Fangirl

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 …

My opinion: I was first attracted to this book by the cover. It’s just so pretty! If you have read any of my recent reviews you will know that I am a bit shallow when it comes to a pretty cover. And recently I have been lucky that judging a book by its cover hasn’t backfired on me!

Cather and Wren are identitical twin girls who are just about to go away to college. Despite having been inseparable all of their lives, things are about to change. Wren wants her own identity and has cut her hair and decided to live separately to Cath in the student halls. This is the worst thing Cath could imagine. She is introverted and shy and has always relied on Wren to be the social one of the two of them. Without Wren with her every step of the way, Cath needs to embrace who she is, make some friends and get on with what could be the beginning of the rest of her life.

I love a geeky girl. Cath is a prime example of a wonderfully geeky girl for me. She is socially awkward, loves a fictional world and is quite happy with her own company. I see many parallels with myself, even if (I think) I have hid it well over the years. Despite my confident exterior, inside I am still the same socially awkward girl of my childhood. I have just learnt to portray myself in a certain way because of the steps I have taken in my career. Cath is a brilliant character and she really flourishes and becomes comfortable with herself. She even makes friends with her scary room mate Reagan and her boyfriend Levi, as well as Nick from her fiction writing class.

As a book lover, I belive that there is nothing wrong with getting lost in a fictional world. In fact, it is something I actively promote. Cath loves the fictional Simon Snow series to a point I didn’t believe was possible. This flagged up to me how much I actually fangirl for Harry Potter and also opened my eyes to the world of fanfiction! (I hope I just used the term “fangirl” in the right context. As I am spiralling towards my thirties, I am not as down with the kids as I once was. Who am I kidding?! I have never been cool….) I never knew that fanfiction was as big a thing as it is. Since reading about Cath’s writing I have had a trawl of some HP fanfiction, but haven’t actually read any yet as I’m a bit scared of it!

My final comment about Cath is that reading this book has made me realise how easy the internet makes it to be an introverted teenager these days. I never had the internet until I was 21 so find it’s popularity with teenagers and children a little hard to get my head round to be honest. But this is another great thing about this book. It has given me access to worlds that I didn’t know about or have never experienced.

I think you can tell that I loved this book. I can’t think of anything that I didn’t like about it.I honestly think that this is a great coming of age book for a modern generation which can be enjoyed by anyone of any age. It felt a bit like a modern fairytale with a certain element of innocence, but was still savvy and up to date. I will stop gushing in a second, but I think Cath is a great role model and I only wish I could have been more comfortable with myself and my geekiness at her age. Fortunately I get paid to be a geek now which is nice!

Oh and on a final note, I love Levi!

My rating: A fangirling five stars! Is it possible to fangirl Fangirl?!