PSA: Fangirls Welcome!

 

Another day, yet another book review. Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell is a contemporary novel in the point of view of a socially awkward, “fangirl” who’s obsessed with Simon Snow books (what I like to refer to as the Harry Potter books of the fictional world).

Cath is beginning her first year of college, and like anybody else, is afraid. All her life, she has been best friends with her twin sister Wren, after the sudden abandonment of their mother when they were fairly young and their father’s quirky behavior masking his despair. Because of this, Cath has always stuck to dwelling in her comfort zone where no one can touch her. Wren, unlike Cath is an outgoing, spunky, extrovert with high confidence who felt the need in the past to protect Cath.

These two best friends are separated when Wren decides to not be roommates with Cath, wanting independence and detaching from her sister. If she didn’t have abandonment issues before, she definitely got them then. Cath, of course, panics and at one point even tries to convince her father why staying to help take care of him and not going to school would be a better idea. So she is left alone, to write her wildly popular Simon Snow fanfiction, “Carry On Simon” (talk about embracing nerd culture).

We follow Cath through everything from her Advanced English class, to being too scared to go eat at the cafeteria, even when she runs out of protein bars that she stashes under her bed. One thing to be admired is that she isn’t ashamed of being obsessed with Simon Snow or that people make consider her weird or crazy. Those things don’t bother Cath, despite her fear of meeting new people and socializing.

We see contemporary novels everywhere nowadays. Their covers pop out us at the fiction counter at book stores. But at first glance, I could already tell this wouldn’t be any average contemporary novel. Firstly, we see a type of character who’s story is rarely portrayed in books, and if so, is usually the sidekick to the protagonist with no visible layers.

But in this story, we really get to see Cath grow from a frightened Fresher to someone with compassion and understanding towards herself and the people around her. Along with the help of her roommate and friends Reagan and Levi, she is able to go out of her comfort zone and experience more than what is available to her on a computer screen.

I really enjoyed this novel, due to its great way of connecting with the reader and definitely attracting audiences with personalities similar to Cath (similar to mine as well). Cath is an utterly real girl who doesn’t try to soften herself for other people, nor impress others and that is something I find truly admirable for young people. She also seems to pick up a loyal friend along the way, and even a love interest (cue the “oohs” and “ahs”). 

It was refreshing to read about a character who’s definitely “out of the box”. Who’s so far away from the box that we can’t even find it, nor do we remember it. Cath is a like a beacon of triumph to all the reader girls and proud nerd girls that inhabit the world.

If you liked this, please don't forget to scroll down to read some more reviews on things that I've liked recently! If you have a special request on a certain review you want, feel free to comment below!