Book Review: Fan Girl by Rainbow Rowell

38) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell is the brightest new star in the galaxy of new author talent. The author of Eleanor & Park and Landline returns with Fangirl, a brilliantly conceived and executed novel built around the fan fiction universe.

Cath is a huge Simon Snow fan. In Fangirl, Simon Snow is Rainbow Rowell's equivalent of the Harry Potter franchise. The actual Harry Potter and friends are occasionally referenced in Fangirl, but because many parts of Fangirl are told through the characters of a famous fiction franchise that is known around the world, Rowell opted to create her own fiction within a fiction. And it works charmingly well. Not only are we, the reader, enthralled with trying to spot the similarities of the fiction within the fiction (Simon Snow), we can immediately empathize with Cath as she moves away from home for the first time, from her life in Omaha to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

Cath has a huge following on her Simon Snow fan fiction site, and is pressing to finish her own take on the Simon Snow story before the eighth and final (real) Simon Snow book is published. To add to that stress, Cath's twin sister Wren opts not to room with her as they move to college so they can both meet new people. Their dad is alone for the first time, and Cath worries that the Quik Trip meals he's eating aren't healthy enough. Cath's roommate Reagan doesn't get the fan fiction obsession, and has long since moved beyond Simon Snow. Reagan's some-time boyfriend is always around, and always eager to help. Too eager, perhaps. Cath is a gifted writer, but she finds herself struggling with her advanced fiction writing professor, a published writer, who thinks fan fiction is equivalent to plagiarism and theft.

There are plenty of other stressors, too, and Cath worries that she can't handle it all. That, more than anything, is what makes this book succeed. Cath is relatable. We, the readers, understand her pain and constant distractions and we root for her.  We want to read those Simon Snow books, as well as the fan fiction Cath is writing (although we do get a good sample of both). Like Cath, we readers have turned to the fiction we love as a way to light our path in times of pain and confusion.

Simply put, Rainbow Rowell is my new favorite writer and I eagerly await her next offering. Fangirl has moved to the top of my list of go-to recommendations for active readers. Due to some drinking and sex references, I highly recommended for this for high schoolers and up.