Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell
This is one of my book club’s picks for January. To be honest, initially I wasn’t too excited about it. A story centering around a girl who writes fan fiction? Meh. I’m not huge on fan fiction in general, mostly because so much of it is badly written but also because it strikes me as a bit obsessive. So I was already inclined to not really like the main character. I’m happy to say that, while my view of fan fiction remains unchanged, I did end up really liking this book. The main character, Cath, is awkward and this wry kind of funny. The under commentary you get from her narration in social situations is just spot-on and relatable. She’s just started college, and her twin sister (whom she’s always been close with) has decided she wants to strike out on her own, leaving Cath floundering with a seemingly hostile roommate and, you know, a world with boys in it. There’s family drama and school drama and boy drama, but with a good balance of humor and heart. It doesn’t come off as your cliched coming-of-age/growth story. It’s interspersed with snippets from the ‘real’ fantasy series Cath is a fan of (a Harry Potter-esque world) as well as her fan fiction snippets – neither of which particularly impressed or interested me. But they are incidental to the real story, so that’s ok. Overall, I did really enjoy this read, and will probably be picking up another of this author’s books.
I have been meaning to read this, I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. Definitely making sure I read it in 2014.
(Also I am so guilty of writing Harry Potter fanfiction. Obsessive on my part? Yeah a bit. How much I care? Not at all, haha)
It is good! Definitely add it to your 2014 TBR pile.
And to each their own. Just because fanfic isn’t my thing, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be anyone’s thing. 🙂
Oooh, this looks like it might be right up my alley. I’m adding it to my (already massive) to-read list.
I think you’d like it! And I can commiserate on the massive to-be-read pile – seems like it only ever gets bigger, now matter how many I read!