Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

            Good books can be hard to find. Reading time can also be hard to find, especially being in the HISP program and just having an all-around busy life. When I first picked up this book in the teen section of the library last Saturday, I thought, Well, my mom read it and said it was good, and there's fandom stuff? I guess I'll get it. But I wasn't expecting very much from it. I read a few pages Saturday night, a chapter on Sunday, and by Monday I was fully hooked. On Tuesday I read about a hundred and fifty pages. Anyone who has spent a sizeable amount of time in my presence over the last two days has probably witnessed my devotion. I became so invested in it that I was reading it during passing period, making it through up to ten pages as I devoured Rowell's masterwork.

            But what I'm really trying to get at is: I finished the book. And now, I am incredibly sad. And also happy? But mostly kind of lament-y. I really wish there was a sequel. But, I still have a chance to read the main characters ultra long, super cool fanfiction (written by the indomitable Rainbow Rowell, of course)!

            This post is a lot more of a book review than a gripping, grimy, hard-hitting criticism of the media. I am not saying that books are not media. They most certainly are. Nobody ever stops talking about when Gutenberg invented the printing press. That was a really important moment in human history (or European history, at least), because it made books and information widely available to people. Books are definitely means of mass communication. I could throw out examples all day: Harry Potter, the Laura Ingalls Wilder novels, Golden Books, Maximum Ride, all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Brothers books, The Great Gatsby, The Old Man and the Sea, Great Expectations, The Lord of the Rings, etc, etc. Gee willikers, there's a huge network of people who have read these books.

            Anyhow, back to Fangirl. I am very impressed by this book, as it was inspiring and enthralling for a person like me, who took a hiatus of sorts from reading outside of class. I will offer Rowell's brief summary for those of you yet to read it:

"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? Writing her own stories?

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

            Gosh, even the summary sounds fantastic. I would read it again. But now it's time to really look at some of the messages that Fangirl promulgates. A lot of the book is about being afraid to step out of one's comfort zone. I think that we can all relate to this: it is hard to try new things when you know you can get hurt. Not even hurt sometimes, but disappointed, or just not knowing what will happen to you. Cath, our main character, even mentions once that she's afraid of everything:

            I feel you. Even if there wasn't so much in this world to fear, I would still probably be scared of all of it. Or a sizeable amount, at least. There's also a lot of crazy and 'I-don't-know-how-to-talk-to-people' inside of me.

            In another quote from the novel, Cath asks if it is ok to quit when something is hurting you:

            While I don’t agree, I can still see why this may be an attractive option. Giving up, while it may not always be easy, is still way easier than sticking it through and making it. But I think the notable message from this is that Cath doesn't give up, thereby telling us, as readers, that we shouldn't give up either. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

            I'm going to analyze some of my favorite quotes from this book, which coincidently have catchy graphics made for them by internet people. Thank you, Internet (most likely Tumblr)!

            I love this quote because sometimes that is exactly what writing feels like. Sometimes, writing can be stressed, forced, like trying to use a pencil on a cheese grater. Other times, it's just like this, like sprinting down a hill, where your brain goes too fast for your fingers or pen. That's what this post became for me. The urge was burning inside me and I just had to write it. Starting is always tough, just like it was for Cath, but now it's coming out so easily.

            This quote really gets into that desire for stability and comfort that many youths write off as corny. "Happily ever after" is good. Like Cath's twin sister, Wren said, "The ultimate act of heroism shouldn't be death." (387) Literally, how is that romantic at all? Ah yes, I love you so much that when the time comes I'll just die! For you! Amazing. I think it's more courageous, just like Wren, to really stick out that love and work through life without someone dying. Because when you kill off someone's love (literally), you figuratively accomplish the same task. That person won't mourn you forever if they are a normally emotionally-functioning human being. They'll move on, and the martyr will become nothing but a memory.

            This is my favorite quote in the book, but it doesn't appear in my favorite context. One of the characters is explaining the downside of fanfiction, which I adore almost completely. But it is a very true quote. Even now, as I write this, I am creating a tangible representation of all the unconscious thoughts in my head. I am connecting that which is impalpable, and defining it. How is that anything but profound?

            When it really comes down to it, I love this book, so, so much. I love it so much that I just can't even.

            Seriously. I really hope there's fanfiction of this book because I'm gonna need it real bad in about a day or two after my brain fully understands that there is no more original content to read. One of the things I really enjoy is that in the Acknowledgements in the back of the book, Rowell does a shout-out to all the fanfic-writers (and readers!) and appreciates us. That was really pleasing, as I read and write fic fairly often.

            Media can come in all shapes and sizes, even a quirky little novel about a freshman in college who loves to write (awesome) gay fanfiction. If you have any time to enjoy these messages about love and live, Fangirl is only 438 pages.

-From a Fan