Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Type of Read:
YA Fiction/ Coming of age story

Plot Summary:
Cath is a freshmen in college, utterly alone in this new and terrifying world. Sure she had a twin sister, Wren, going to the same school, but they have started to drift apart. Wren wants to go to parties and experience college life. All Cath wants to do is stay in her dorm and write fanfiction for Simon Snow (aka Harry Potter). But life catches up with her. She makes new friends, finds a boyfriend, and discovers that there is more to writing then just Simon Snow.

Strengths:
I think the biggest strength comes from the details. Rowell has such a way of capturing character ticks and movements that it makes me jealous.

Weaknesses:
The only flaws I found were some awkward descriptions like: "his lips were the same color as the inside of his mouth." At this, I pictured purplish lips. Not attractive to me, but to each their own!

Reading other reviews and blogs, I found that some people didn't like how fangirls were portrayed. They felt that fangirls were looked down upon and mocked. I personally didn't get that impression. Sure there was some fun poked at the main character for still being obsessed with Simon Snow and writing fanfiction about it. Cath tries to hide her hobby even though she is really good at it. I mean, I'm still shy about telling people (even people I have known for years) that I dream of being a full time writer one day (not that I'm saying I'm good like Cath, but you get the point). But the Simon Snow obsession was an important plot point. For Cath, Simon Snow was her security blanket which *SPOILER* she eventually loosens her hold on. Cath might have been a nerd, but nerds are celebrated these days. Again, I personally didn't see anything wrong with it, but that's just my opinion.

Opinion and Recommendation:
I don't normally read fiction. I prefer to lose myself in a fantasy or a science fiction novel. But this was an exception. It was such a charming coming of age story. Also, I saw a lot of myself in Cath. She's reclusive, doesn't like change, doesn't like to be around a large group of strangers, doesn't open up easily, relies on her comfort zone, likes to bury herself in writing and reading, tends to have flawed logic that strangely makes sense etc. Seeing Cath mature was like seeing a flower opening. The romance in this book was so sweet and the ending was so perfect, that I still find myself thinking about it. I borrowed the audio book from the library, but I have added this book to the massive list of "Must buys".