I'm fangirling for Fangirl and I'm not even sorry about it!. Cath just speaks my language, she speaks the language of my people. She uses the words that people who aren't in fandoms don't understand, but that's okay because this is a book for people who live that kind of life. This book encompasses the fangirl lifestyle and it makes me all warm and happy inside.
Okay, so here's the crazy long list of what I liked. It's quirky and fun and I relate to it on an emotional level. Like, I had serious flashbacks to my freshman year of college. I could scarily relate to Cath and how she wasn't one for frat parties and would rather sit in her dorm on a Friday night and read/write fanfiction. Been there, done that. Though, I did eventually make great friends and made it out of the dorms alive (seriously, what is with dorm life?). This book was also giving me flashbacks to the time when I wrote an entire Harry Potter AU where they were princesses, but let's not talk about that because I was only twelve so it doesn't really count anyway.And speaking of Harry Potter, this came at a perfect time considering the latest J.K. Rowling movie news, especially since Cath herself is obsessed with Simon Snow (basically, it's her universe's Harry Potter). The comparison to HP was perfect, and I think one of the reasons this book is becoming popular is because so many people can relate to that love. There's that saying that goes something along the lines of "we're all in the Harry Potter fandom. It's where we all got our start". That's what makes this book so successful.
I also loved the characters and I truly believe that the world needs more people like Levi in it. He's just so darn happy, it's contagious! I could go on and on about Cath and her Emergency Kanye Parties (something I plan to implement as soon as the next bad day hits), and I think she has something that every reader can relate to. She's passionate about fanfiction, and seeing that passion is really really cool. I also would like to thank her for my new pep talk that I'll be giving myself when I go out on weekends ("I'm the Cool One. Somebody give me some tequila because I'll totally drink it. And there's no way you're going to find me later having a panic attack in your parents' bathroom. Who wants to French-kiss?"). Another thing that I liked and I thought was very important was the point that Rainbow Rowell made about fanfiction. Fanfiction isn't something that everyone gets, and yeah, there are some people out there who would consider it plagiarizing (though, personally, I like to use the term borrowing characters/situation). But it's a way of life for a lot of people in the internet community and it doesn't get the respect it deserves. These people are artists, they are writers, just as much as any other person who creates any kind of art. They spend their time plotting and getting those chapters just right and I want to give them a shout-out because they deserve it for all their hard work!
As much as I loved this book, there were a couple things I wasn't too in love with. The family drama with Cath and Wren's father was a bit too dramatic for my taste. Yeah, I get it was a big deal, but it took away from the other fluff stuff that I was obsessed with. But I'm being really picky with that. I also didn't like how determined Cath was to not finish her writing project for class. Her teacher was giving her a second chance and she was just blowing it off like it was nothing. It's totally not nothing! When a professor thinks you show potential and wants to help you out, you don't ignore it. This is the real world, and that's how life goes. It seemed unrealistic that she would completely give up her class/a passing grade just because she wanted to write Simon Snow fanfics. I'd love to write fanfic as much as the next person, but I wouldn't risk my education for it. I don't know, maybe that's just my personal opinion. Lastly, I wanted to address a couple criticisms that I heard about the book and what I thought about said criticisms. Two issues: the book was superficial and Cath is too manic pixie dream girl. I disagree with both. Sure, some parts might have been a bit too one-dimensional, but they were so small, it didn't matter to me. Like I said, if you're really into fandoms and that life, you'll be happy with how it's portrayed (basically, it doesn't make us seem like complete losers. A lot of the characters think it's really cool that Cath writes fanfiction and are interested). Also, the manic pixie dream girl is a thing that bothers me a lot. It seems to be the title people give any character that is quirky or different and for some reason, people are making that a bad thing. I think there's a time and place to call a character that, but you can't just call every character a MPDG because then it loses meaning and gets plain annoying.
Anyway, I could talk about this book for days, and I probably will to all my friends until they slap me and I finally stop. It's a cool book and it's different from a lot of New Adult/Young Adult books, character-wise and I appreciate it immensely. If you read Fangirl and want to get into a discussion about it, there's an entire book club on Tumblr dedicated to it. Search the tags for "reblogbookclub" and join the conversation! Here's some more info on that: http://paidcontent.org/2013/09/13/tumblr-launches-the-reblog-book-club-first-title-rainbow-rowells-fangirl/. Now, if you don't mind me, I'm going to go curl up with some tea and read some of my favorite fics!
-Annie
p.s. My YA Book Giveaway is still going on on Tumblr! http://books-anovelidea.tumblr.com/post/60123835304/book-giveaway. You have until the end of this month to enter! Good luck! :)
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