Fangirl: A Novel (Hardcover)

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Fangirl: A Novel By Rainbow Rowell Cover Image

Fangirl: A Novel (Hardcover)

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To say that Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl is good is an
understatement. It’s fantastic. It’s brilliant. It’s wonderful. It’s witty and
insightful and utterly beautiful. Fangirl is, by far, the best book I’ve read
all year.

Starting her freshman year of college with a gruff
roommate, a cute writing partner, and an absent twin sister, Cath’s severe
social anxiety almost pushes her over the edge. Time and again, Cath finds
solace in her Simon Snow fanfiction - a genius hybrid of Harry Potter and
Twilight - writing about romance, betrayal, wizards and vampires. Despite
Cath’s lack of friends outside her sister, the thousands of followers Cath has
on the fanfic boards seem to make up for it. However, it isn’t until she really
messes up that Cath realizes she can’t live within her fanfiction forever.

After hearing everyone rave about this book, I knew I had
to pick it up.

Cath’s social anxiety is something that I think many
people can relate to.

The idea of moving away from home for the first time,
being separated from one’s family, and having to start all over in a giant fish
bowl is daunting.

This situation begs for self-discovery and growth, which
Cath has a hard time embracing. I loved Cath, despite her flaws. She’s
intelligent, but she’s afraid to push herself. She’s witty, but too shy to show
it. She’s creative, but too stubborn to apply creativity to any story outside
of Simon Snow. As someone who constantly struggles with pushing herself, I
loved being confronted with a situation that made so much sense to me. That
transition from any tiny comfortable fish pond to a deep dark ocean doesn’t
just apply to those moving from high school to college.

The story itself even made me want to return to college,
and maybe even sign up to live in the dorms. Who knows, maybe I’ll start
writing my own fanfiction? This is one of those books you won’t be able to put
down. Trust me, you’ll be up reading until 3am and you’ll force yourself to
stay up another two hours while you really contemplate what you just read. Then
you’ll have to go back and reread several scenes just to relive the magic of
them. And for those of you romance junkies out there, fear not. There’s plenty
of romance to go around. Although, you might have to fight me for him.

If you haven’t already given in to the hype of Fangirl,
just do it. You really won’t regret it. The splendor of this novel is something
that will last with you for weeks, months, maybe even years after it’s over.
So, what are you waiting for?

— Anna, Books Inc. Palo Alto

#1 New York Times bestselling author!

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

A New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of 2013
A New York Times Best Seller!

Rainbow Rowell is the award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and the Simon Snow Trilogy, plus several other novels, short stories, and comics. She lives in Omaha, Nebraska, just like most of her characters.

Product Details ISBN: 9781250030955
ISBN-10: 1250030951
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: September 10th, 2013
Pages: 448
Language: English

“Absolutely captivating.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A funny and tender coming-of-age story that's also the story of a writer finding her voice...touching and utterly real.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The magic here is cast not with wands but with Rowell's incredible ability to build complex, vivid, troubling and triumphant relationships...Fans of Eleanor & Park and other bookish, nerdy types will thrill at finding such a fantastic and lasting depiction of one of their own.” —Booklist (starred review)

“A charming coming-of-age novel...filled with complex subjects (such as divorce, abandonment, and mental illness) handled in a realistic manner, and the writing effortlessly and seamlessly weaves these threads together.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

“Rowell manages to capture both the wildly popular universe of fanfic and the inside of an 18-year-old's head. Consider me a fangirl of this charming coming-of-age tale.” —Entertainment Weekly

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 on Eleanor & Park

“This sexy, smart, tender romance thrums with punk rock and true love. Teen readers--not to mention their Gen X parents--will swoon for Eleanor & Park.” —Gayle Forman, New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay and Where She Went on Eleanor & Park

“A breathless, achingly good read about love and outsiders.” —Stephanie Perkins, author of Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door on Eleanor & Park

“Sweet, gritty and affecting...an unforgettable story about two misfits in love” —Courtney Summers, author of This is Not a Test and Cracked Up To Be on Eleanor & Park

“Rowell shows us the beauty in the broken.” —Stewart Lewis, author of You Have Seven Messages on Eleanor & Park