Fangirl book review

I just finished listening to/ reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I loved the book. So much that I bought the hardcover after listening to half of the book in my car. I went for long drives just so I could listen to the book.

I’m always sad when good books are over, and I feel the same with this one. But for some reason, I’m bummed that it had such a happy ending. Everything seems to magically work out for Cath. What little drama there was toward the end, seemed like filler conflict. Like, when Levi and Cath fought about her focusing too much on writing her fanfiction. I got excited that they were finally having a real argument. But then, it lasted one minute and they made up and forgave each other. That part of Cath’s and Levi’s relationship felt unrealistic to me. They rarely had serious conflicts.

I liked the character of Nick but was disappointed with how he became this “how-not-to-be-a-boyfriend” character. He changed from being a really nice friend who Cath enjoyed spending time with to some unlikeable monster way too quickly. I liked that he took the credit for the story they wrote together. That was good conflict. But then, he’s never heard from again, except at the end in a scene where at first I thought the only purpose was to remind the reader that Nick is stupid and will never be as good as Levi. But now I think that scene served to help Cath write her final fiction writing story.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Simon Snow passages but I could still appreciate them and they were refreshing.

I read some of the reviews on Goodreads about this book and I disagree with some of the girls who say that Cath was passive. She chose to go help her sister and dad when they were in need. She almost chose not to write her final English project. She could stand up to Levi sometimes. While I think she could be passive at times, I can’t say she was absolutely passive.

I absolutely loved the writing and story-telling in this book. I also admit that I’m biased because I could relate to some stuff in the novel. It put me back in college and back into my fiction writing class.

I appreciated how slow Levi and Cath’s relationship went. It wasn’t love at first sight. They didn’t immediately have sex. Heck, them saying I love you was a big deal that the reader had to wait and wait for. But, that made it feel genuine and real to me.

The characters all felt real to me. I sympathized with them and cared about their problems.

Several parts in the book made me laugh out loud. There are several really good one-liners sprinkled in the book. I appreciated that occasional humor.

I’d recommend this book to high schoolers, college students, those interested in writing, Harry Potter fans, fanfiction readers and those who want a light hearted young adult romance.

Funfact: I caught a typo on page 407. It reads “It has nothing to with you.” Pretty sure the word “do” is missing there.