By: Stephanie Wyatt
I don’t normally reread books, but Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is one of my exceptions. It tells the story of Cath Avery as she navigates her freshmen year at the University of Nebraska -Lincoln. Cath writes fanfiction about the popular Simon Snow Series and has a massive following for her LGBTQIA+ paring of Simon and Baz. She is trying to finish her story before the next book in the series comes out in May. Her twin sister Wren wants to move away from all of that kid stuff and experience life at college on her own.
I love this book because I related to it so much. I met my best friend through fanfiction. I studied Creative Writing in college and shied away from writing about topics that hurt. It was extremely engaging so it was a quick read. My favorite part is the excerpts from the Simon Snow books and Cath’s Fanfiction Carry On that are at the beginning of each chapter. (Yes I know she has written and released the trilogy now. They have been on my TBR forever.) I love when authors publish things related to their characters’ interests.
This book talks about mental health issues, alcohol poisoning, and childhood trauma. There is some kissing, and talk of raunchy writing. Nothing is super explicit though. The perfect audience for this book is bibliophiles, writers, college freshmen, and anyone who wants to go back to college for a while.
Overall, Fangirl is a new adult novel that will make you remember all of your freshmen year fears and, hopefully, the great memories you made along the way. It gets a 5/5 for me because it’s one of the few books I will reread. Some characters also show up in another novel called Attachments. You can find Fangirl wherever you get your books, and it’s available on Scribd.
Have you read this? If so, tell us in the comments! Happy Reading!!
Functionally Fictional 
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