Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

What’s it about?

Cather (Cath) and he twin sister Wren set off for college at the University of Nebraska. Whilst Wren is looking forward to embracing student life, and all the friends, parties and boys it has to offer, Cath is altogether more anxious about this new chapter in their lives.  This is the first time in eighteen years that she won’t be sharing a room with her twin (Wren reckons the whole point of college is to meet new people), and she’s terrified about how their bipolar single father will cope without his two girls to keep an eye on him.  Furthermore, Cath is much happier functioning online in the realm of fanfic, rather than interacting with real-life human beings. Her alter-ego Magicath is the prolific and popular writer of Carry On, Simon, an extended fanfic based on the fictional Simon Snow series (a bit like Harry Potter).  With tens of thousands of online fans herself, Cath has to juggle her writing, her studies and her family issues.

Family issues?

Cath and Wren’s mom never wanted to settle down and have children, so getting pregnant - and with twins – was a bit of a shock.  And one she never recovered from, as we find out that she left the twins and their dad (Art) when they were in the second grade.  On 9/11.  And they’ve never seen her since.

It is suggested that this is when Art had his first mental breakdown.  We also realise very quickly, that Cath’s anxiety is probably due to her mother leaving and her father’s mental health issues – she worries that she is the same as her father and will end up manic and unable to function.  Wren is her pillar of strength, who looks out for her, reassures her and is her ‘built-in best friend’.  Or at least until college starts.  It soon becomes clear that Wren is not as strong and stable as everyone likes to think and is constantly out drinking to the point of passing out and eventually hospitalization. Oh, and then out of the blue, mom aka Laura wants to be part of their lives again.  Jeez…

But what about Cath?!

After a few weeks of hiding out in her dorm room, Cath’s roommate, the sardonic and voluptuous Reagan, confronts Cath and asks if she has an eating disorder. She doesn’t – she’s just been too scared to ask where the dining hall is, and so has been living off a stash of protein bars!  Reagan begrudgingly takes Cath under her wing, as does her boyfriend(?) Levi.  As the semester progresses, Cath also becomes friendly with a guy in her fiction-writing class, Nick.  The pair regularly meet to co-write an anti-love story… could they be writing their own love story at the same time?

Simon and Baz

Storytelling

Each chapter of the book is interspersed with extracts from other stories: Scenes from the first seven books of the Simon Snow series, pieces of Cath’s fanfic and earlier pieces that she co-wrote with Wren when they still lived at home.  At first, I was not fussed about the Simon Snow excepts, but the more of the novel I read, and the more I got to know Cath and how important Simon Snow was to her, I could see how integral to the main story they actually were – If Simon Snow just existed as a fictional franchise, without these little sprinklings of insight, then how could we appreciate Cath’s take on the protagonists in her own version?  In this respect, Rowell is an expert storyteller, fully immersing us in Cath’s world… when the final book in the Simon Snow series was published at the end of the novel, I was actually desperate to find out what was going to happen and how it compared to Cath’s imagined finale!

So pretty!

Is it any good?

Yes yes YES! Rowell perfectly captures what it is to be at college/university – away from home, on the edge of being an adult, but still not quite there, finding your own path and figuring out who you are or who you’d like to become.  Rowell’s dialogue is perfect, and her cast of characters are utterly charming (even when they’re not!)  I loved this book so much that I’ve just ordered a second, special edition copy – hurry up Mr Postman!   I cannot WAIT to get it signed by the wonderful Rainbow Rowell at YALC in 17 days time!

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