Cath and Wren, twin sisters, grew up on the Simon Snow books (think Harry Potter fandom). Through the rough times the girls had the books to fall into. As they went through high school and upon entering college, Wren outgrew the obsession with the books, but Cath never did.
Wren is excited for the college life. She plans to live it and experience it to the fullest. Cath just wants to write fan fiction, which she has done for years now, creating a story line around the now household character names of the Simon Snow books. Simon Snow and the world she has created keeps Cath feeling safe in a world that she has no control over. Her many followers of her writing keep her motivated to keep on writing, encouraged by this fictional world she can call the shots in.
When Wren lets Cath know that she does not want to be roommates, instead looking forward to breaking out of the “oh look twins” shell they have grown up in, Cath is shocked. Forced to room with a stranger named Reagan and her once boyfriend Levi who hangs around more and more when Reagan is not there…
How does one step up into the next level of life, when they are very happy with the fictional one they have created?
fangirl
Syllabification: (fan·girl) Pronunciation: /ˈfanˌgərl/ noun
informal derogatory an obsessive female fan (usually of movies books, or science fiction). ~ Thank you Oxford Dictionary
If I would have known that Fangirl was a bit in a way sort of kind of about Harry Potter in any way shape or form… I would have snatched it up forever ago. ~ Sheila
I listened to Fangirl on audio and in no time at all was completely immersed in the world of college and friendships and the undieing love of a book.. so much that you have went on to create your own stories involving the characters just to keep them alive. As much a huge “Potter Head” as I am … I never thought about creating fan fiction, writing these characters into other situations… the whole fan fiction thing is kind of brilliant (and yes borderline obsessive – but hey… who ya hurtin’? 😛 )
Strongly character driven Fan Girl had the essence of The Fault In Our Stars (John Green). Levi gave me an Augustus vibe and in a good way. Quick witted, snarky but not in a mean way….his placement with Cath as a more down to earth level protagonist was a great mix.
Narrators Rebecca Lowman and Maxwell Caulfield did a wonderful job and they really had their work cut out for them as dialogue is a huge part of the flow of this book – and it works.
Fangirl was a delight to read and I was excited to review it to share it with all of you. SO delighted in fact, I immediately upon finishing Fangirl downloaded Eleanor and Park by this same author. Diving into that one starting tonight.
Do not miss out on a fun read – Harry Potter fans, jump on board!
Book Journey 
I have a copy and can’t wait to read it.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Great review. I hope I got it for Christmas. Ever since I heard about it before it came out I have wanted to read it. I loved Eleanor and Park so much. I need to hop on the Fangirl train IMMEDIATELY!
I think it is a book you will love! 😀
I can’t wait to read it. Been on my list for a while.
I hope you get it for Christmas! 😀
I am really looking forward to reading this one. So excited you have Eleanor & Park waiting for you – can’t wait to hear what you think. That is most certainly going on my top books of 2013!
I am listening to it on audio – same female narrator as this one
I loved this one too, even though I didn’t really get the fan fiction aspect. I did think of Harry Potter too.
I picked up on Harry right away and then was a little offended because I thought they were ripping off the story while pretending it was original…. truly going into this I did not understand what fan fiction was….LOL
Darn…darn…darn…I hate it when I have these books and put off reading them! Thank you for the reminder!
Get in there Patty! I would love to see your review!
Just finished the audio of Eleanor & Park today (loved it). I need to wait a while to write my review — so good. Looking forward to this one as well.
I started it tonight and love the flow already.
Wow, now THAT is high praise, Sheila! Considering I’m definitely a Harry Potter fan (was somewhat obsessive at one time! lol), I may have to check this one out after all. I hadn’t known what Fanfic was until I got into the Half-Blood Prince group on B&N when that book was released. I wasn’t crazy about the idea ’cause so much of it was trashy (literally) or just poorly done. I also didn’t like the idea of reading about Jo Rowling’s characters not written by her, either. I know she thought it was great, so who am I to say? lol Maybe FANGIRL will change my thinking!
I get that about not wanting to read about characters that are not written by the author. I have never read fan fiction… not sure how I would feel about it. Perhaps it is time to give it a try 🙂
I am thinking I will probably do this on audio when I get to it. 🙂
Oh good!
I simply adored this one, too. Loved the narrators!
Me too Carrie!
I loved this book on so many different levels. The characters, the discussion of fan fiction and love of reading, family relationships, college life, etc.
As good as this book is, Eleanor & Park is even better. I had to stop listening to the audio of that one because I didn’t want to cry while driving so I finished with a print copy instead!
WOW…. I am super excited to get into E and P!
This book has been on my radar for awhile…I loved Attachments by this author. Thanks for sharing.
Another one I have not read – this was my first by her 😀 Looks like I have some catching up to do!
I loved Fangirl, and I, too, was fascinated by the fan fiction idea. I didn’t know much about it. As much as I loved Fangirl, I loved Eleanor & Park even more. It’s my favorite YA book of the year!
I am excited to hear so much praise for Eleanor and Park…. listening to it now 😀
There is so much love for this book out there so I’m glad you liked it, Sheila.
It was a fun read 😀 Errrr…. listen.. 😛
I’ve read great reviews of this one, and now yours included. I’d like to read Eleanor and Park before this one though.
I am on that one now Laura 😉
I’m itching to read this. A friend of mine has a copy she’s going to lend me as soon as she finishes it. I consider myself a Fangirl and I started writing fanfiction when I was 14. It’s a great way to explore plot without having to develop your own characters which is a good start for a young writer. I’m glad you enjoyed the world of fanfiction. http://www.fanfiction.net is a good place to start if you want to read some. I recommend looking for complete works with a high review count to find some good pieces.
Thanks for the link! That is kind of awesome! I want to check out fan fiction as I am so curious now about it. Fangirl opened up new interests for me 🙂
I need this book asap.
I hope you grab it!
I’ve not read anything by this author but I’ve seen many good reviews for this one. Sounds like a fun book.
It was really fun.
I enjoyed this one a lot! It was really well-written. I did think though that the first half was much better than the second half. Can’t wait for Rainbow Rowell’s next book.
She is an author apparently to watch 🙂
It seems like Rainbow Rowell can do no wrong when it comes to writing novels. I must try to read some of her works in the new year. Thanks for the review Sheila. 🙂
Some books -make the reviews very easy 😀
I loved this book, Rainbow Rowell is on a roll and I can’t wait for her next book to come out. I also loved Eleanor and Park and thought Attachments (adult lit) was really good
I’ve been hearing great things about this. I’m adding it to my list to check out.
YAY!!!