OK, this is a YA romance novel. Things that it has going for it, if you are not a big fan of the genre:
1) The main character is endearing. Perhaps the characters are a bit too obviously designed to be endearing (too coy and cute?), but endearing all the same.
2) The fanfiction. The main character is very shy, with social anxiety and obsessed with writing fanfiction for the "Simon Snow" fandom, a series of fantasy books obviously inspired by Harry Potter. Fragments of the character's fanfiction are included within this novel. For me this was what gave the story something distinctive among so many similar YA romances. The fact that some reviewers say they skipped the fanfiction sections, because they were not important for the story, goes to show how much tastes vary. Sure, you do not need to read them, but then again you do not need to read the book at all. You read it for pleasure.

The main fault is how cliched and shallow the romance is (except for the original element of the fanfiction). Not much subtlety. Very quickly the author lets you know who you need to root for. This is the bad romantic candidate. You see, he does not care for the main character's safety. Sure enough, soon he is trying to steal her work and present it as his own. This other character is the good romantic prospect. See how he goes out of his way to make sure to escort the main character at night in the campus. The main character of course has no idea she is going to fall for him, but she is the only one.

If you are expecting a book about fanfiction about a community, forget it. It gets into writing fanfiction, but the community element of it is only glossed over.

Entertaining, easy to read... no more, no less. ( )

3 stars.

So I gave Fangirl a second chance after DNFing it two years ago. In a way, I'm glad I gave it a second chance, because there were aspects that I ended up loving.

However... I was still pretty let down.

My main problems with this story are the beginning and the ending. The beginning is super slow - it takes a while for the story to go anywhere. But when the story picks up, I started to really love it! I loved how Cath got pushed out of her comfort zone, and I enjoyed the way her character develops. I LOVED Levi!! I was honestly living for these characters and their interactions. I could really relate to the way that Cath deals with the change of entering college. I think the family issues Cath deals with also added complexity to the plot.

Buuuut then the ending came around and I was disappointed again. The way the story ends is really abrupt and felt inconclusive. I felt like there were so many loose ends left, and that there wasn't real closure. I was left wanting more.

Another thing I felt was unnecessary was how much of the story is devoted to excerpts from Simon Snow and Cath's Simon Snow fanfic. Yes, okay, fanfiction is a major plot point and aspect of Cath's character... but honestly, towards the end I was just skipping those sections. I didn't feel that reading them added a whole lot to the plot - I found them to be distracting.

Overall, I'm glad I did give Fangirl a second chance, but I still think it was flawed. The characters are amazing! I would definitely read Rainbow Rowell again for characters alone. But the plot was... lacking. It could have been more polished and resolved. ( )

This book is unexpected and refreshing. The main characters are fleshed out and flawed, in such a relatable way. It gave me a lot of insight into the perspective of people who process the world's inputs in a different way than (maybe) I do.
( )

Nice easy read. ( )

Actual Rating: 4.50
(my current review is a bit ramble-y. I just wanted to get my thoughts out, but I will refine it later)

This
was
super
ADORABLE.

UGH. My little fangirl hear is so happy. I FLEW through this book in less than a day, and read over 3/4 of it in one night. It's a very readable book!

One of the aspects I think "Fangirl" has that works really well are the multiple layers within the main story- there's a plethora of character interactions, settings, scenarios, and nothing ever felt stale. From Cath and Reagan sitting in the dining hall and commenting on students, to Cath and her dad talking about school, and everything in between, I really felt immersed in Cath's world.
There are times I've read YA books or books where the main character is a college student, and I've finshed them feeling like it wasn't real, and the character's never struggled with "normal" college stuff or never seemed to go to classes. We get to see that here, though! Cath goes to classes, and stuggles with some assignments; she doesn't get perfect grades all the time; she has family drama and fights with her sister; she feels awkward and anxious- all these things felt very real!
The scene where Cath walks through the English building three times trying to work up the nerve to see her professor was so relatable- I've had meetings with profs before and shown up an hour early, and then ended up walking laps from stress. I just really related to Cath a lot, and that made her much more likable to me.

I also like how Cath had passions, and wasn't afraid to follow them. She knew what she liked, and although she knew people might judge her for it, she continued writing about Simon and Baz. I also loved how Levi encouraged her passion and talked to her about it.
UGH LEVI.
The only thing I think didn't mesh well in "Fangirl" was the lack of closure at the end. Yes, we know what happens with some of the major themes (primarliy the relationship status of main characters) but there are too many unanswered threads.
Cath's fiction project? Laura, their mother? The upcoming summer? I just think the ending was too fast and didn't give quite enough. "Fangirl" is practically begging for a sequel!

I will definitley be rereading this book (and maybe write some Cath/Levi fanfiction while I'm at it? )

( )