Book Review #34: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

-
 
This is my first book review of February! I finished this yesterday and couldn't wait to review it!
 
Also, how cool is the author's name? Rainbow Rowell. I have no idea whether or not this is her real name, but I love it so much!
 
This book is about a girl called Cath (Cather) and her twin sister Wren. This is their first year at university and Wren has decided that she wants to be more independent, not relying on her sister so much. However, this is Cath's worst nightmare. What would she do without her sister constantly by her side? As Cath gets to university, meets her roommate Reagan and meets Reagan's friend Levi, she begins to panic. Is fiction-writing really for her? Or should she just stay at home and write fanfiction, which is all she's ever done. Cath has to decide whether to open her heart and her mind to new experiences, or to stay buried in the fanfiction that she knows and loves.
 
I don't think that my synopsis did the book justice, because there are so many things that I don't want to give away!
 
I loved this book. I really mean that, loved! This is a serious contender for one of the best books I've read this year, and it's only February!
 
This book was really relatable for me personally. First of all, I'm going to university this year, and am absolutely terrified! I am also studying the same thing that Cath did, Creative Writing (I'm doing it with English). As well as this, I have never had an experience with boys or relationships. And, the biggest coincidence, I write fanfiction and am a total fangirl! Cath is me! I mean, I know that her fanfiction is a lot more popular than mine, but the principle is the same!
 
My favourite character is Levi, mainly because of the fact that his smile just completely lights up everyone around him. In my head, I can completely imagine what he looks like and I really love his optimism! I also love his friendship with both Reagan and Cath, the fact that they are opposites and he still manages to love them equally is something that makes me really happy!
 
What was good?
The characters are amazing. Forget Cath, but even Reagan and Wren, they're just really good characters. And even smaller characters such as Nick and Courtney are still such complex and dynamic characters. Albeit, they're not very nice people (Nick more than Courtney), but I still want to find out more about them, I'm really curious!
 
What was bad?
I can't give anything away, but towards the end, some of the things that Cath and Levi were saying were, I felt, a bit unrealistic. I can't quote anything because you'll know what happens, but yes, that's the only criticism that I have.
 
Overall
READ THIS BOOK! I loved this book so much and I really think that you should read it, especially if you're a fangirl/boy! It is an amazing book, and I can't wait for the spin-off that comes out in October!
 
Thank you for reading
 
Comment below whether or not you're a fangirl.
 
Keep Smiling - Lou xx 
 
 

Comments

  1. L11 February 2015 at 17:49

    i was planning to read this book once i'm finished with the one i'm reading now and i love how instead of spoiling it you made me even more excited to read it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lou13 February 2015 at 16:13

      Aw, thank you! I'd really recommend it xx

      Delete
  2. professional daydreamer11 February 2015 at 18:31

    I was going to get this book but I wasn't sure how good it would be, definitely going to pick up a copy soon. Great review x

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you so much for your comment xx

Popular Posts

Hot Frosty | Blogmas Day 17

-
Image
  It's Blogmas day 17! When Cathy (Lacey Chabert) accidentally brings a snowman to life, she discovers the magic Jack the snowman (Dustin Milligan) brings to the town of Hope Springs. This is the third of four highly anticipated Netflix Christmas originals this year that I'm including in Blogmas. And while it's not the most original story, I've always loved the idea of Jack Frost, so I was excited to see it. Thankfully I liked this one - though maybe not as much as I wanted to. I really liked the character of Cathy. Not only was she really likeable, but because we get to know her so quickly, we can really root for her. I also loved the tone of the film. It didn't take itself seriously at all and made it clear to the audience that we're just there to have fun. All of the actors, main and supporting, were great. They were so much fun to watch and all played their characters really well. The chemistry between Cathy and Jack is great! You really want to see them tog...
Read more

Christmas Holidate | Blogmas Day 19

-
Image
  It's Blogmas day 19! When Holly (Jasmine Burke) uses her company's app to find a date to bring home for the holidays, a glitch in the app causes more than one date to turn up. This film had an interesting premise because it seemed really original, and it looked like there would be a lot of chances for fun and humour. I didn't end up liking it as much as I wanted to. But one thing I liked was how much more modern it felt than most of the other movies I've watched for Blogmas this year. Even just the idea of her finding her date(s) through an app is original for a Christmas film. It's nice that the movie was family-focused, but the family it focuses on aren't that interesting and can't really carry the story. The main couple have chemistry and it was fun to watch them interact, but I never really cared about them one way or the other. And if for some reason they didn't end up together, it wouldn't have mattered to me. It took about 40 minutes for the...
Read more

Holiday for Hire | Blogmas Day 20

-
Image
  It's Blogmas day 20! After getting dumped right before going home for the holidays, Katie (Christie Leverette) hires a man to pretend to be her boyfriend in front of her family. Finally a fake dating trope! A couple of the films this year have played with the theme, but this one really goes for it and I love that! But as much as I loved the premise, the film didn't really live up to it. However, one thing I loved as much as I loved the premise was Katie. Right from the beginning she was a character I could get behind and really root for. I also really loved Katie's roommate Sarah (Jeanne Lau) and I wish she had been given more to do, and more of a story. Why is she spending Christmas alone?? I tried not to look at the film from a point of realism, as this is a Christmas movie after all, but where was the sense of safety? The main couple are complete strangers at the start and it felt weird to see how quickly they trusted each other. And while I liked the characters intera...
Read more

A Christmas Proposal | Blogmas Day 16

-
Image
  It's Blogmas day 16! When Jason (Joshua T. Shipman) is forced to move for work, and his girlfriend cannot go with him because they are not married, he creates an elaborate plan to propose by Christmas. So apparently there are two films with the same name, made in the same year, and it looks like I picked the worst of the two! From the very beginning, the tone of the film is really odd. It was taking itself way too seriously for what is supposed to be a light Christmas movie. The plot didn't really make much sense. A few times throughout the film there was a point made that the character didn't want to be with his girlfriend, and had actually requested a be transferred to get away from her. So why are we watching him plan a proposal? Why is he planning a proposal in the first place? There were really weird moments throughout the film where the sound quality would drastically change when a character was speaking but not on camera, despite supposedly being in the same room. ...
Read more

Christmas on Ice | Blogmas Day 21

-
Image
  It's Blogmas day 21! Former figure skater Courtney (Abigail Klein) teams up with former hockey player Noah (Ryan Cooper) to save the local ice skating rink from closing. I picked this one because it just seemed so quintessentially rom-com-y that I had no choice! And it also seemed like it would be really Christmassy, which is always important for a Christmas film. Unfortunately this one wasn't as romantic as it could have been. But I will say the Christmas part holds up - is there anything more Christmassy than ice skating?? My main gripe with the film is that I completely fell in love with a couple and was willing to spent all my time and energy on them. The only problem was, it wasn't the main couple! It was the side couple who were given no time! If the main couple of this film had been Beth (Caroline Portu) and Trevor (Matthew Grimaldi) this could have been a great Christmas movie. I really liked what little I saw of them and wanted so much more than the film gave us....
Read more