FANGIRL - RAINBOW ROWELL // Book Review

So I'm back! I guess it has been a little while since I have posted on here but my mindset has been changing a lot recently and I am not really sure where my blog is heading right now, and I guess you could say that I am starting to feel a little lost. However, right now I am just going to try and focus on what I like to post and hopefully you won't mind that too much. As for what I am enjoying right now, it is very bookish-themed blog posts and so I'm reviewing another book today. 

I feel like everyone has read Fangirl and if you haven't, you've probably heard of it. It is simply a coming of age story based around two twins, but in particular, Cath who is extremely introverted but she writes fanfiction. The story follows Cath as she starts college and learns to fend for herself as her twin, Wren, wants a bit more space to become her own person. Cath learns a lot about herself as she is forced into situations she would have never experienced if Wren was by her side. 

This book discusses loads topics, a lot of which, most young teens will go through. Your 'typical' topics such as family, friendships and first loves are discussed but I particularly appreciated the discussion of anxiety in this post. Cath is extremely shy and there are moments in the book where she panics and becomes overwhelmed with nerves and I thought that the way it was described was very well done and insightful. 

This book was a five-star read for me and I cannot believe that it took me so long to get to. I have had this book for a few years now and no matter how many people told me it was amazing, I would just always avoid reading it. I think the main reason I put it off for so long was that the length of it was a little longer than what I was used to and so I was quite intimidated going into. I can say though that once you get a few chapters in, it really starts to take off and you really don't notice the length. 

I just really loved this book, I love how it is a contemporary but it is not super predictable and boring, it is entertaining, it is hilarious at moments and it is heartbreaking in others, plus the relationship is adorable. 

Contemporary young adult books are some of my favourites to read but a lot of them can drag out and feel like a bit of a chore to read, however, this one was just perfect and I haven't read a contemporary that I have loved as much as this one in a really long time. 

I think that Cath as a character was brilliantly done. I found that I saw a lot of myself in Cath and so seeing her development throughout the book really offered me a sense of hope by the time I got to the end. Cath's actions are so well justified in this book, to me, and so I think that the plot of this story was just so smooth sailing in that sense as you could see why things started to happen around her. 

As for the other characters, Levi is a gem. He is charismatic and kind and careful, he has a great sense of humour and his gestures just made my heart melt. He definitely had his slip-ups but he redeems himself in amazing ways so I definitely think that most girls deserve a guy like Levi. I also love Reagan. I loved how she is just so content with herself, she takes no messing from anyone and she really sparks a beautiful friendship with Cath which is just so amazing to read. 

Cath's family was also so well thought out. Throughout the book, you can sort of make likes as to why Cath is the way she is and how her internal thoughts reflect what she has previously been through. Her twin, Wren is the polar opposite of Cath and you see their relationship fluctuate a lot throughout this book and I think that is what makes this story very realistic and not too overly optimistic. 

You can probably tell by now that I really love this book. I thought that the addition of fanfiction into this book was really well done and its approach was so realistic that I think most people will find a bit of their inner fangirl in a character like Cath. There are so many cool fanfiction references and interesting discussion points within this book and it definitely opened my eyes up to just how influential and inspiring fanfiction can be. 

I will say though, one thing that I didn't think was necessary for this book was that at the end of every chapter there would be a little snippet of text relating to what Cath was writing fanfiction about but to be completely honest, I ended up skim reading it as I didn't find it to play a bit part in the book. 

I am going to stop gushing about this book now though but I would highly, highly recommend it if you are just looking for a really good contemporary novel. 

Grace xx