Book Review: FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

Book Review: FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

This book made me fall back in love with reading. I hadn't read for years, not too sure why to be honest. I think it was probably a mixture of education, work and socializing that made me forget just how relaxing reading a book could be and also how cheerful it makes me.

Blurb: "Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She's horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life.

Without Wren Cath is completely on her own and totally outside her comfort zone. She's got a surly room-mate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction 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.

Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible . . ."

When I picked this book up at Waterstones, straight away I knew that it was the perfect book for me to purchase. I prefer books where either the characters are in my age range, so that I can relate more to the story or I just get a book because the blurb of the story completely pulls me in. Cath and Wren are twins that are all set to start university. They have been so close their whole lifes, forever doing everything together. From going to the same parties to staying up until early hours of the morning writing fan fiction of Simon Snow together. However, when they start university it all starts to change. With living in separate accommodation, studying different courses, making different friends.. and maybe boyfriends.. they become more independent without each other and begin to like different things.

All of the characters that Rainbow Rowell has created are very interesting characters. She writes about all of them in just enough depth that you can really understand what they are like. The story mainly focuses on Cath rather than Wren, but of course she is very highly included. It is lovely to read how throughout the book, Cath comes out of herself gradually. When it comes to writing her fan fiction though, that is where you really do see her blossom. Rainbow Rowell has portrayed Caths passion for writing her Simon Snow fan fiction wonderfully. Between chapters, there are special pages of either the original Simon Snow books or what Cath has wrote in her fan fiction "Magicath". She also portrays both Cath, Wren and the friends they meet on the way journeys through their first year in university brilliantly too. As of yet I have not started university, but I do hope to. The book has let me have a little look into what joining university might be like. 

I never wanted to put this book down. I think that Rainbow Rowell is a lovely author and I will be sure to read her other books. I have fallen in love with sweet Cath and her story. Hopefully Rainbow might consider writing a second addition of Fangirl.. or I may have to search the internet for some fan-fiction of the book to read for myself..

Buy your own copy here: click here to buy! 

- Kat Melladay x