Review: Fangirl
RATING: 4/5
I really enjoyed this book. The whole story was very relatable to me since 1) I just started college last year and experienced the dorm life and 2) back in middle school, I wrote this huge Twilight fanfic that was a 5th book about Jacob and Renesmee's life.
In the beginning, I really did not like Cath. I still haven't grown on her much because she's just very different than me. Although we have things in common, she's way more paranoid and shy and socially awkward. I'm am ambivert so I like being alone and doing my own thing but I'm also very friendly and love going out and experiencing new things. So, everytime I read something about Cath not wanting to be around people and not knowing what to say or do, I just couldn't relate. I've never met anyone with that much society anxiety like her so it just seemed strange and annoying to me.
I probably relate most to Wren, because she really dives into the whole college experience. I think the whole description of college life was pretty spot on. Reagan was an interesting character but half the time I really didn't care about her role in the story, except for the fact that she's the reason why Levi and Cath met. And Levi. God, Levi is such a sweetie!! He's so good to Cath and so perfect for her because he accepts all her little quirks. When I was reading, I was confused when Nick entered the picture. I didn't know which boy she'd end up, but I was rooting for Levi!
I loved the excerpts from the Simon Snow books and Cath's fanfic that separated the chapters. It was a nice break in between scenes, although I would've rather had more of the fanfic. I loved that the book had so many voices coming from one author. Rainbow had to write a story within a story, as well as a story told by the character. Bravo.
I loved the whole story about Cath's fanfic. I could totally relate to her having to put out new chapters and having fans. I didn't have nearly as much fame for my Twilight fanfic as Cath did for her Simon Snow fanfic, but I did have a lot of people reading my fic and wanting more and soon. Reading this book was a throwback to my fanfic days, so it made it more interesting to read.
One minor thing I didn't like was that it was written in third person instead of first. I like books that are written in first person. But Rainbow still incorporated Cath's thoughts, so the reader still gets that perspective.
The ending, to me, was so unsatisfying. It ended so ubruptly, I just looked up in confusion thinking, "That's it? That's how it ends?" We don't even get to know if Cath finished her fanfic or what happens when Levi and Cath both have to go home for summer break. It left many things unanswered and I did not like that it left me hanging.
But I thought it was a cute and enjoyable read.
