Fangirl
Last week I finished Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and it was fantastic (does that count as a pun?). Overall, I thought Rowell's novel was a very relatable coming of age story with amazing characters.This novel was also pretty different from any other contemporary I've read. I especially loved the complexity of Wren and Cath's family and how they came to rely on the Simon Snow fandom as a way to escape the world after their mother left them.
This is my first time every reading Rainbow Rowell and I loved the way she wrote her characters. They all seemed to have very distinct qualities that really helped me to put an image together in my head and I honestly can't think of a single character I didn't like. My favorites have to be Cath and Reagan. I can really relate to Cath's obsession with Simon Snow and I immediately fell in love with Reagan's sass. And the relationship between these two was hilarious and one of my favorite parts of the book.
I also thought the structure of the novel was genius. The way the excerpts of fanfiction and the Simon Snow books fit with Cath's story line was perfect. Towards the end of the novel, I could really see all the metaphors in Simon's story for the different situations in Cath's life. I also really appreciated how Rowell managed to write a romance that wasn't incredibly passionate love-at-first-sight, but a relationship that grew slowly and was utterly adorable.
I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a good contemporary, especially if you've never read Rainbow Rowell. Now I'm off to start Eleanor and Park! Rainbow is slowly climbing up my list of favorite authors and I can't wait to she what she writes next!