What I'm Reading :: Fangirl

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I already have very good things to say about this book.

Now, it's no secret that I have questionable taste in books. I pretty much stick to a standard formula of damaged boy meets damaged girl and they fall in love and save each other and live happily ever after. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I'm pretty sure that at least half (not not more) of the fifty-two books I read last year were faithful to this story-line, and I can't lie...I've gotten bored. 

But, the thing is, it's hard to let go of something you're used to. I have a goal of seventy-five books this year, and I've already read two. One of those books stuck to that formula (and it was actually really good), but I thought I would venture out of my comfort zone for the next. 

Enter, FANGIRL. Let me just say that it's been a long time since I've given a book five stars, but I didn't think twice about this one. 

FANGIRL was sassy, different, and completely charming in every way possible. There was a quirky girl, an unconventionally handsome boy, and a sweet storyline all wrapped up in a cute little package. If I could think of any more delightful adjectives to use to describe this book, I would, because that really is exactly how much I loved it. 

I think that books that let you escape into an alternate universe have their merits (and no, I'm not talking about the world of Harry Potter). I'm talking about worlds where the protagonist is exceptionally beautiful and her love interest is abnormally sexy and their love is altogether too-hot-to-handle. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE those books.

But.

If those are the only types of books you like to read, then FANGIRL isn't for you. 

From the Goodreads description:

Cath is a Simon Snow fan. 

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . . 

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. 

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. 

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. 

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate 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. 

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? 

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? 

Writing her own stories? 

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind? 

If you like reading about real people and their real-life (or realistic, at least) eccentricities on the other hand, then I think you might love this book.