Fangirl: A Book Review

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is a young adult novel about an 18 year old girl named Cath who is going off to College. She is a huge Simon Snow fan (think Twilight meets Harry Potter) and in her spare time she writes (really good) fan fiction about the two main characters. Cath is a packaged deal, with her twin sister, Wren (their parents named them Cather and Wren for Catherine) they both attend the same college together, unfortunately for them, they end up with separate roommates. While Wren flourishes in college, becoming a popular student and enters into the dangerous line between drinking and partying verses her school work, Cath is drowning. Her only source of comfort becomes her world of fan fiction with about Simon Snow. Throughout the book, we see Cath struggle with loneliness and being pushed into a whole new world without her sister there by her side. We see her struggle to make new friends and do well in her classes. We also see her struggle a lot with anxiety, something that is not well talked about or accepted. Cath's anxiety follows her throughout the story has she slowly makes new friends, and maybe a new boyfriend, all the while trying to connect with and help her sister get on the right path. 

Cath's story is a great one for any new college student who finds themselves in all new territory with no friends. It tells a coming of age story how college is completely different from high school, and how branching out and doing things that scare us may not be a terrible thing, in fact, it might just be the best thing for us at that moment. Cath's struggle with mental illness is another wonderful aspect in this story, it helps break the ice into mental illnesses and see that any one and everyone can have these issues and that life can and will get better. Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl is a must read!