Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

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, 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 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?

Review: Everyone talks about this book since its release and it is true that I was curious to see by myself how the story would be. I confess by cons that I’m not a fan of fanfiction… I do not question the work of those who are doing that, because I’m sure this is something huge but it is true that doesn’t ring a bell for me. Yet I also found that it was really interesting to see what was behind that word, to see all the time that a person can devote to it and to realize that for some it was more than just a hobby.

We discover Cath, a young woman who loves the Simon Snow series and she takes a great pleasure in writing a fanfiction about the adventures of her favorite hero. This passion also occupies an important place in her life, and her stories are read by thousands of people. Yet in everyday life, her existence is far from simple. Away from home and from her father to study in college, she is abandoned by her twin sister who wants to try new things. Sharing a room with another girl she does not know anything about and who does not seem like her, her studies are solitary. Fortunately for her, her writing evenings are there to keep her occupied. But everything will change with the arrival of Nick and Levi, two men who unknowingly will completely change her life. Between the first one who launches her in a phase of writing different from anything she has done so far and the other who will be there for her when she needs it, her life will become different. She had only her sister until now, and she will become closer to the one person she thought she would avoid: her roommate Reagan who could finally well become more than a friend to her. And while continuing to write her stories, Cath will have to understand what she wants to achieve in her life, and her choices will always have a big impact. Her studies, her personal life, her family, everything will change and she will have to face many hardships.

I loved the novel, the author really has a very interesting writing style to discover. I took a great pleasure in following Cath in her daily life, whether in moments of happiness or sorrow. This is a character that will evolve a lot over of the novel, she will open to the world and will try to understand her mistakes and try to accept the truth. I also enjoyed seeing Levi, the man who seems to find very important the fact of helping others, and even if it is true that I agree with Cath on the fact that it is sometimes a little too much, I think we can only love him. This is a really lovely character even if it is true that it is difficult to really understand his relationship with Reagan. This woman is really interesting as well, despite her cold appearance, we discover that there is more in this woman. And whatever happens, she will also be there to help Cath to open up to people and to advance in her life. The only thing that bothered me a bit is that everything about the fanfiction as I wasn’t really interested in them and it’s true that I jumped all these parts. This is not a big problem, and I do not think it’s really important to the story because it did not stop the fact that I loved the novel!

This novel is a nice surprise and I hope to soon read something else from the author.