Book Review | Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

In Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life--and she's really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to. Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate 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.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
-Amazon

Dear Blue, 

I can't imagine that when you read Cath, her hesitance to jump into life, her insane passion for stories, and doubtful thoughts about her abilities as a writer, that you don't think you're reading yourself from the time you were in school. Or maybe that unabashedly her person is still you. Either way, I can attest that of characters I've read and thought maybe I could relate to them...Cath takes it. 

There are a few reasons why I think Fangirl is one of the best young adult novels I've read. First is Cath. Cath is awkward and unsure of herself, a bit unsteady as to where she fits. She's everyone of us at various stages of our lives, especially if you're a "bookish fandom dweller". She embraces her dork, is passionate about fanfiction (I have a fave fanfiction fandom for each stage of life: The Mummy (1999) when I was in high school. Twilight whilst in college. And The Hunger Games now.) and she can't help but stumble through falling in love for the first time.

Second are the beautiful relationships throughout the story. Levi is well...perfection (I'm praying for one of my own) . Sunny, organic, lovely...perfect for Cath. I loved their layered growth, and how young and happy reading about them made me feel. Everyone should have a Levi, or arguably better, be the Levi to someone else. I also loved watching Cath blossom through her friendship with Reagan, her no nonsense roommate, and Wren, her twin sister who, at first, seems to be growing away from her. There's nothing better than to be taken on a journey where by the end, you see the main character grow into who you cheered for her to be all along! It made me take a sigh of relief for myself. For the freshman year Britta who dealt with the same issues of feeling like the only human being who was passionate about what she was passionate about, with guys, and finding a place. This novel also has it's serious points with Cath and Wren's parents, and their challenge to move beyond said situations. These moments balanced out the novel so well.

Third is writing. Rainbow Rowell wrote an article about Fangirl being her NanoWrimo darling. The novel she had to push through, that made her have to create the branches as she fell to grab hold of. In the novel, Cath is forced to face herself as a writer, and challenged to move away from the parts of herself that looks to fanfiction as a security blanket. As a writer, I think I'm always looking for that assurance that it's okay to feel a little unstable. Like you're walking on glass that cracks every time you take a step, but it's okay. It's okay. Push through anyway. That's what this novel was to me. A glowing minty reminder to keep going. If I ever taught creative writing, I'd surely make my students read this novel. 

Bare in mind: Fangirl contains profanity, slight sensuality, and  excerpts of non explicit Slash fanfiction.

Fangirl was a refreshing ball of joy. The way Rainbow Rowell explores life in such a snarky, romantic, and overall awesome way is priceless. It perfectly captures the rush of finding a story that sucks you into it's world so much that it becomes a friend, and gateway to an even larger family. 

Let's grab Gingerbread Lattes and have a jam session about this book for a full Saturday Afternoon. We're going in for the long haul.

Hugs and love,

2014 Top 8 TBR List

Dear Blue:

HAPPY 2014!

I hope that you've met the year blessed, and optimistic of all the awesomeness coming your way.

I've spent the opening days of the new year reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and reading it one page at a time to prolong it. That darn Rainbow Rowell just keeps pulling fantastic stories out of her fabulous brain, and making me cry, and laugh, and feel that wonderstruck feeling in the pit of my stomach! There will be more about this soon. Here are six of the books I'm looking forward to reading in 2014.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer | Michelle Hodkin: Mara released during a time where supernatural/haunting romances were slowly descending down my list of literary turn on's, but it's always been one of those novels to pop up on my Tumblr Dash. With it's finale releasing this year, I thought why not see what all the fuss is about. Hearing fans unabashedly shout their love for Mara and Noah makes me want to become one of them. It's actually kind of sad that books with the most popularity often send me running in the other direction. I'm sure I miss a lot of great ones!

Landline | Rainbow Rowell: After Eleanor and Park, Attachments, and now Fangirl, I've decided that I will read everything Rainbow Rowell ever writes. She has such a talent for capturing real life, and all it's funny bits. (I'm sure you'd want a Levi after finishing FANGIRL. I promise.) In Landline, a wife gets to have phone conversations with her husband, but years in the past, and has a shot at changing her marriage for the better (or worst...we shall see)...Screams awesome to me!

This Star Won't Go Out | Esther Earl: One of my 2014 reading goals is to start a tradition where I reread at least one book a year. This year it shall be the profound and heart shattering, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. When I discovered that Hazel-Grace was inspired by a girl named Esther Earl who, unfortunately, lost her battle with thyroid cancer when she was sixteen years old, I couldn't wait to read about the inspiration of one of my favorite novels, but even more so, I can't wait to meet a beautiful young, effervescent woman. Normally, I fill my shelves with surreal stories that take my mind away from the starkness of reality, but this year I wanted to open my eyes to the real people who overcome insurmountable odds like the greatest of heroes in any novel. It reminds me that if these people can persevere, by God's Grace, I can too!

Isla and the Happily Ever After | Stephanie Perkins:  There are sickening romances with cliched characterization and story lines, and then there's Stephanie Perkins, a writer with the magic touch. Her novels are stomachs full of butterflies, and the vitamin c kissed energy that flows beneath your skin (even in the chills on the surface) when you meet someone you like for the first time. She has just the boost if you're in the mood for a sweet, believable love story. I'm so sad that this series ends with Isla, but I'm ecstatic for it!

Alena | Rachel Pastan: All I needed to know was that this book was inspired by Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, making it also inspired by Jane Eyre. Sold.

God Shaped Hole  | Tiffanie DeBartolo: The heroine of this novel answers an ad in the newspaper of a man "seeking a friend for the end of the world", all the while trembling in the wake of a fortune teller's speculation that her true love would die young. Pretty much sold.

Now all I have to do is somehow make room for other book boyfriends in wake of Levi.

What books are you looking forward to, Blue?

Hugs and Love,

Book Review | Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

“Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.”—John Green, The New York Times Book Review 

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says. So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers. I’m not kidding, he says. You should be, she says, we’re 16. What about Romeo and Juliet? Shallow, confused, then dead. I love you, Park says. Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers. I’m not kidding, he says. You should be. Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.       

-Amazon

Eleanor & Park is a quirky, bittersweet story of young love, angst, and super cool mixtape collections. It definitely put me in mind of some of the most classic coming of age stories in the 80s...Anything with Molly Ringwald. Although I was a baby in 1986, reading E+P has made me nostalgic for this beautifully raw era, jam packed with sounds and fierce fashion choices. An era where you actually had to work to get to know a person, as opposed to our instantly gratified generation (You still have to work, but, who remembers having to drag a phone full of cords into a room for privacy, or having to stop because someone else needs it?...Showing my age!)

Rainbow Rowell (killer name, btw) has masterfully executed true to life, sometimes overly dramatic, pleasantly mortifying awkward sides to high school. Park is a guy drenched in music and comics, who rides the fence when it comes to popularity. Eleanor is the girl that we have all met, or know of, whom cannot be defined, or easily understood. They both meet each other with equal parts suspicion as intrigue, and I loved this aspect of the novel. It is not a 'love at first sight', unrealistically emotive story. To experience Eleanor and Park is to experience the most beautiful form of awkwardness that I have experienced in a while. They're love grows in layers, and unconventionally, through mixtapes and the pages of comics during the ride to school.

I also loved how E+P challenge each others ideals/beliefs in this novel. Throughout the novel, Park is mystified in his love/need for Eleanor, but is also struck dumb by Eleanor's presence. There are moments where his inner monologue seem to challenge his kindness toward her. Eleanor's life brings a heavier tone to this novel. Through Park, she glimspes a life with his family, that seems unbelieveable at first, but becomes a point of healing for her. By the end of the novel...well, your heart might explode.

Bare In Mind: This novel contains profanity, and some violence.

Eleanor & Park is full of the beauty of young love, all the while maintaining that grit and attitude of the 80s. Rainbow Rowell is an incredibly thoughtful writer, who encapsulates first love in an almost mythic way, making it golden. It also shows the magic of discovering that perfect song which says everything you've ever wanted to say to someone else. E+P will, most certainly, cause you to relive your own awkwardly awesome moments. I can see this novel holding the same following as the many nerdfighters who hold John Green's novels dear to their hearts.

I give Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell 4 out of 5 cups of Irish Breakfast.

P.S. If you would like to try your hand at making a physical mixtape: You're Welcome :-D.