Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell | Rating: ★★★★★"Real life was something happening in her peripheral vision."
Fangirl, for me, hits all the right notes that Eleanor & Park hadn’t. And although there were some things within the story that irked me a little bit, it didn’t disappoint and was overall one of the most enjoyable young adult contemporary novels I’ve read. You know, ever. There was just something about this story that was charming and cute and real that made me love it instantaneously and I already am finding myself wanting to reread it.
And I can see this novel making a lasting impression on many teenagers and adults alike. It’s probably the first novel I’ve read that has the main character write fanfiction, too, and I think it’s pretty great to see that side of writing and the age of the internet represented too. Fangirl also has the classic makings of many love stories — not just between the romantic side of things, either.
We see the bond of a pair of twins crumble in many ways, and the lasting scars of having been abandoned by a mother. We see the relationship of a strong father/daughter dynamic. Then there’s the love of writing in an ‘unique’ way, that feeling of your childhood ending in some ways and falling in love for the first time.
It’s genuinely a sweet novel that explores the life of a college aged girl who has quite the difficult time exploring the world outside her own.
