Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

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?

Another highly engaging Rainbow Rowell book. I still preferred "Eleanor and Park", but this book was very good. Cath's description of dormitory life brought me back to my college days. While I think some junior high girls would like this book, it is better suited for a high school audience. Cath and Wren are twin sisters who head off to college and start living their own separate lives. Cath must deal with her first love, first writing disappointment, and possibly meet her mother who left when she was 8. The fan fiction writing about Simon Snow and Baz was fine, but really didn't add much to the general plot.