Fangirl (Book) Review

Hey all! Here is my review of the book “Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell.

This book follows Cath and her twin sister, Wren as they navigate their first year of Collage. In her first year of college we watch as Cath navigates new responsibilities with schoolwork, form new relationships and redefine old ones while she closes the chapter on her life with the end of a book series that has become such a big part of her life. Cath is your normal freshman in college, learning the ropes at a new school and figuring out that not everything works out the way you want. Something that is very different from the world that she has created as a fanfic author of the fictional, “Carry On”. A story adapted from the “Simon Snow” book series Cath and her sister were fans of growing up. This book also discusses some not so easy topics including mental health and substance use. In the story, we watch as Cath works through her own anxiety, separating from her sister by living in a different dorm room, making friends with her roommate (who comes off as a bit intimidating at first), navigating the tricky world of crushes and dating, to behaving less like a parent to someone battling their own mental health issues.

Overall thought this book was well done. I listened to the audiobook version which was well narrated by Rebecca Lowman and Maxwell Caulfield. They both did a good job of differentiating between the characters and making them each stand out. The only thing I struggled with was the lack of discussion around mental health for some of the characters like Cath’s anxiety, her dad’s possible bipolar disorder, and her sister’s alcohol abuse. This may be my own bias as I expected more of a highlight on this when the book was clearly more focused on the main character and her love of a book series. When thinking of that part of it, this book does a great job of highlighting what a fan might be going through during a major life transition such as the first year of college where one is “expected” to distance themselves from things they enjoyed as “kids”.

I know this is short and doesn’t provide a lot of information about the book but honestly, when I did this review that way I felt like I was rambling and possibly taking away from you all reading the book and forming your own opinions. I really didn’t want to do that, instead I’d like to encourage you to either pick up a copy or get the audiobook to enjoy. Thanks for reading and Game on!