Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: Cath and Wren are identical twins and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and to let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She would rather bury herself in the fanfiction she writes where there's romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life. Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realising that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible...

Review: I've wanted to read this book for such a long time and I absolutely loved it! It's my first Rainbow Rowell book and, after hearing so many amazing things about her, I have to agree with the masses. She's an incredible writer. She has so much hype surrounding her books and Fangirl really delivered.

The story itself was really well written and thought out and I was pleasantly surprised by how well the plot flowed together. Going into this book, I'll admit, I wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen, and how one girl writing fanfiction could fill a whole book, but Rainbow Rowell delivered not only the highs and lows of writing fanfiction, but also a romance and looked at mental illness and how it affects young people. It also looks at the problems with drinking too much alcohol and how easy it can be to develop an alcohol problem, especially when you're trying to fit in with everyone else. This book deals with all of these issues really well without depressing you.

I really loved these characters. I relate to Cath so much - especially with her writing problems. I write fanfiction and, obviously write posts for this blog, so I can relate to having a deadline and not wanting to miss it (and sometimes missing it anyway!) but I also liked the contrast between the two sisters. Like Cath, I am certainly not outgoing - I'm not big on going out partying. I'd much rather stay at home but Wren is the complete opposite and, sometimes, is the kind of person I want to be. She's willing to try anything (although, as this book shows, that doesn't always end up being a good thing). Either way, the contrast between the two was really interesting and the relationship between the sisters was intriguing to read about and to see how it developed through their time at university. I also loved that we got to see the twins relationship with their dad grow as well, despite them living in at their university.

I love Cathy and Levi together. What I love more than that though, is that we didn't dwell on the conflict that surrounded said relationship. In YA novels, I've found that we spend a lot of time listening to our protagonist moaning about whatever stupid thing the boy (or girl) has done and then they go on to do something equally stupid and usually life threatening to prove that they are okay on their own. We had the awkwardness that surrounds any relationship when something goes wrong, but it was actually resolved quite quickly. Whether this is realistic or not doesn't really matter to me - it was simply refreshing to see two characters fight and then make up again relatively quickly, without taking up half of the book. I also really enjoyed the scenes where Cath read some of her work to Levi - I wouldn't be able to do that and I admire her bravery!

This is a really easy to read book that is perfect for when you need a 'quick-fix' read.