. I went into this book without reading any reviews and I'm really glad I did - so I don't want to give too much away.

I feel like so many people can relate to this story - a lot of us with our internet friendships and love of reading. I know I could relate and that's what made me love Cath and this story so much! I laughed and cried by the end, and not many books can do that to me. It was a wonderful read and I highly recommend.

I've also read Attachments by this author and loved it equally. If you haven't read a book by Rainbow Rowell, you need to do it asap!

5 Suns