Friday, November 25, 2016

FANGIRL by RAINBOW ROWELL

Cath had been a Simon Snow fan ever since she could remember, she and her sister actually, but she was not just any fan. Her fan-fiction had a huge following.

The shift to college overwhelmed Cath with a lot of new things including a new school and an advanced class. Then there were also her dad’s health issue and her sister who wanted to distance herself from Cath to selfishly enjoy college. She was stuck with her roommate and their resident pesky friend who would later turn out to be trying to be pesky on purpose. Cath would struggle to juggle real life matters, but worse, even her escape which was fan-faction would also prove to be a challenge.
“It means...I really like you.” “Like, really like you. And I want that kiss to be the start of something. Not the end.” – Levi

Fangirl is a major chic-lit. It is all that one would expect from college – the adjustment drama, the boys, the social anxiety. Beyond all these though, it could still be labeled a good read for a good rest.

As already mentioned, Fangirl was bits and pieces coming from different aspects. Despite this, one would not lose focus as to what the story was really about. It didn’t have a complicated plot which made it such a breeze to go through. There was not much frowning moment for me.

I would’ve appreciated it more if the Levi development had not been tackled a bit late in the story. I was thinking time spent with Cath dealing with Nick could’ve been used wisely for Levi instead. I didn’t appreciate Nick’s role in the story. I didn’t understand his character. I’d even go as far as saying maybe if Nick had been left out, it wouldn’t have any effect on the whole story.

"I mean, I spent four months trying to kiss you and the last six weeks trying to figure out how I managed to fuck everything up. All I want now is to make it right, to make you see how sorry I am and why you should give me another chance." – Levi

I loved how the romance between Levi and Cath was all bright lights and soaring hearts. I would say this book wasn’t all cheesy content, as I figured it was only a bit later in the story when cheesy Levi and Cath happened. I loved how refreshing it was to read romance on a wholesome, plain-hearts level. You know, just the basic handholding, hugging, kissing, and cuddling. Just cute. It was so nice to just feel the sweetness through straight-from-the-heart metaphors, genuine conversations and meaningful little actions.

“Don't make me angry-kiss you.” – Levi

Being a story extracted from this modern day was among the things that made this one for the entertainment. The new plot concept allowed me inside two new worlds, that of fandom world and fan-fiction writing. I enjoyed how it made me see the way fangirls actually feel and act. I mean, I already had an idea, but I didn’t know how extreme it could get for them. And as for the fan-fiction part, it was really interesting to learn how it works. I mean, wow, really admirable and hardcore stuff going on right there. I dig all those geeky things. Also, it was like Rowell was working on three stories in this book alone. Wild!

Since I’ve already brought up the fiction and fan-fic topics, I enjoyed the passages taken out of the two alternatingly. The bits would sometimes be cliffhangers or something that would put questions to bed altogether. Simon Snow and Baz Pitch were both such interesting characters. Although, I have to admit that I was always more excited to read the fan-fic spinoff since it was more intriguing with the Simon-Baz affair.

“The ultimate act of heroism shouldn’t be death. You’re always saying you want to give Baz the stories he deserves... So you’re going to kill him off? Isn’t the best revenge supposed to be a life well-lived? The punk-rock way to end it would be to let them live happily ever after.” – Wren

The ending was a bit hanging for me in aspects relating to both the main story and the Simon Snow fiction. I felt like there wasn’t any sort of resolution or closure as per Cath’s mother. The maternal issue was brought up but to no avail. As for the Simon Snow series, I was hoping there was a bit more to it not just in the end but in general, so I could have had more background and have better differentiated. But with the fan-fiction, I was contented with that clip where the story closed. It was short but gave me all that I needed to read.

Aside from being hanging, I felt that the ending had also been quite uneventful than expected. The final book launch was a goody. That winning piece from Cath was really nice too, but I just really wanted more from Levi and Cath.

“But there’s nothing more profound than creating something out of nothing.” – Professor Piper

What really confused me most of the time was the third person point of view. I had no idea why the author decided to narrate through this person. From time to time, I would be lost mid-sentence as to who was being talked about. It also somehow made the characters feel detached and far from the reader.

All in all, I would say I still had a nice time indulging myself with sweet romance and college life drama in this book. It was something I decided to read to get out of my reading slump, something not too intense but still not boring.

Are you done reading this book? What are your thoughts? I’d like to know them! Feel free to share them below!


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