Graduating from a rural party school this year, I found myself relating hard to Cath's experience transitioning to college. The social anxiety, confusion, and watching people rotate through drinking, friends, relationships, and roommates was spot on. (The comment about the difficulty of finding street parking to attend a house party? Yep, been there, done that.) The book covers some heavy themes- mental illness, parental abandonment, alcohol abuse- in an authentic take. The writing pulled me in and I kept wanting to keep reading. 

What kept it from being a five-star review for me were just a few things: One, Levi and Regan. I'm glad Cath was able to overcome her anxiety and make new friends on campus, but the way Levi and Regan treated her in the beginning was a combination of annoying and unrealistic. It was great Regan and Levi showed her a few things like where the dinning halls where or checking up on her sister, but constantly trying to hang out with her? Acting like she has the same interests in drinking and partying when she's obviously much more introverted and sheltered? When Cath says no, I just wanted them to let her be. I get she needed to overcome her anxiety, but that's what therapy is for, not pushy roommates. 

That brings me to how unrealistic it was: Cath constantly describes herself as frumpy and awkward, but Levi is head-over-heels in love with her. She's barely comfortable touching the guy, but he's completely kind and understanding and just wants to listen to her read fanfiction. Hm. 

I also wish we had seen more of the community side of fanfiction, such as supportive online friends and conventions and meeting up with people of similar interests and having fun. This books spoke to me about transitioning from high school to college, and it could have spoke to me more about that aspect of being a fangirl as well.