Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She's horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life.
Without Wren Cath is completely on her own and totally outside her comfort zone. She's got a surly room-mate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible . . .
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This heartwarming novel has it all: first love, family drama and a dose of fan fiction. It follows socially awkward Cath during her first year at university and her struggles to find herself amidst it all. A cute contemporary read! - Layla (QBD)
Guest, 16/11/2018
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"Fangirl" is a beautiful, brilliant, relateable, easy read. It is also completely believable and full of fluff – plus everything else.
"Fangirl" read beautifully. Nothing was overdone, the characters, the plot, the sub-plots and story arcs, the relationships (not just the lead romance), Simon Snow, The Fandom, Levi, Baz and Simon… It was all breathtaking and perfect and real. "Fangirl" is just so real – I don’t believe that there’s ever been a book that I can relate to so strongly and for that I believe "Fangirl" has earned a permanent spot in my heart.
I’m really not doing a great job pitching this, so I’ll leave it to you with a heavy recommendation. "Fangirl" is real life plus fluff plus a fandom as strong as (if not stronger than) J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. - Melissa (QBD)
Guest, 28/10/2017
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Follow the story of twins Cath and Wren, who have done everything together growing up, go their separate ways in college. We read from Cath's perspective, and how she prefers to stay in her dorm and write fanfiction, than go out partying with her sister. Can Cath move on from following her sister around in High School and start to go her own way? For fans of John Green and Jennifer Niven. - Erin (QBD)
Guest, 17/08/2017
Fangirl
Rainbow Rowell displays her knowledge of the culture that is fan-doms in her stunning contemporary, Fangirl. This book is certainly a read for book lovers as the central focus of the novel was the sense of community that exists around a mutual love for a particular literature and what it means to extend that love to people in the world around you. Cath was an insanely relatable character to introverts everywhere and her struggle with coming out of her shell was beautiful to watch unravel. The book would not have been a success had it not been for Rowell's understanding of young people and their weariness of change but also yearning for the future. As reviewed by Elizabeth Crockford
QBD, 29/07/2014
I read this late into the night
I had great fun reading this book. I loved the Simon Snow fan fiction and the way it linked to Harry Potter while still referring to Harry Potter within the book. I loved all the characters and how clearly I could imagine them in my head. I think the relationships between the characters are quite complex, there's something about that 'coming of age' time in your life that seems to complicate everything. If you're into John Green and any of that 'intellectual teen' stuff you'll love this one too.
Kate, 22/07/2014