Joint review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date of publication: September 3013

Cath 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.

Fangirl wasn't what I expected.  For the most part, I liked the

overall story.  The coming of age/learning to be grown-up part was fantastic.  Cath learns a lot of life lessons during her first year at college.  It brought back fond memories of my first year at school.  I also loved the romance. It was slow, sweet and had all the elements that a first love should have.  I loved Levi!

The parts that I didn't love were the fan fiction parts.  I could understand the portions in the beginning of each chapter. Those made sense.  But, the long portions of Cath's own fan fiction got boring really fast.  I really didn't think they were necessary and I skimmed over them.  They just seemed like filler to me and could have been left out without taking away from the story.

I should say that  I really don't understand the world of fan fiction.  Maybe I have never been a fan of anything enough to get it.  But I guess, to each his own.

I really liked FanGirl too. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I liked Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park, but I wasn't super blown away by it. I liked FanGirl a lot better. The characters seemed to be more genuine and believable.  I have twin daughters so I'm often curious about what the future might hold for their relationship.  I think this book showed an unpleasant future, but probably not an unsual transformation in unsually close relationships.

Like Kari, I really couldn't get into the fan fiction stuff.  I really like Harry Potter, but I've never read fan fiction, much less written it.  I found myself kinda zoning out on the Simon Snow stuff, I didn't really see the point of having so much of it in the book.  Otherwise, I really liked the book.

Attachments

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: Dutton Adult

Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office e-mail. But the women still spend all day sending each other messages, gossiping about their coworkers at the newspaper and baring their personal lives like an open book. Jennifer tells Beth everything she can't seem to tell her husband about her anxieties over starting a family. And Beth tells Jennifer everything, period.

When Lincoln applied to be an Internet security officer, he hardly imagined he'd be sifting through other people's inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom. Lincoln is supposed to turn people in for misusing company e-mail, but he can't quite bring himself to crack down on Beth and Jennifer. He can't help but be entertained-and captivated- by their stories.

But by the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late for him to ever introduce himself. What would he say to her? "Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you." After a series of close encounters and missed connections, Lincoln decides it's time to muster the courage to follow his heart . . . even if he can't see exactly where it's leading him.

Attachments is the debut novel by Rainbow Rowell. This book is just adorable and is the kind of book that makes you sigh with contentment in the end. The book has some great laugh out loud moments. It also kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't wait to see if they ended up together. I also enjoyed the format of the book. We get to know Beth and Jennifer just as Lincoln does, by reading their e-mails to each other. I have always believed that you can get to know someone better through their letters. I believe that people tend to pour more of themselves into their writing than they do in face to face conversations. The author really did a good job of conveying that here.

As for the characters, I loved Lincoln. He seems a little wimpy and lost at first, but he is just so likeable that you can't help rooting for him to succeed. I loved that he fell for someone before he knew what she looked like. I loved how he wanted to become a better person because of his feelings for Beth, which was a big contrast to his relationship with Sam. With Sam, he was content to go with the flow and let her take the lead. I wasn't sure I liked Beth at first. Her relationship with her boyfriend was frustrating. But, as I read her e-mails, I really grew to like her. The secondary characters in the book help to round out the story nicely.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was amount of the pop culture references. I know the story is set in 1999-2000 and they work in a newspaper, but I felt like I was being constantly reminded of the year every time a movie, song, or actor was mentioned. It's probably just a personal preference, but it got tedious after a while. The Y2K scare is part of the story and I felt like that should have been enough to keep me centered in the time frame.

I listened to the audio version of the book. The narrator did a great job and I think made me enjoy it that much more. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Rowell come up with next! I definitely recommend Attachments.

--Kari