I know all the literary geniuses have that old saying 'don't judge a book by it's cover', and maybe it applies to actual books, or maybe it's just a metaphor or prerequisite. Nonetheless, when I spied this down right adorable cover on the bookshelf, I was drawn straight to it's blurb, and shortly after - to the till. So, maybe once in a while it is okay to judge a book by it's cover, because in between the sleeve of this book is 448 pages of pure, 18 carat gold.
Rainbow Rowell creates an amazingly real and relatable world for the fandom centred obsessives in the from of Cather 'Cath' Avery. This book is juxtaposition of my two favourite things; boys and fanfiction, the last being the only thing that Cath really knows. Cath and her twin sister Wren (which if you hadn't already guessed, is the singular name, Cathryn chopped in half and split two ways, clever, huh?) are both from small town Omaha, and travel together to a new realm of education and the whole different world of college - but this time, for the first time, they are going their separate ways. Being a fan is Cath's life — and she’s really good at it. She and Wren, ensconced themselves in the famous Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving when they were just 8 years old. But now Cath's sister is growing apart from fandom and experiencing a whole new life at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Cath is still stuck writing fanfiction in her dorm room next to her surly and mysterious room mate Reagan and her charming, always-around boyfriend Levi, whilst also worrying about her manic-depressive, loving and fragile father that has never really been alone and who can't really be trusted to take care of himself. And so the main question in the novel is really: can Cath do this without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on to real life love and life if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
This novel is one of the best stand alone books I've read in a long time by an otherwise un-noted author. I love how it is so seriously related to the life of the average teenager in the 21st century - in both a comedic sense, but also in a more serious sense of forgetting the laptop and actually experiencing life, which is a lesson I think all of us could benefit from. Fangirl is a seriously up-lifting and heart-warming novel that's a delightfully easy read, with adorable characters that I know will stay with me for a long time. Cather teaches excellent lessons of succumbing to the unknown, as well as moving on and letting new experiences wash over us, and then embracing them. I love reading about characters and situations that I can relate to, and this book is definitely lots of them; lives centred around the internet, loves for literature and a fear of the great unknown. However, this book is not only one about life lessons and new experiences, it's also one about new, beautiful love, and I'm a huge, massive sucker for a happy ending, and this book definitely has one.
Rating:
Have you read 'Fangirl', and if you have did you enjoy it as much as I have? Would you give it 5 stars? Let me know in the comments below! And, if you'd like to see another book review soon, then please leave me any suggestions for book reviews you'd like to see!
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