After that brutal reading of Shirley, I decided I need to pick something on the lighter side, so I went back into the young adult world to read Rainbow Rowell’s, Fangirl. As a self-proclaimed fangirl (seriously, ask almost anyone I know), I felt like this was a solid choice that I could relate to. Turns out I did a little bit!
The beginning of the book provided a note from the author saying how she was in a supreme funk with writing or finding any success in it, so she decided to just be really self-satisfying with this story and write about all the things she loves but ultimately was always to avoid. And as I read this novel, I could totally see what she meant. There was both fiction and fanfiction within a fiction story – it was crazy, yet so easy to follow.
The story is told from the perspective of Cath, twin sister of Wren, and both are starting their freshman year of college. Wren is outgoing and fun, where Cath is sort of the exact opposite in that she is anxious and anti-social. There are essentially a plethora of problems in her life. She constantly worries about her dad who struggles with mania and depression, eventually, her sister is hospitalized for alcohol poisoning, and they guy she likes appears to both like and not like her all at the same time.
But those are her personal problems. She is also an avid fanfiction writer of the Simon Snow series. Does that name sound familiar? Well, it should. The latest two novels that Rainbow Rowell released, Carry On and Wayward Son, are actually supposed to be the fanfiction that Cath writes in this book! I love a good Inception! Cath has got tons of readers, and she thinks the junior level writing class she signs up for will be a breeze. She definitely struggles to the point of serious frustration on my end, but by the final pages of the novel she works it out.
In fact, all of Cath’s life gets worked out. Sure, it’s nicely wrapped and delivered with a bow, but why can’t books be like that sometimes? Life sure isn’t most of the time. I want to feel good because someone else feels good. In the end, Cath comes out on top and better for it, and that just made me freaking smile. Yay for happy endings!
The things I related to in this book are that, like Cath, I too have a twin sister and we did go to the same university. That’s where the similarities with Cath and Wren end though. Those girls go through quite the rough patch. I also really liked that this story focused a lot on fanfiction. No shame here – I love fanfiction! Some of it is actually quite incredible! Seriously! In fact, right after I finished this book, I started reading a fanfiction that’s going to end up being twice the length of a normal book, and so far, it’s great! So yes, bravo to Rainbow Rowell to write about essentially taboo things and owning them. I absolutely recommend giving this a read if you want something fun and feel-good in this sad time.