“In new situations all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you and the ones you can't google.” -Cath, on being a freshman.
Admit it, this is what most of us felt when starting out college in our freshman year, at least I know I did. And author Rainbow Rowell captures the essence of a shy girl being in a new atmosphere, the challenge of fostering new relationships while desperately trying to hold on to the old ones. Her depiction of the roller coaster ride that is first year of college, is brilliant and for most part feels real. (How many of us are tired of college students being portrayed as characters from a teenage harlequin novel?)
That being said, sadly, there are very few other redeeming features in this book.
If you’re picking this book up thinking it deals with “fandom” and “fangirls”, be rest assured that the true sense of fandom lies nowhere in the book. I’ve been a Harry Potter fangirl for as long as I can remember and ‘Fangirl’ just doesn't strike a chord with me as far as the aspect of fangirling was concerned (which was completely covered in about the first 20% of the book). Don’t get me wrong it is a wonderful coming-of-age story, only it was misrepresented as a book about fandom. So save yourself the trouble of going through this book if the mere title draws you in.
“I can’t help it,” Raegan said. “You’re really pathetic.”
“I am not.”
“You are. You don’t have any friends, your sister dumped you, you’re a freaky eater...And you’ve got some weird thing about Simon Snow.”
Plot: Cather - or Cath as she likes to be called, is the protagonist of the story. She’s a freshman with a bi-polar father and independent twin sister named Wren, and she’s a huge Simon and Baz fan (World of Mage). The prospect of going away to college threatens the co-dependent existence with her sister and that’s where she is forced to deal with her social ineptitude and a wild and slightly sinister roommate, Raegan (spoiler: they end up becoming friends and Raegan looking out for Cath).
It is interspersed with occasional futile college romances with Cath finally coming to terms with what love is and she finds love with Levi, a character I didn’t care much for in the beginning. (Although I have to say I was won over by Levi’s chivalry halfway through the book)
The author introduces unnecessary characters just to tie the plot up in a neat bow. And at times all the relationships seem dragged out. I found the book to be handling multiple plot lines at once and ultimately going nowhere with them, Cath’s mother for example or Courtney. It felt like the excerpts from The World of Mage series , did in no way contribute to the story and were thus like excess fluff to me. Like they have been inserted to make the book itself content heavy without having much to do with the novel in the first place except that Cath was a Simon and Baz super fan.
Rating: Inspite of these glaring loopholes I’m willing to entertain the possibility of rating this book a 3.5 out of 5 as it provides a fresh (and real) take on college life and the art of fan fiction from the perspective of a teenager.
This is the first Rainbow Rowell title i picked up as it’s been getting a lot of hype on booktube on YouTube and Goodreads. i finally picked it up as a light read to start off the new year. I didn't have much expectation going in to it. But it does get interesting after a while. The flow of the storyline compels you to read on, it even becomes mildly engrossing when you reach the middle only to fall flat in the end.
But I have to give it to Ms. Rowell, she does a stellar job of penning a coming-of-age novel. The dialogues hit the mark and I can see why a lot of people would like this book.
"Look at you. You've got your s*** together, you're not scared of anything. I'm scared of everything. And I'm crazy. Like maybe you think I'm a little crazy, but I only ever let people see the tip of my crazy iceberg. Underneath this veneer of slightly crazy and mildly socially retarded, I'm a complete disaster." -- Cath, to her roomate Raegan
Bottomline, I do not care much for this particular book. But I will pick up more rainbow Rowell titles. I found her narration fun and detailed at the same time , and her flow of storytelling immaculate.
‘Fangirl’ is a fun read for when you are bogged down or want to assure yourself that everyone faces the same problems in college to a certain degree and take solace in your life or if you’re a high-schooler about to leave for college. All in all it is a good book to pick up for light reads.
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