Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Page Count: 433 (hardcover)

Publishing: St. Martin's Griffin

Synopsis: "A coming-of-age tale of fanfiction, 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 fanfiction, 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 that 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 fanfiction 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? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?" -Goodreads

I started reading this book sometime in April, but put it down because I just wasn't feeling it. I felt like I was going to end up being very disappointed because in the beginning I was. I feel like I was in a reading slump when I started reading this book or that I just wasn't interested in reading contemporary at that point. I say this because when I picked this up again I flew through it. I made it to page 200 within an hour of picking it back up. It took me a little longer to get through the second half of the book because of the holidays, but I still really enjoyed it.

This book was really amazing, and I related to Cath as a protagonist a lot. I felt such an emotional attachment to her with her anxiety and desire to care for her family. I understand her problems with her mother and why she is not interested in having a relationship with her. I understand her problem with feeling overwhelmed with school, and I also understand how she second guesses her relationship because she's afraid to lose another person she loves.

This story is not just about some girl who went to college and drops everything for her fanfiction. This is a true representation of what it is like to struggle with mental illness and be scared of what your future holds.

I didn't like the inserts of the Simon Snow throughout the entire book. I didn't understand how they related to the story, and I didn't really get anything from it. I stopped reading them about 100 pages in, and completely stopped worrying about the fantasy part of the story and allowed myself to be more immersed in Cath's story with her friends and family.