Fangirl – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is a book that would meet the young adult category: Youthful Notions in the 2018 reading challenge.
This is story about twin sisters, Cath and Wren (think Catherine split into two names). They are starting their first year of college. Instead of being roommates with each other, they are going to have a more traditional experience and have roommates that they don’t know. This causes an internal conflict between the twin sisters as they have always been treated as a unit instead of individuals. At this point in their lives they are becoming aware of how very different they are. This unfolds from the experiences they have within the book as freshman in college.
Cath writes fan-fiction, to the point that her whole internal identity is either wrapped up in being a twin or her passion of writing her fan faction and submerging herself in the world of Simon Snow. (You can read Carry On which is the book that was written as a nod to both Harry Potter fan fiction and the story Cath was working on during the duration of Fangirl.)
This is a quick read, the audible narration is excellent. Fangirl is a good literary palate cleanser after something serious or cerebral. That isn’t to dismiss it, there are lots of fully developed characters and emotions in this book. Yes, the main character can be a bit irritating – but I took that as part of the 18-year-old at the first major crossroad of life. The roller-coaster of feelings, insecurity and uncertainty. Phew, thank goodness those days are over.
I don’t want to spoil anything else – so this is the blub from Rainbow Rowell’s website.
Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, everybody is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath it’s something more. Fandom is life. It’s what got her and her sister, Wren, through losing their mom. It’s what kept them close.
And now that she’s starting college, introverted Cath isn’t sure what’s supposed to get her through. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?