Review of Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl

by Lizzie McIlhenney

Change is always a bitter pill to swallow, and it’s no different in the new novel, Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell.  In the beginning of the novel, Cath and her twin sister Wren start college, and let’s just say Cath doesn’t adjust to college life very well. Instead of going out and making new friends, Cath prefers to stay home at her dorm room and write fanfiction about the Simon Snow series, the one constant left in her now completely uprooted life. Not one for change, Cath struggles with all the new things in her life, including a distance forming between her sister and herself. Her roommate, Reagan, takes Cath under her wing, and Cath meets Levi. And Cath’s world gets turned upside down even more.

It is by far one of the funniest and well written books that I have read in a while. Every character is well developed and the main character, Cath is the best in the bunch.  Every character is so well rounded, that the story comes to life on the page. Rainbow Rowell masters the dialogue, finding that rare balance of wit without going too far. Each chapter is guaranteed to make you laugh at least once, but the story is also deals with the very real lesson of learning to let go. That is probably what makes Cath so relatable, she struggles with the same things that every teen does.

Rainbow Rowell’s ability to connect to her readers is probably what makes her novels so well loved. Her other book, Eleanor and Park, has become so popular that, according to Entertainment Weekly, DreamWorks has picked up the film rights to make a movie out of it. Eleanor and Park, which has been number 10 on the New York Times Bestsellers list for Young adults for 18 weeks, is also known for it’s relatability. Rowell’s characters all battle with insecurities and fitting in, or, in Cath from Fangirl’s case, letting go. All lessons we all must learn at least once in our lives.