Book Raves Pt. 4: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

On the day of my 18th birthday, I was eating the cake my mum ordered from a friend while watching my dramas (the typical everyday life of a girl named Lindsey) when my sister came home from school. She dumped her bag on the sofa and rummaged inside, presenting me with a book in the colour of mix mint and seafoam green: Fangirl.

"Happy birthday!" She greeted, and a frown formed on my face. I did say thank you, but just like many avid readers, I was found guilty on that day for judging a book by its cover. Thinking back on it now, I'm shaking my head at my past self. I have now fully realised that I should never judge a book by its cover because Fangirl was so so good and very very relatable.

Fangirl features twins Cath and Wren. Wren was the more sociable one out of the two while Cath preferred to stay indoors and write Simon Snow fan fiction (relatable since I used to write anime fan fiction... don't judge me please. This book made me want to go back to those days and write more). She also has social anxiety, which is very relatable since I grew up immensely shy. Every time a teacher in school told us that we would feedback to the whole class, my heart would start pounding and a stream of words would flow in my head as I attempted to string some sentences that made sense just before I had to speak. This was accompanied by sweaty hands sweating profusely while I quietly cleared my throat, my cheeks heating up in the process.

It was difficult for me to interact with people I wasn't close with (so basically strangers).

But just like Cath, I'm proud to say that I'm growing and developing as a person. Reading about her growth in the book made me reflect on my own, and a sense of relief would wash over me as I looked back on how much I've changed and improved myself. Battling your inner self isn't always something you have to face alone, but sometimes you have to, and everyone who has accomplished that seriously inspires me. I'm still slightly shy but I'm actually forming coherent sentences whenever I have to speak haha.

I also really love how the novel transitioned from chapter to fanfic to chapter to fanfic. It made me want to immerse myself in the world of Simon Snow, and I got so excited when I found out that a separate book dedicated to Simon Snow was already published. Bring on more ruined eyesight.

SPOILER ALERT. She even ends up opening her heart to her love interest, Levi, and I just melted every time they were together. I mean him saying that he was in love with her and just ending one chapter on that... Rainbow Rowell you seriously have no mercy whenever it came to matters of the heart. They were such a match. And even Wren with Jandro... It just made me ponder on when something like this would happen to me, but I'm going to leave that to divine timing...

ALSO THE ENDING.

Rainbow Rowell if you ever read this... HOW CAN YOU END IT LIKE THAT?

It's such a perfect ending because Cath was finally able to write an original story of her own, and she even won the underclassmen prize for it! But I also wanted moooore. Does she get married to Levi? Do her and Wren have a double wedding? Do their children end up becoming best friends and creating fan fiction together too after their parents made them read Simon Snow? I guess that fantasy will only come alive in my head. Maybe I should write a Fangirl fanfic about this.

This book was very relatable, especially since I started reading it a little after starting the first year of university, which is college but the English version. Although I chose to commute, I could still relate and will probably relate even more in September when I move out (I'll be living by myself though, so no Reagan roommate for me).

I hope I continue to walk down this path of self-growth :)

{#books #novels #rave #Fangirl #RainbowRowell}