Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I love reading. I wouldn't be writing a lit blog if I didn't. When a book is good, it's magic. And sometimes, once or twice a year, I read a book that reminds me why I love reading. A book that makes me gush and cry and laugh and stay up all night reading, not the last bit sleepy, not even considering "I'll read just this chapter and then I'll turn off the light", because it's so good.
"Fangirl" wasn't one of those books. It was better. It didn't just remind me why I love to read. It reminded me why I love to write. For the first time in months, I felt that thrumming pressure in my fingertips, that itch to just lay them over a keyboard and type away. 
So, if you're a writer, an aspiring one or you just like to write the occasional short story or fanfiction, read it. If you've ever been in a fandom, read it. If you don't, if you haven't, read it anyway. 
It's good. It's fantastic. The characters are great, believable, flawed in a way that doesn't make them unlikeable. I can see where they're all coming from, so I can't hate any one of them, not even the ones who hurt Cath, not even her mother.
The romance is sweet and heartwarming and I just rooted for these guys. But mostly, I rooted for Cath. 
I closed this book caring for her, for her friends and for Simon and Baz and their world, and I think that's amazing. I didn't just care for a bunch of fictional characters. I cared for a bunch of fictional character that are seen as fictional in a fictional world, that I got to know just from snippets and one single complete fanfiction. 
So, read it. Whoever you are, wherever you are, read it. Chances are, you'll love it as much as I did. 

Rating:

★★★★★